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I have forgotten my password to my external hard drive. How can I override it to get it working again?

Anonymous
2013-05-28T19:05:40+00:00

Hi:

My desktop died recently but I had alot of important stuff backed up on an external hard drive.  I protected the info with a bitlocker password.  I have attached it to my temporary replacement, a laptop but I have forgotten my password.  How can I get back into the external so I can recover some data I need?

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

BGrey826

Windows for home | Other | Security and privacy

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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  1. Anonymous
    2013-05-29T11:00:51+00:00

    Hi Bill,

    BitLocker is designed to make the encrypted drive unrecoverable without the required authentication. When in recovery mode, the user needs the recovery password or recovery key to unlock the encrypted drive. Therefore, we highly recommend that you store the recovery information in AD DS or in another safe location.

    To check what all recovery options are there, I would suggest you to refer to the steps under the section "Recovery options".

    Learn more about BitLocker Drive Encryption

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

    Refer to the link for additional information.

    BitLocker Drive Encryption in Windows 7: Frequently Asked Questions

    http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee449438(WS.10).aspx#BKMK_RecoveryPass

    Hope this information helps. Reply to the post with updated status of the issue to assist you further.

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  1. Anonymous
    2017-11-13T20:11:46+00:00

    Tried these (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4026181/windows-find-my-bitlocker-recovery-key)

    If they don't work you'll have to format the drive.

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-11-13T19:41:30+00:00

    Hello

    I've forgotten the password for a Bitlocker-locked external hard drive connected to my Windows 10 computer.

    I don't have the 48-digit recovery key, but under "More Options," this appears: "Key id: 0877F36E"

    Is there any way that this key ID can be used to recover the password or the 48-digit recovery key?

    Many thanks for your help,

    Robert John Bennett

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  3. Anonymous
    2017-11-09T15:57:44+00:00

    I have the key ID C8B7FE5A & NO IDEA WHAT I MIGHT HAVE USED AS THE PASSWORD .

    Can I simple somehow erase the thumb drive using the Id above?

    Or is the thumb drive simply trash?

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  4. Anonymous
    2013-05-29T11:59:35+00:00

    The person who encrypted the external disk wanted to prevent anyone from reading the contents of this disk unless he had the correct key or password. With BitLocker he chose a crack-proof method. You now need to discuss the matter with this person.

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