Factory Reset a Computer With Bitlocker (No Recovery Key)

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Factory Reset a Computer With Bitlocker (No Recovery Key)

Anonymous

I am trying to factory reset a computer that has a drive encrypted by Bitlocker and running Windows 11. I have no way to recover the key, so my goal is only to perform a clean install of Windows. If I try running Diskpart clean, the hard drive will no longer appear in diskpart list and cannot be detected by the installation media, however the BIOS is still able to recognize it. The computer will show "no boot device detected" after powering on.

I've seen some mention of using delete partition override in other posts, but I'm unsure which partition I should be running this command on. Should this be used on the System partition or the Primary partition? One attempt at using this command on Primary allowed me to perform a new installation, but the laptop's touchpad and speakers became non-functional even after fully updating Windows/drivers.

So, what is the proper way to do this without damaging the system? Can someone explain why diskpart clean makes the hard drive unrecognizable, and why my second attempt damaged the touchpad/audio functionality?

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6 answers

Answer 1

Hello, how are you?

In this case, as there is no access to the BitLocker key, the only option really is to perform a clean installation of Windows 11 on your disk.

Diskpart should not cause this problem, but clean it completely to receive a new install, did you execute it exactly according to the sequence below?

Start Windows installation via USB;
Proceed with the installation until you reach the screen where you will select the disk for installation;
On this screen press Shift+F10 to open the Command Prompt;
Enter the commands below:

diskpart [Enter]

list disk [Enter]

select disk 0 Enter

clean [Enter]

create partition primary [Enter]

exit [Enter]

Close the command prompt and go back to the installation;
Click the update button and the newly created partition will appear, select it and proceed with the installation.

It is worth noting, that after the clean install, not all drivers are recognized and reinstalled, so the touchpad and audio were not working.

After finishing it, you need to access the manufacturer's website, and search for the drivers through your computer's serial number, so when you download them and install them, all devices should work correctly.

Answer 2

Anonymous

I have the exact same issue. BitLocker wants a key. Booted up via a media creation tool USB image and list disk only shows the USB drive. Are there any other work arounds not needing the removing of the NVME from the laptop?

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Answer 3

No, if I just clean the disk and go back to the installation screen, the disk disappears entirely. It cannot be seen with list disk or through the installation media and effectively renders the hard drive unusable. At this point, the drive can ONLY be seen when running a disk check in BIOS

Answer 4

Anonymous

In this case, it will not list the disk volumes, as they are deleted by the command, but list disk should show the disk normally.

If you just clean the disk and go back to the installation screen is it possible to create a partition to follow the installation?

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Answer 5

Anonymous

This is really strange, how did you manage to finish the installation as mentioned earlier?

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Factory Reset a Computer With Bitlocker (No Recovery Key)

6 answers