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Bitlocker Feature is missing and Drive not working

Uzaifrizmi 0 Reputation points
2026-05-03T18:27:26.25+00:00

I have using Bitlocker one of the drive for years. Recently when I turn on the PC, the Locked drive was shows nothing,
Screenshot_1

When I try to open the drive it's force me to Format disk. So checked in Disk Manager,

Screenshot_2

and I checked for any recoverable option in Bitlocker on the Control Panel, unfortunately It's missing from Control Panel,

Screenshot_3

And I try to open in Settings > System > About > Bitlocker Settings. When try to open it's crash the settings App.

I dig the internet, and I found this Conversation on here: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/4352264/missing-bitlocker

I tried the solution on Answer. I checked **msinfo32,

**Screenshot_4

I also checked Event Viewer, but don't have any events about Bitlocker or anything related Disk.

Also try to start the Bitlocker service and restart the Windows Explore, again, Service is stopping.

Before the last shutdown, I was attempting to disable and enable some of security features like, Virtualization-Based Security, Driver Signature Enforcement, KVA Shadow. But after this attempt, the drive was worked normally even after re-enabled everything. I remember I used this DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth after the restart this happened I think.

So help me to recover the data from the Drive, Let me know for more information, Thank you.

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Security and privacy
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  1. Uzaifrizmi 0 Reputation points
    2026-05-04T21:53:17.12+00:00

    First, thank you @nobuko c replied and tried to help. I really appreciate the suggestions and explanations about possible file system corruption, partition damage, hardware issues, and the importance of the BitLocker recovery key.

    I want to share what fixed the problem for me, because it may help someone else with the same issue.

    After running a cmd script that changed VBS, Device Guard, hypervisor, driver signature enforcement, and other Windows security/boot settings, BitLocker completely disappeared from Windows. It was not showing in Control Panel or normal Windows tools, and my encrypted drives were showing as RAW.

    At first I thought the encrypted drives were corrupted or damaged. But in my case, the drives themselves were not the problem. The issue seemed to be with the Windows installation or the BitLocker/security configuration inside Windows.

    What fixed it for me was reinstalling Windows.

    These are the steps I followed:

    1. I backed up my important data from the C: drive.
    2. I downloaded the official Windows installer from Microsoft.
    3. I created a bootable Windows USB.
    4. I reinstalled Windows on the system drive only.
    5. I made sure not to delete or format my encrypted data drives.
    6. After Windows was reinstalled, I installed updates/drivers.
    7. BitLocker appeared again in Windows.
    8. My encrypted drives were recognized normally again and were no longer showing as RAW.

    So in my case, reinstalling Windows restored the missing BitLocker/Windows security components and allowed the encrypted drives to work normally again.

    A few important notes for anyone with the same problem:

    • Do not format the drives that show as RAW if they contain BitLocker-encrypted data.
    • Do not run chkdsk or repair tools on the encrypted drives unless they are properly unlocked.
    • Make sure you have your BitLocker recovery key.
    • If the data is very important and you are unsure, professional data recovery may be safer.
    • Be careful with disable VBS, Device Guard, Credential Guard, Hypervisor, Driver Signature Enforcement, or modify boot settings, because they can affect BitLocker and Windows security behavior in unexpected ways.

    Thanks again @nobuko c Your reply helped me understand the possible causes and avoid making the problem worse.

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  2. nobuko c 123.7K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-05-05T07:47:43.5866667+00:00

    Thank you, Uzaifrizmi, for sharing your detailed experience.

    From a technical perspective, everything you described makes perfect sense.

    Considering the various conditions of your system, my recommendation was to contact a professional data recovery service, but I’m glad to hear that you were able to recover your data after reinstalling Windows.

    Thank you again for documenting your solution.

    Your post will be extremely valuable for others who encounter the same issue.

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  3. nobuko c 123.7K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-05-03T21:05:38.1233333+00:00

    Hello,

    From what I can see, several factors—possibly including compatibility issues—seem to have overlapped and caused the disk to stop being recognized correctly.

    First, the available features differ depending on the Windows 11 edition (Home / Pro), so if BitLocker was used, confirming the OS edition is important.

    In Windows 11 Pro, BitLocker settings normally appear in the Control Panel, but they were not visible in the screenshot.

    In the System Information window, the OS name and version were hidden, so the exact Windows 11 edition is unclear.

    There are also some entries in System Information that do not usually appear, and in File Explorer not only the G drive but also the D drive shows abnormal behavior.

    This suggests the possibility of file system corruption, partition table damage, or even hardware‑related issues such as disk degradation or a failing SATA cable/connector.

    When a drive appears as RAW, the cause may be logical corruption, but it can also indicate physical drive failure.

    If the G drive contains important data, continuing to operate the system in its current state may worsen the situation.

    If you have the BitLocker recovery key, the safest and most reliable option is to consult a professional data recovery service.

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  4. AI answer

    2026-05-03T18:27:49.92+00:00

    The screenshots show that the BitLocker‑protected data drive now appears as RAW and Windows is prompting to format it. This indicates corruption of the BitLocker volume or file system. Formatting would destroy the encrypted data, so it must be avoided if recovery is required.

    From the available guidance, recovery options for a corrupted BitLocker drive are:

    1. Use a BitLocker recovery method (if the volume can still be recognized as BitLocker):
      • Recovery password (48‑digit key).
      • Recovery key file (.bek) stored on a USB drive.
      • Data Recovery Agent (if configured in an organization).
      • Key package together with the recovery password or recovery key.
      These are the standard BitLocker recovery options and are required to unlock or decrypt the drive when normal access fails.
    2. If the drive is severely damaged and normal recovery methods do not unlock it, use the BitLocker Repair tool (repair-bde.exe) together with a key package and the corresponding recovery password or recovery key to try to salvage data at block level. This tool is specifically intended for cases where the drive is corrupted or appears as RAW.
    3. If the environment uses Microsoft BitLocker Administration and Monitoring (MBAM), a key package for the corrupted drive can be created from the MBAM Administration and Monitoring website (Drive Recovery area). That key package is then copied to the affected computer and used with repair-bde to attempt recovery.

    Important limitations and considerations from the documentation:

    • repair-bde cannot repair a drive that failed during the original encryption or decryption process and assumes that any encrypted drive is fully encrypted.
    • A key package cannot be used without the corresponding recovery password or recovery key.
    • If no BitLocker recovery information (recovery password, recovery key, key package, or DRA) is available for the drive, there is no supported way to decrypt or recover the BitLocker‑protected data. In that case, the only supported option is to delete/format the partition and reuse the disk, which results in loss of the encrypted data.

    Given the symptoms (RAW file system, BitLocker UI missing or crashing), the practical recovery path is:

    1. Locate any BitLocker recovery information for this specific drive (48‑digit recovery password, .bek file, or MBAM/AD DS‑stored key and key package, if the device was domain‑joined).
    2. If available but the drive cannot be unlocked normally, use repair-bde with the key package and recovery password/recovery key to attempt to salvage data to another drive.
    3. If no valid BitLocker recovery information exists for this drive, the encrypted data cannot be recovered and the partition must eventually be deleted or formatted to reuse the space.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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