Windows 10: Unlock Fixed or Removable BitLocker Drive in Windows

How to: Unlock Fixed or Removable BitLocker Drive in Windows

How to Unlock a Fixed or Removable BitLocker Drive in Windows


Information BitLocker Drive Encryption is a data protection feature that integrates with the operating system and addresses the threats of data theft or exposure from lost, stolen, or inappropriately decommissioned computers.

When you sign in to Windows.

When you automatically unlock when connected.

If you chose to unlock a fixed or removable drive with a password and forgot your BitLocker password, then you can still unlock the drive with its BitLocker recovery key.

This tutorial will show you different ways on how to unlock a fixed or removable data drive encrypted by BitLocker in Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10.


Note For Windows 7, BitLocker Drive Encryption is only available in the Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Enterprise editions.

For Windows 8/8.1, BitLocker Drive Encryption is only available in the Windows 8 Pro and Windows 8 Enterprise editions.

For Windows 10, editions.

CONTENTS:

• Option One: Unlock Fixed or Removable BitLocker Drive from File Explorer
• Option Two: Unlock Fixed or Removable BitLocker Drive from Control Panel
• Option Three: Unlock Fixed or Removable BitLocker Drive in Command Prompt
• Option Four: Unlock Fixed or Removable BitLocker Drive in PowerShell

OPTION ONE [/i] Unlock Fixed or Removable BitLocker Drive from File Explorer
1. Open This PC in File Explorer (Win+E) in Windows 8/10, or open Computer in Windows Explorer (Win+E) in Windows 7.

2. Either open the locked fixed or removable BitLocker drive you want to unlock, or right click or press and hold on the drive and click/tap on Unlock Drive. (see screenshot below)



3. Do step 4 (password) or step 5 (recovery key) for how you want to unlock the drive.


4. Unlock Fixed or Removable Data Drive with BitLocker Password
A) Enter the password to unlock this drive, click/tap on Unlock, and go to step 6 below. (see screenshot below)





5. Unlock Fixed or Removable Data Drive with BitLocker Recovery Key
A) Click/tap on the More options link. (see screenshot below)


Note In Windows 7, click on the I forgot my password link instead.



B) Click/tap on the Enter recovery key link. (see screenshot below)


Note In Windows 7, make note of the key ID (ex: "04F0CE27") to help ID the recovery key for this drive, click on Type the recovery key, and go to step 5D instead.



C) Make note of the key ID (ex: "04F0CE27") to help ID the recovery key for this drive. (see screenshot below)



D) Go to where you step 5C above. (see screenshot below)



E) Repeat step 2 and steps 5A -5B.

F) Enter the 48-digit recovery key for this drive from step 5D above, click/tap on Unlock, and go to step 6 below. (see screenshot below)



6. The drive is now unlocked.





OPTION TWO [/i] Unlock Fixed or Removable BitLocker Drive from Control Panel
1. Open the Control Panel (icons view), and click/tap on the BitLocker Drive Encryption icon.

2. Click/tap on the Unlock drive link for the locked fixed or removable data drive you want to unlock. (see screenshot below)



3. Do step 4 (password) or step 5 (recovery key) for how you want to unlock the drive.


4. Unlock Fixed or Removable Data Drive with BitLocker Password
A) Enter the password to unlock this drive, click/tap on Unlock, and go to step 6 below. (see screenshot below)





5. Unlock Fixed or Removable Data Drive with BitLocker Recovery Key
A) Click/tap on the More options link. (see screenshot below)



B) Click/tap on the Enter recovery key link. (see screenshot below)



C) Make note of the key ID (ex: "04F0CE27") to help ID the recovery key for this drive. (see screenshot below)



D) Go to where you step 5C above. (see screenshot below)



E) Repeat step 2 and steps 5A -5B.

F) Enter the 48-digit recovery key for this drive from step 5D above, click/tap on Unlock, and go to step 6 below. (see screenshot below)



6. The drive is now unlocked.





OPTION THREE [/i] Unlock Fixed or Removable BitLocker Drive in Command Prompt
1. Open an elevated command prompt.

