Hard locked using bitlocker

Question

Hello,

I bought my laptop (Dell G5) 3 years ago with 1 SSD drive and 1 HDD drive

From 2 weeks ago, I decided to replace my HDD drive with another one SSD drive and put the HDD in a rack to be used as an external hard disk

But when I tried to use this external disk on another computer I saw it locked and asking for the bitlocker key (although I didn't start any bitlocker encryption on my disk)

1. I searched on the internet and found that the bitlocker encryption can start automatically if my device meets certain conditions and in this case I should find my bitlocker keys on my Microsoft account using this LINK but unfortunately I found it empty (please check the below screenshot)

Question:

Where should I find my encryption keys?

2. As a solution, I decided to unlock the disk from my dell machine so that it can be accessible from any other machine, so I tried to decrypt the hard disk by typing the below command on the cmd of my dell machine "manage-bde -off D:" , the decryption started successfully but after 1 min the hard disk has been unplugged from the machine by mistake and when I tried to open the disk I got this message

And the disk is no longer accessed even by the decryption command on my dell machine

Question:

How can I recover my data?

Answer 1

Hi Hadiir. I'm Greg, 10 years awarded Windows MVP, specializing in Installation, Performance, Troubleshooting and Activation, here to help you.

If you interrupted decryption then it may not be recoverable. You can only try to start it over again to see.

I would contact Dell. They are responsible for pre-enabling Bitlocker at factory and then not notifying customers properly. There is more information about this here:

If Bitlocker is enabled on your hard drive this may have been done at the factory, which the manufacturer's Support should tell you and provide what you need to know. Here is Dell's explanation about doing this:

https://www.dell.com/community/XPS/XPS-13-9360-...

https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000124...

If done since then it should always store the Recovery key that unlocks it in your MS Account.

I would first contact Dell Support to ask them how you can obtain the key for Bitlocker they preinstalled at Factory: https://www.dell.com/support/incidents-online/u...

See here how to find the Recovery key for Bitlocker:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/402618...

Try removing or turning off Bitlocker by one of these methods:

https://www.repairwin.com/how-to-remove-bitlock...

https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/37060-turn-...

https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/36701-turn-...

Manual for managing Bitlocker:

https://www.windowscentral.com/how-use-bitlocke...

If you cannot find the key or turn off Bitlocker then you'll need to try to recover your data by one of the methods shown here:

https://www.howtogeek.com/263561/how-to-recover...

http://woshub.com/data-recovery-on-a-damaged-ha...

A few have tried this method successfully to Rescue files using bootable media so WIndows isn't running and has no say:

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wiki...

If nothing else works then wipe the drive to reinstall WIndows as shown here:

https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/85819-erase...

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wiki...

Due to number of similar cases with files lost I would have a secondary backup just in case. You can periodically drag my User folders to external USB which you keep unplugged to protect against ransomware. Then I would also have a method using the cloud which is fire-, ransomware- and theft-proof:

You can drag 5gb for free into OneDrive app to store in the cloud or backup your Documents, Pictures and/or Desktop to capture real time changes using OneDrive Backup here: https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/116029-turn...

If you install Google Drive Desktop, you can use their new Backup to choose User folders (Documents, Pictures, etc.) to sync up to 15g for free to their cloud: https://support.google.com/drive/answer/1083812...

If you want to report this to Microsoft use the Feedback Hub app in Start Menu where developers are tasked to process consumer feedback. They will not even see it here. This is a tech forums staffed mostly by volunteers trying to help others with your problems.

If you want to post back a Share link from your Feedback here others who see this thread can vote it up and add to it.

I hope this helps. Feel free to ask back any questions and keep me posted. I will keep working with you until it's resolved.

______________________________________________

Standard Disclaimer: There are links to non-Microsoft websites. The pages appear to be providing accurate, safe information. Watch out for ads on the sites that may advertise products frequently classified as a PUP (Potentially Unwanted Products). Thoroughly research any product advertised on the sites before you decide to download and install it.