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Bitlocker started asking for my recovery key every time I started my laptop after a battery change. To avoid this I turned off bitlocker in the Control Panel and restarted my Laptop based on online advice. Now I can not find Bit locker at all in the Control Panel to turn it back on.
I am running Windows 11 Home.
If I try to find Bitlocker is says I do not have a compatible TPM. But it was working fine before I turned it off.
What do I do ?
Open PowerShell as administrator
Use this command to find the driver:
pnputil /enum-drivers | findstr "wdcsam"
Note the Published Name (something like oem12.inf)
Delete it using that name:
pnputil /delete-driver oem12.inf /uninstall /force
If you still can't delete it, you'll need to start Windows in safe mode to delete the file.
Used PowerShell and it just said 'Failed to delete driver package. The specified file is not an installed OEM INF'
Followed your instruction and started up in Windows safe mode and tried again.
Got the same message again - no change.
Also tried deleting it again in File Explorer (while in safe mode) and still getting message 'You require permission from SYSTEM to make changes to this file'
Nothing worked so far. Do you have any other suggestions ? Still can't turn on Device Encryption and still saying that the same driver wdcsam64_prewin8.sys is incompatible.
Since pnputil failed, try using Autoruns, a Microsoft tool that can find and remove this driver:
Download Autoruns from: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/autoruns
Extract and run as administrator
Click the (search) at the top
Search for wdcsam64
Right-click the entry found > Delete
Restart and try enabling Device Encryption again
Interesting, I just tried this, ran the application as administrator but it could not find the driver or anything by Western Digital for that matter. However I can find it in File Explorer
Could you right-click the file in File Explorer > Properties and share the exact full path where it's located?
"C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\wdcsam.inf_amd64_2efd3a3b82aeb664\wdcsam64_prewin8.sys"
Thank you.
Go to Settings > Apps > Installed apps
Look for anything related to Western Digital, such as:
WD Discovery
WD Drive Utilities
WD Security
WD SES Driver
If you find any of these, uninstall them.
Windows 11 Home does not have BitLocker, it has Device Encryption, which is why you can't find it in the Control Panel.
https://support.microsoft.com/windows/device-encryption-in-windows-cf7e2b6f-3e70-4882-9532-18633605b7df
To re-enable it:
Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Device Encryption
Toggle it back On
So how come before changing my battery then BitLocker was operating, and after changing the battery it was asking me for my Recovery key which I was inputting every time and it was starting up fine. I then accessed the BitLocker Control Panel and simply turned it off on the blue button on the screen and restarted the laptop. Throughout I've been using the same windows operating system and made no other changes. BitLocker then disappeared and I can't seem to turn it back on again. If what you are saying is correct then it would imply that I should not have had BitLocker before the battery change which was not the case.
Can you add any further clarification given these facts ?
Thankyou
You probably had Device Encryption on Windows Home, which uses BitLocker in the background. The full BitLocker feature itself is part of Windows Pro editions. After the battery change, TPM/BIOS settings likely changed, so Windows asked for the recovery key. When you turned it off, Windows may have decided your device no longer met the requirements, so the option disappeared.
As you can verify here, Microsoft says that Device Encryption “enables BitLocker encryption automatically” on supported Windows Home devices:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/device-encryption-in-windows-cf7e2b6f-3e70-4882-9532-18633605b7df
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Thankyou, I tried following the steps you suggested but it says I have an incompatible driver and can not turn it on. It says the incompatible driver is -
wdcsam64_prewin8.sys from Western Digital.
I don't recognise it and have tried to find it through device manager and simply searching for 'wdcsam64_prewin8.sys' in file explorer, but nothing comes up. My apps show nothing from Western Digital and no sign of this driver.
Any suggestions on what to do ?
Open Device Manager
Click View > Show hidden devices
Look for any Western Digital device with a warning
Right-click > Uninstall device
Tried that. Nothing from Western Digital. I eventually found the .sys file and tried to delete it. It won't allow. It just says I need permission from SYSTEM.
No idea what to do.
