Windows 10: How to fix Bitlocker decryption from firmware update

Had a windows update for firmware. Then I did an update and shut down. Then when booting the laptop it showed a Bitlocker screen, however I have not setup Bitlocker and cannot find the recovery key in my personal account also not in my university account. I have reformatted one of my drives and left the other which has data I need to get back. My laptop is a Dell G15 5515 running windows 11. Anyone know what has happened or how to fix this.

:)

 

Bitlocker Stuck Decrypting

@rinconmike

For future reference, instead of using the TASK MANAGER to restart, you can simply hold CTRL + SHIFT and right click on blank space on the Task bar, to bring up 'Exit Explorer'.

Another option is to use software.

From m3datarecovery

Download

Instructions

From m3datarecovery

- *Smile

 

Bitlocker Stuck Decrypting

Fixes & Enhancements- Improved the solid state drive data management to prevent data integrity issues.

I did suspend bitlocker before I updated the firmware. The installation directions does not state to or not to. For bios updates it does state to disable bitlocker so I figured it would not hurt to do with the firmware update.

Before and after the update I checked the firmware version in device manager, select the drive, details, hardware ID. Confirmed the firmware version.

It is just odd that the Dell Diagnostic kept showing the short drive test failed until I finally got the drive to decrypt and then it passed.

Also the decryption was stuck and locking up the system until I deleted the files that were in my DB folder. I do not think this has anything to do with DB, just a specific file or files that were there.

Alternatively, there is an issue with the drive and the short drive test failure may come back. Although I have reboot and run it probably 10 times to test.

chkdsk also shows no issues.

- - - Updated - - -

I am thinking of turning bitlocker back on and then run the Dell Diagnostic Drive Test to see if the issue with the SSD come back.

I still did not reinstall and download my Dropbox files.

When turning bitlocker back on, there are two options

• Encrypt used disk space only (faster and best for new PCs and drives)
• Encrypt entire drive (slower but best for PCs and drives already in sue)

For the second option, I understand the entire drive will encrypt even deleted data. Does it encrypt empty areas of the drive that never contained data? The drive is a 2TB drive and I was less than 50% full before.

For this test, should I just use the first option? Or better to do the full drive to fully test the drive to see if any issues are raised?

I might decrypt again after to further see if there are issues.

- - - Updated - - -

I did a full drive encryption and no issue.

 

Bitlocker Decryption paused and does not resume.

Hi Hamza,



Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.



I can imagine the inconvenience you are experiencing and will certainly help you in the right direction in fixing the issue.



I suggest you to follow the steps mentioned below to fix the issue.

1. Open the command prompt as admin.
   
2. Type in manage-bde –off <drive> and hit
   Enter.
   
   manage-bde –resume <drive>
   

manage-bde –on <drive>

Replace Drive by drive letter

1. Restart the computer and check the status of the issue
   

You may also refer the article Computer
Crash: How To Use manage-bde To Recover A Partially Decrypted Hard Drive
for the detailed information.



If the issue still persists, I suggest you to post your query in
IT TechNet
forums, where we have a dedicated team of experts who are equipped with the resources to guide you with the further steps to fix the issue.



Regards,

Muralidhar

Microsoft Community Moderator