Windows 10: I have a bitlocker key, but apparently it's the wrong one

So a while back I performed a clean install of windows on my Surface Book 2 (due to some performance issues which were fixed by the reset), not using separate installation media but if I recall correctly, the reset windows button in settings.


Everything was working nice and dandy until yesterday when my Surface Book suddenly just hit me with a blue screen. This was after detaching the tablet portion and reattaching it but the other way round. I was able to restart, boot it up and resume my work just fine. But when I opened it up for the first time this morning, I was greeted by a BitLocker recovery screen, saying I needed to "Enter the recovery key to get going again". Now the wonderful thing is I wasn't even aware I had BitLocker enabled, I'd wanted to steer clear of it exactly to avoid these type of problems. Thankfully there were instructions on how to retrieve it online, as it was apparently saved to my microsoft account. Or so I thought.


The first red flag was that the drive label that the BitLocker screen gave me included the former name of my Surface Book, which got changed when I performed the reset. Well, I managed to find a BitLocker key for my device through my microsoft account, only problem is it isn't the correct one.


I have now tried inputting it numerous times to no avail. The issue as far as I can see is that when I performed the windows reset, it created for me a new BitLocker key and updated that to my account. BitLocker however, is interested in the original key I used to lock my drive, which I do not have (I obviously didn't save it anywhere because I didn't even know I had BitLocker enabled in the first place).


Is there anything that can be done about this, either by me or Microsoft? I'm imagining that the answer is likely a no, unless Microsoft still has my old key stored somewhere. I do not have anything incredibly valuable that I would miss as I use cloud services a lot, so recovery using a fresh installation media (which I've understood to be a possibility) and losing all my files isn't the end of the world for me, but I would be glad to know if I have any other options.

:)

 

BitLocker Key

There may be a software that triggered the BitLocker in your Windows 10 PC. To assist you better, we suggest that you check these articles for further information:

• Find my BitLocker recovery key.
• BitLocker recovery keys: Frequently asked questions.

• BitLocker

Let us know if you need further assistance.

 

Bitlocker Key

Hi,

Thank you for posting your concern. It is good that you know the Bitlocker key to properly get into the computer. To help you turn off the Bitlocker key, you can follow the steps below:

Please make sure you are signed as the Administrator of the computer.

To suspend BitLocker Drive Encryption on an operating system drive

• 
  Click Start, click Control Panel, click
  System and Security, and then click BitLocker Drive Encryption.
  
• 
  Click Suspend Protection for the operating system drive.
  
• 
  A message is displayed, informing you that your data will not be protected while BitLocker is suspended and asking if you want to suspend BitLocker Drive Encryption. Click
  Yes to continue and suspend BitLocker on the drive.
  

To turn off BitLocker Drive Encryption

• 
  Click Start, click Control Panel, click
  System and Security, and then click BitLocker Drive Encryption.
  
• 
  Find the drive on which you want BitLocker Drive Encryption turned off, and click
  Turn Off BitLocker.
  
• 
  A message is displayed, informing you that the drive will be decrypted and that decryption may take some time. Click
  Decrypt the drive to continue and turn off BitLocker on the drive.
  

Let us know if this resolves your concern.

 

Bitlocker

Hello Nandana,

To enable BitLocker on your computer, you follow the steps below:

• Sign in to your Windows account with an administrator access.
• Press the Windows key.
• Type and enter BitLocker.
• Click Turn on BitLocker.
• If the system is asking to sing in to administrator access, please do so.

For additional information about BitLocker, we suggest that you check the frequently ask question on this
link. The link provided applies to Windows 8.1 to higher version.

If you have other concerns, don't hesitate to reach us.