Windows 10: Windows 11 starts but OS hard drive inaccessible, maybe a Bitlocker issue?

Discus and support Windows 11 starts but OS hard drive inaccessible, maybe a Bitlocker issue? in Windows 10 Gaming to solve the problem; Having a very strange issue on my 3 month old laptop. It was fine yesterday, didn't do anything new. Today it boots to startup recovery, to do anything... Discussion in 'Windows 10 Gaming' started by Arjun Sharma5, Jul 2, 2025 at 6:17 AM.

  1. ARJUN SHARMA5
    Arjun Sharma5 Win User

    Windows 11 starts but OS hard drive inaccessible, maybe a Bitlocker issue?


    Having a very strange issue on my 3 month old laptop. It was fine yesterday, didn't do anything new. Today it boots to startup recovery, to do anything I have to enter my Bitlocker key which I've done around 30 times now. Somehow, I managed to get to Windows. However, the C drive the OS drive and the only hard drive attached to the computer says it is inaccessible - access is denied. A few files also failed to launch on startup. I've tried chkdsk, no failures. Going through recovery to cmd, the computer sees the C drive and is able to access the files, so I don't think it's a hard drive fa

    :)
     
    Arjun Sharma5, Jul 2, 2025 at 6:17 AM
    #1
  2. LITTLE CAT
    little cat Win User
    little cat, Jul 2, 2025 at 6:22 AM
    #2
  3. ASWIN_ANAND
    Aswin_Anand Win User
    BitLocker Encrypted Hard Drive to MAC

    Hi,



    Thank you for posting your query in Microsoft Community. I regret the inconvenience caused to you. Let me help you.



    I suggest you to perform below mentioned steps to disable BitLocker.

    To disable BitLocker I would suggest you try the following steps and see if it helps.


    • Press Windows key + X and click on
      Control Panel.

    • Change View by from Category
      to Large Icons/Small Icons.

    • Click on BitLocker Drive Encryption and click on
      Turn BitLocker Off.

    • Follow on screen instructions. Click on Decrypt the Drive
      when the message appears.
    I would suggest you click on the link below and refer the following article.

    Scenario 12: Turning Off BitLocker Drive Encryption (Windows 7)

    Scenario 12: Turning Off BitLocker Drive Encryption (Windows 7)

    (You can refer the steps in the above link as they are applicable for Windows 10 as well)



    Check if it helps.



    I hope the information helps. Please keep us posted on the issue. We will be happy to assist you accordingly.

    Thank you.
     
    Aswin_Anand, Jul 2, 2025 at 6:22 AM
    #3
  4. DIGITALSCHISM
    DigitalSchism Win User

    Windows 11 starts but OS hard drive inaccessible, maybe a Bitlocker issue?

    Bitlocker doesn't recognize external hard drive

    I am running Windows 10 pro and when I go into the policies they are listed as not configured. The hard drive is a Toshiba Canvio Basics 2 TB USB 3.0 Hard Drive. I successfully used bitlocker on my internal hard drive 2 years ago so maybe the external
    drive is the issue?
     
    DigitalSchism, Jul 2, 2025 at 6:22 AM
    #4
Thema:

Windows 11 starts but OS hard drive inaccessible, maybe a Bitlocker issue?

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