Windows 10: Can I open a Bitlocker-encrypted external drive on a computer that has Windows 11 Home Edition?

I have an external drive that I would like to have protected with password encryption through Bitlocker. I understand that I can enable it in Windows 11 Pro, but not through Windows 11 Home.My home computer has Windows 11 Home.However, my work computer has Bitlocker capability and it is Windows 10. I was going to enable it on my work computer since the work that is on the external drive is for work anyway.My question: Will I be able to open my Bitlocker-encrypted external drive on my home computer when I have to do work at home? ...knowing that my home computer has Windows 11 HOME...?Thank you

:)

 

External USB HDD drive bitlocker encrypted without a key

Hello CatchyWater7200,

Thank you for reaching Microsoft Community. We're sorry for the inconvenience this has caused you.

I am aware that you're having trouble accessing your external USB disk drive that has been encrypted by BitLocker. I am here to help. Allow me to ask a question.

• Would you mind sharing what exactly the message shows when ask for the USB key?
  

Your drive appears to have been encrypted using BitLocker, a function that guards your data against illegal access. For access to the drive, BitLocker requires a password or recovery key. Since you don't have a BitLocker USB key, you can try using the BitLocker recovery key to unlock the drive. Here are the steps to do that:

1. Connect the external USB disk drive to your Surface Pro 6.
   
2. When prompted to enter the BitLocker key, click on "More options". Or you can enter "Esc" key or the Windows key to continue.
   
3. Click on "Enter recovery key".
   
4. Enter the BitLocker recovery key that you found on your Microsoft account.
   
5. Click on "Unlock".
   

If the above steps don't work, you can try disabling BitLocker on the external USB disk drive. Here are the steps to do that:

1. Connect the external USB disk drive to your Surface Pro 6.
   
2. Open File Explorer and right-click on the external USB disk drive.
   
3. Click on "Manage BitLocker".
   
4. Click on "Turn off BitLocker".
   
5. Follow the on-screen instructions to disable BitLocker on the external USB disk drive.
   

Please note that disabling BitLocker will remove the encryption from the external USB disk drive and make it less secure. Therefore, it's recommended to re-enable BitLocker once you've accessed your files and photos.

Let me know how it goes.

Kind regards,

Lavenia

 

open bitlocker encrypted external drive on win 11 home

Dear all,

I have a bitlocker encrypted external drive, and I am using a laptop with win 11 home OS.

There was no issue before a recent win 11 update, and I could open the encrypted drive with the password.

However, since the win 11 update, the laptop with win 11 can not recongize the encrypted drive any more. When I inserted the encrypt drive to the USB port, the computer does not respond.

In addition,

1. I can not find the encrypted drive in the Disk Management dialog or in the explorer.

2. When I insert another unencrypted usb drive to my computer, my computer can recongize the hard drive, and everything works well.

3. When I insert the encrypted drive to another laptop with Win10 pro installed, the Win10 pro can read the encrypted drive with password properly.

So how can I fix this issue, thank you very much in advance.
Best

Greg

 

Encrypted External Drive that cannot be opened.

Hi Sana,

It is a good idea to use Bitlocker to protect hard drives. Please provide the following needed information:

1. How do you try to access the drive?

2. Do you get any pop-up message when trying to access the drive?

3. Is this an external hard drive?

You can turn off Bitlocker Drive Encryption by following these steps:

• 
  Login as Administrator to your PC.
  
• 
  Click Start, click Control Panel, click
  Security, and then click BitLocker Drive Encryption.
  
• 
  From the BitLocker Drive Encryption page, find the volume on which you want BitLocker Drive Encryption turned off, and click
  Turn Off BitLocker Drive Encryption.
  
• 
  From the What level of decryption do you want dialog box, click either
  Disable BitLocker Drive Encryption or Decrypt the volume as needed.
  

Regards.