Windows 10: Recovering Bitlocker locked system

I have a sinking feeling about this one. I do IT support and a new client has dropped off an all-in-one Dell system that won't boot. It starts the Windows boot sequence but then goes into the Dell recovery system. Not good news! My normal approach here is to immediately use Macrium Reflect to take an image of the entire system before one starts messing about.


Except... Reflect shows that the C: drive is protected using Bitlocker… the chances of the client having a record of the recovery key I'm going to say is slim. I'm currently doing a sector copy full copy using Reflect which is going to take six hours.


Am I right in saying that if I can't get the OS booting that we're up that creek without a paddle in terms of recovering the data on the disk?

:)

 

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.

 

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.

 

Bitlocker locked on startup

Hi,

Thank you for posting your query on Microsoft Community.

Follow the below steps and check if it helps:

I suggest you to try the step under the section "To unlock removable data drive" in the following article:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/unlock-bitlocker-protected-drive

Note: The steps for Windows 8.1 applies to Windows 10 as well.

For further reference, ask OP to refer to the following article:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/bitlocker-drive-encryption

I hope this information helps.

Thank you.