2. Do step 3 (password) or step 4 (recovery key) for how you want to unlock the drive.


3. Unlock Fixed or Removable Data Drive with BitLocker Password
A) Type the command below into the elevated command prompt, and press Enter. (see screenshot below)

*Arrow manage-bde -protectors -get <drive letter>: -password



Note Substitute <drive letter> in the command above with the actual drive letter (ex: "D") of the fixed or removable drive you want to unlock.

For example: manage-bde -protectors -get D: -password

B) When prompted, type the BitLocker password for this drive, press Enter, and go to step 5 below.





4. Unlock Fixed or Removable Data Drive with BitLocker Recovery Key
A) Type the command below into the elevated command prompt, and press Enter. Make note of the first section of numbers (ex: "04F0CE27") for the Numerical Password ID. This is the key ID to help ID the recovery key for this drive. (see screenshot below)
*Arrow manage-bde -protectors -get <drive letter>:



Note Substitute <drive letter> in the command above with the actual drive letter (ex: "D") of the fixed or removable drive you want to unlock.

For example: manage-bde -protectors -get D:



B) Go to where you step 4A above. (see screenshot below)



C) Type the command below into the elevated command prompt, press Enter, and go to step 5 below. (see screenshot below)
*Arrow manage-bde -unlock <drive letter>: -rp <recovery key>



Note Substitute <drive letter> in the command above with the actual drive letter (ex: "D") of the fixed or removable drive you want to unlock.

Substitute <recovery key> in the command above with the 48-digit recovery key from step 4B above for this drive (ex: "D").

For example:
manage-bde -unlock D: -rp 318846-013959-335082-562221-588214-181456-652498-331848



5. The drive is now unlocked. You can now close the elevated command prompt if you like.





OPTION FOUR [/i] Unlock Fixed or Removable BitLocker Drive in PowerShell


Note This option is only available in Windows 8 and Windows 10.

To see more Unlock-BitLocker command usage options, see: Unlock-BitLocker - Microsoft Docs

1. Open an elevated PowerShell.

2. Do step 3 (password with prompt), step 4 (password without prompt). or step 5 (recovery key) for how you want to unlock the drive.


3. Unlock Fixed or Removable Data Drive using BitLocker Password with Prompt for Password
A) Type the command below into the elevated PowerShell, and press Enter. (see screenshot below)

*Arrow Unlock-BitLocker -MountPoint "<drive letter>:" -Password (Read-Host "Enter Password" -AsSecureString)



Note Substitute <drive letter> in the command above with the actual drive letter (ex: "D") of the fixed or removable drive you want to unlock.

For example: Unlock-BitLocker -MountPoint "D:" -Password (Read-Host "Enter Password" -AsSecureString)

B) When prompted, type the BitLocker password for this drive, press Enter, and go to step 6 below.





4. Unlock Fixed or Removable Data Drive using BitLocker Password without Prompt for Password
A) Type the command below into the elevated PowerShell, press Enter, and go to step 6 below. (see screenshot below)

*Arrow $SecureString = ConvertTo-SecureString "<password>" -AsPlainText -Force; Unlock-BitLocker -MountPoint "<drive letter>:" -Password $SecureString



Note Substitute <password> in the command above with the actual BitLocker password (ex: "test1234") for this drive (ex: "D").

Substitute <drive letter> in the command above with the actual drive letter (ex: "D") of the fixed or removable drive you want to unlock.

For example:
$SecureString = ConvertTo-SecureString "test1234" -AsPlainText -Force; Unlock-BitLocker -MountPoint "D:" -Password $SecureString



5. Unlock Fixed or Removable Data Drive with BitLocker Recovery Key
A) Type the command below into the elevated PowerShell, and press Enter. Make note of the first section of numbers (ex: "04F0CE27") for the Numerical Password ID. This is the key ID to help ID the recovery key for this drive. (see screenshot below)
*Arrow manage-bde -protectors -get <drive letter>:



Note Substitute <drive letter> in the command above with the actual drive letter (ex: "D") of the fixed or removable drive you want to unlock.

