Windows 10: Pre owned windows 10 has bitlocker on

Hi there,

i have bought a lenovo p51s with windows 10 installed on it. It has a bitlocker encryption on and the seller says he doesnt know about the key. I have very important data in it. Please guide what to do to get it unlock.

:)

 

BitLocker...on a pre-owned device (W10 Pro)

I recently bought a pre-owned HP ProBook 430 G1. The previous owner told me he reset the device, and at the time I bought it, it was running the initial free upgrade to Windows 10 Pro (I presume upgraded from W8.1). It is now running W10 Pro, build1611 Anniversary
Edition.

I want to activate BitLocker, but before I turn it on I need to be certain there will be no negative consequences...being locked out of the OS is not a good thing!

My understanding is that to access and operate a BitLocker encrypted drive, a password or recovery key is required...without at least one of these, the drive is essentially impenetrable, rendering all data lost.

I do not know whether the previous owner(s) used BitLocker...if they did, I do not know what their password and recovery key details were.

My questions:

• 
  If the previous owner(s) had activated BitLocker (establishing a password and recovery key), and at some subsequent point they turned BitLocker off prior to my buying the device, what happens if I click “Turn on BitLocker”.....
  
• 
  will I be locked out of the system (no password or recovery key)?, or;
  
• 
  does the turning off of the BitLocker function result in all previous password and recovery key data being deleted, thus enabling me to establish new details?
  

Thank you in advance for all advice on this subject.

 

Including Bitlocker Pre-Provisioning


Hi @Kari,

That was an awesome Tutorial, exactly what I've been looking for !

I have been doing a bit of experimenting and found that a slight modification to your procedure can be used to pre-provision Bitlocker encryption, as long as the machine has a TPM chip present and activated on the motherboard. This pre-provisioning, if successful, could save a few hours as compared to configuring it post-install.
Note: all of the following worked on Win 10 Enterprise x64 1709 on both an old Laptop (non-UEFI, non-Secure Boot e.g. a 10 year old Dell Latitude E4200 ) and a modern desktop (Dell Optiplex 5040 w UEFI and Secure Boot).
All that's needed is to insert a step between 2.6 and 2.7 which would check if the destination drive is encryptable, and, if it is then enable encryption of used space. Because the 'used space' at that point is almost zero it gets encrypted almost instantaneously. But, because the drive is now encrypted, anything that DISM adds to the drive gets encrypted on the fly ! End result is that when the installation is finished the drive is encrypted with Bitlocker and just needs a 'protector' (e.g. TPM and PIN) added ..

Here's what worked for me ....
- just after step 2.6, check that G: drive is actually encryptable (this also checks the BIOS, TPM activated etc.)
run command 'manage-bde -status' (if that lists the volume as encryptable, then we're good to go to next ..)
run command 'manage-bde -on G: -used' (that turns on bitlocker for the drive, and should finish after a few seconds ...... just wait a few seconds and verify that another 'manage-bde -status' now shows 100%)
- .. now proceed to step 2.7

At the end of the installation and after first bootup and logon you should see a little yellow triangle as well as an unlock icon on the drive, showing it's encrypted but with a 'clear protector' ...... then just need to add a protector, like TPM and PIN e.g. 'manage-bde -protectors -add c: -TPMAndPIN' where you will be prompted for PIN, and if all goes well, will be prompted to enter PIN in order for machine to boot up.

 

Need to turn off Bitlocker to install Windows 10

Hi,

We suggest doing the following steps again to resolve the issue. To complete the procedure, make sure that you have the following information:

• You must be able to provide administrative credentials.
• The drive must be BitLocker-protected.

To suspend BitLocker Drive Encryption on an operating system drive, please follow the steps below:

• 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.

Let us know how it goes.