I never installed Bitlocker on my personal laptop, yet my computer has now been locked and is requiring Bitlocker key. What to do?

Question

When I installed Microsoft on my personal laptop I NEVER installed Bitlocker, never! Microsoft has now locked my computer via Bitlocker and is requiring the key. Please don’t offer a solution requiring the use of Microsoft, as it only exists on the laptop. Yes I have tried the various options offered on the Bitlocker site, yes I have powered down the laptop and then powered back on.

I don’t know how Bitlocker got on the laptop, but I would like it turned off and permanently removed. Please help!!

Answer 1

Hi,

I'm sorry to hear about the trouble you're experiencing with BitLocker.

Here are a few steps you can try to resolve this issue:

1. Check for the BitLocker Recovery Key:
   • Microsoft Account: If you have a Microsoft account, you might find the recovery key by logging into your account.
   • USB Drive: If you saved the recovery key to a USB drive, try locating it there.
   • Printout: Sometimes, the recovery key is printed out and stored in a safe place.
2. Use Command Prompt in Recovery Mode:
   • Restart your computer while holding the Shift key to access the Advanced Startup Options.
   • Navigate to Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Command Prompt.
   • Use the manage-bde command to unlock the drive. For example:

 manage-bde -unlock C: -RecoveryPassword YOUR-48-DIGIT-RECOVERY-KEY
 manage-bde -off C:

• This will attempt to unlock and then turn off BitLocker encryption [1].

1. Reinstall Windows:
   • If you cannot retrieve the recovery key, you might need to reinstall Windows. This will erase all data on the drive, so consider this as a last resort [3].

I hope this helps, and please let me know if you have any other questions or need further clarification.

References

[1] Unlock, Turn off BitLocker ENCRYPTED Drive WITHOUT a RECOVERY KEY in 1 Minute

[2] How to Unlock BitLocker Without Recovery Key or Password [3 Ways]

[3] How to unlock BitLocker without BitLocker key, I haven't backed up the ...