Windows 10: Lost access to external hard drive because of Bitlocker

Any PC that I plug my external hard drive in, asks me to enter a password to Bitlocker. The problem is that I have never installed a password for Bitlocker and I don’t have recovery keys in my Microsoft Account. In the result I am unable to access my hard drive

:)

 

Can't access my external hard drives because of BitLocker

I just got the same exact screen when trying to access my external hard drive! I've used my external hard drive for years and it has never given me problems. I plugged it in today and it says access is denied due to bitlocker. Please tell me you got help
with this?!

 

File back up to bitlockered external drive

Thanks John.

By trial and error the solution is,

• Set the file back up to the desired external USB drive, Back up using file history.
• Run backup to completion.
• Dismount, (Remove) the drive used.
• Remount (Plug in) the drive used for the file back up (Steps 1&2) and encrypt using Bitlocker.

Note you can only encrypt drives using some versions of Windows (Pro for eg not Home)

• Once the external drive has been encrypted dismount.
• Remount the drive, go to the file back up option, Open, Settings, Backup,
  Back up using file history.
• The drive should now still be visible and has been encrypted.
• Accessing the drive will be dependant on how it was set up in Bitlocker,
  Open with this PC, password, pin code etc.
• Repeat file back up as in the first two steps.

Hope this helps someone else.

 

How can I access/change my Bitlocker password for my external hard drive?

Hi AveryDavis,

Thank you for posting to Microsoft Community.

Is this an external hard drive or an internal hard drive into which the Windows 10 is installed in?

I can understand how important the hard drive is for you. If the hard drive was encrypted with a BitLocker, it can only be opened with the BitLocker key. This is because the hard drive will be encrypted with respect to the BitLocker and cannot be accessed
on a different system without the key.

If you have not set the BitLocker key, the' Secure Boot' settings may be toggled to 'Disabled', which may be causing this issue. You can check that from the steps below.

1. Power the device 'Off' and then back 'On'.
2. You should be able to find a message on the boot screen just before the manufacturer logo appears. You may need to press the ‘F1’, ‘F2’, or ‘Delete’ button, this is usually indicated on the boot screen.
3. Enter the BIOS settings, look for a tab called 'BOOT' and select that page.
4. Depending on the BIOS manufacturer, this page could be 'BOOT', 'ADVANCED', 'STARTUP', etc.
5. Look for a setting for the 'UEFI Secure Boot'. Each BIOS could have a different name for this. These are the keywords to look for: 'UEFI', 'Secure Boot', 'Legacy Boot'.
6. Toggle the 'Secure Boot' setting to 'Enabled' and attempt to boot the machine.

However, if the BitLocker is set and the password is not known, you can refer this article on ‘Find
my BitLocker recovery key’. If you do not have the BitLocker password or the recovery key, the only option would be to proceed with formatting the hard drive to access it and if Windows was installed on this drive, a reinstallation of Windows.

Note: Formatting the hard drive will delete all its contents.

Hope it helps.

Aaron Summith

Microsoft Community – Moderator