Windows 10: External disc encrypted by BitLocker prevents my from accessing important data saved in it.

Issue: External disc encrypted by BitLocker prevents me from accessing important data saved in it.Context:My laptop was about to be reset from scratch by my company's IT team.I saved some important information in an external disc and gave the laptop to them.They reset it from scratch.I connected my external disc and got a message saying incorrect format and I cannot open itI was never asked for consent to enable BitLocker in my external disc, and I cannot access a lot of important information saved on it.Request:What steps should I follow to access the data saved in my external disc?

:)

 

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

 

Access a Bitlocker encrypted system drive as external drive

I am getting rid of a desktop with a bitlocker encrypted C drive. I want to physically remove that drive and have access to it from another pc via external usb dock or enclosire

Bitlocker question: Do I need to decrypt it first ? I was thinking with the key or the password I could access it no problem and decryption was not necessary but then I remembered TPM might prevent this since it was a system drive. Would that prevent access even with the BL key or password?

General file access question: Normally when accessing files from a drive removed from another pc, I normally have to use "Take Ownership" or run a 3rd party file explorer as admin such as Q-Dir. Are there any steps to take prior to removing it from the original pc to make this process / file access easier?

Original PC is running Win 10 Ed , new PC running Win 10 Pro

 

Data Recovery in Bitlocker Encrypted Drive

Today my home laptop system asked for bit locker password after booting up (before login). Bit locker encryption was not enabled by me. However, to make the computer usable, C drive was formatted since there was no critical data in C Drive. However D Drive is still encrypted.



Kindly confirm

1. Can Bitlocker Encryption be enabled without intervention of the user?
   
2. Where to find the bitlocker encryption key?
   
3. How to recover the Data in Encrypted D Drive?