Windows 10: My external 5TB NTFS HDD shows up in Disk Manager but not in Bitlocker? Why?

It's not the newest HDD, but I already used Bitlocker to encrypt another external NTFS-formatted one that was even older. This doesn't make any sense to me, and I found no information anywhere on why this is happening, or how to fix it. Does anyone have any clue why Bitlocker singled out this drive?

:)

 

File Explorer show different size for external HDD than does Disk Management

Disk management shows external L drive with 931.32 GB, but when I look at it in File Explorer, it only shows 453 GB.

The disk previously had three partitions (Mac, Linux and Windows). I used parted in Linux to delete the two non-NTFS partitions and expand the NTFS partition to the entire HDD.. So Disk Management show this result but I'm not seeing it in File Mgr or when
I choose that partition in Acronis.

I thought maybe the old partition data was stuck somewhere in Win memory, but I stopped the computer, removed the external HDD, restarted the computer, plugged the external HDD in, and am getting the same results.

I'm running a fresh upgrade from Win 7 to Win 10, and most everything else seems to be going well.

 

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

 

External HDD shows in DIsk Management but not Explorer, option to assign drive not available

Hello,

I have an issue where the Primary Partition of my G Drive brand, External Hard Drive shows up Disk Management but not in Explorer on my Windows 11 Lenovo computer. If I right click over the bar in Disk Management, all my options (except "delete volume") are greyed out, so I do not have the ability to assign a drive letter or path.

I am not having this issue with my Dell (1 - SSD, NTFS). On the Dell, the 5.6 TB partition shows up as (D, NTFS in both Explorer and Disk Management. I cannot access the 5.6 TB primary partition on my Lenovo, which has two internal SSD, NTFS.

Both computers show G-Utilities (F, FAT32 in Explorer which is about 3GB. I cannot access the 5.6 TB primary partition on my Lenovo, but can on the Dell. I would attached screenshots but they are failing to upload for some reason... smh...

My next step would be either disconnecting the second SSD in my lenovo, or assigning a New Simple Volume for the Unallocated volume on the external HDD partitions. For some reason, Disk Manager shows 4 partitions, the G-Utilities (F which shows up in Explorer for both systems, the 5.6TB partition I'm trying to access on my Lenovo, 200 MB Healthy EFI System Partition, and 128 MB (unallocated) partition. Any expert advice will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance for your assistance!