Finding Bitlocker password

Question

purchased new computer, when plugging in my Seagate external drive it asks for a Bitlocker password. I've had this external for years on old computer and never recall entering a password since I dont need to use on old system. I tried https://aka.ms.myrecoverykey but it doesnt show any bitlocker info. how can i access my external drive

Answer 1

If your drive is encrypted with Bitlocker, the only place the Bitlocker Recovery key is automatically stored is on the associated Microsoft account on the link below, be sure to check any Microsoft account that may have been used on the PC and also any work or school account that may be linked to the PC.

https://account.microsoft.com/devices/recoverykey

Are you able to find the Bitlocker Recovery Key on any account that may have been used or linked to the laptop?

If not, do you have a safe backup of your files, or use a cloud service like OneDrive to sync your files online.

Answer 2

BitLocker on the external drive was enabled at some point (on the old PC or by its original setup), and Windows on the new PC is now correctly asking for the unlock method. To access the drive, a BitLocker recovery key or password is required; there is no way to bypass this.

Use these steps to try to locate the recovery key:

1. Note the Recovery Key ID
   • On the BitLocker prompt, note the first 8 digits of the recovery key ID. This helps match the correct key if multiple exist.
2. Check the Microsoft account
   • From another device, go to the BitLocker recovery page listed in the documentation: https://aka.ms/myrecoverykey.
   • Sign in with any Microsoft account that might have been used on the old computer.
   • Look for a key whose Key ID matches the first 8 digits shown on the BitLocker prompt and whose device/drive label matches the external drive.
3. Check work/school account (if ever used)
   • If the drive was ever used on a work/school-managed PC, the key might be in that organization’s account.
   • From another device, go to https://aka.ms/aadrecoverykey, sign in with the work/school account, select Devices, expand the device, and choose View BitLocker Keys. Match by Key ID.
4. Check other backup locations
   • Look for:
     • A printed BitLocker recovery key among important papers.
     • A text file with the key on a USB flash drive or other storage (open it on another device).

If none of these locations contain a matching recovery key and no password is remembered, the data on the drive cannot be decrypted. BitLocker is designed so that without the recovery key or password, the encrypted data cannot be accessed by anyone, including Microsoft Support.

The only remaining option in that case is to reformat the external drive to use it again, which will erase all data on it.

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References:

• BitLocker overview
• Find your BitLocker recovery key
• BitLocker recovery process
• Bitlocker recovery key not working - Microsoft Q&A
• Request for Assistance with BitLocker Recovery – Surface Pro 2 - Microsoft Q&A
• Surface Pro 3 blocked - Microsoft Q&A