How to recover laptop from BitLocker

Question

Hello everyone,

A couple of days ago, BitLocker protection was automatically activated on my PC.

Since then, I have been trying to find the recovery key without success, and after searching for information, I have seen that in order to recover the device, a factory reset is required.

That is why I am contacting you, to ask for your assistance in recovering my device, even if it means losing the information I had on it.

At this point, I don't care about the information anymore, I just want to be able to use my laptop

Answer 1

Hi Federico, since you've confirmed that recovering your data is not a priority, the path forward is much simpler. We can perform a "clean" reinstallation of Windows, which will completely wipe the drive, including the BitLocker encryption, and give you a fresh start.

To do this, you'll need access to another computer and a USB drive (at least 8GB) to create installation media. Here's what to do:

On a working computer, visit the official Microsoft Windows download page and use the "Media Creation Tool" to download Windows and create a bootable USB drive.

Plug this USB drive into your locked laptop.

Start up the laptop and immediately press the key to enter the boot menu (this is often F12, F10, or ESC, depending on your manufacturer—you might see a brief message on screen indicating which key to press).

In the boot menu, select the USB drive to start from it.

The Windows setup will load. When you get to the installation type screen, choose "Custom: Install Windows only (advanced)."

You'll see a list of drives. Here, you can delete all the existing partitions until you have a single "Unallocated Space." This step erases everything, including the BitLocker encryption.

Select the unallocated space and click "Next" to let Windows install.

The installer will then set up a completely new Windows system. Your laptop will be like new, and you can set it up again from scratch.

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I hope this clear path forward helps you regain access to your device. If these instructions work for you, please let me know by hitting "Accept Answer"—it's always rewarding to know we've helped someone get back up and running. 😊