For example: manage-bde -protectors -get D:



B) Go to where you step 5A above. (see screenshot below)



C) Type the command below into the elevated PowerShell, press Enter, and go to step 6 below. (see screenshot below)
*Arrow Unlock-BitLocker -MountPoint "<drive letter>:" -RecoveryPassword <recovery key>



Note Substitute <drive letter> in the command above with the actual drive letter (ex: "D") of the fixed or removable drive you want to unlock.

Substitute <recovery key> in the command above with the 48-digit recovery key from step 5B above for this drive (ex: "D").

For example:
Unlock-BitLocker -MountPoint "D:" -RecoveryPassword 318846-013959-335082-562221-588214-181456-652498-331848



6. The drive is now unlocked. You can now close the elevated PowerShell if you like.

That's it,
Shawn


Related Tutorials

• How to Find BitLocker Recovery Key in Windows 10
• How to Unlock an OS Drive Encrypted by BitLocker in Windows 10
• How to Use BitLocker Repair Tool to Recover Encrypted Drive in Windows
• How to Turn On or Off BitLocker for Fixed Data Drives in Windows 10
• How to Turn On or Off BitLocker for Removable Data Drives in Windows 10
• How to Turn On or Off Auto-unlock for BitLocker Drive in Windows 10
• How to Lock BitLocker Encrypted Drive in Windows
• How to Add 'Lock Drive' to Context Menu of BitLocker Encrypted Drives in Windows 10
• How to Add or Remove Unlock Drive Context Menu in Windows
• How to Suspend or Resume BitLocker Protection for Drive in Windows 10
• How to Create BitLocker Encrypted Container File with a VHD or VHDX File in Windows

:)

 

Fixed Drive Detected as Removable in Bitlocker

My system has 2 data drives in addition to the boot drive which is SSD. While windows detects both drives as fixed drives Bitlocker reports one of the drives as removable and so I cannot set it to auto-unlock. Any suggestions on how to change this behavior
and make Bitlocker report correctly?

 

Windows 8.1 PRO unable to unlock Bitlocked drive

That's not good. You can try re-installing Windows 8 and unlocking the drive, and disabling Bitlocker on that drive, before upgrading to 8.1. Though I have a bad feeling that even going back to Windows 8 might not help, I have a feeling the drive just bit the dust and corrupted the file system...

 

Fixed Drive Detected as Removable in Bitlocker

Hi,

Thank you for posting the query on Microsoft Community.

Fixed data drives can be set to automatically unlock on a computer where the operating system drive is also encrypted. Removable data drives can be set to automatically unlock on a computer running Windows 8 after the password or smart card is initially
used to unlock the drive.

You can refer the links below for reference:

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

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Learn-more-about-BitLocker-Drive-Encryption

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

Hope this helps in resolving the issue. If the issue persists, do get back to us. We will be happy to assist you.

 

HELP: Automatic BitLocker Unlock.

Thank you sir, ill try your solution.

Windows Auto unlock ONLY works in case you have Bitlocker on your system drive, because if your system drive is not encrypted auto unlocking other drives means loss of security.
But in my case my system drive is Encrypted with hardware encryption that i password unlock during boot. So auto unlocking Bitlocker drives will do fine for me.

 

Failure to unlock BitLocker encrypted HD after new windows 10 installation

Hello Kostas,

Thank you for bringing up your query on Microsoft Community.

We sincerely regret for the inconvenience caused.

You can use BitLocker Drive Encryption to help protect your
operating system drive (the drive where Windows is installed), a
fixed data drive (such as an internal hard drive), or a
removable data drive (such as a USB flash drive).

The way you unlock an encrypted drive depends on two things:

• What kind of drive it is.
• What kind of unlock method you chose when you set up BitLocker on the drive.
  

I suggest you to refer to the following article and check if it helps.

Unlock a BitLocker-protected drive

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

(Applies to Windows 10 as well).

Hope it helps.

Let us know the status, we are glad to assist you further.