The title is the question.
I am now enctypting a 107 GB partition and it takes ages. I am dying to know what would happen if the encryption was stopped by, let's say, a thermal shutdown or if the power went off?
I'd rather not try it myself, so I am asking you. (I hope it did not happen to you!)

And, if this happens, how can I get it fixed?

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2 Answers

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I found this: BitLocker Drive Encryption in Windows 7: Frequently Asked Questions

According to Microsoft TechNet, you would be just fine.

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It would partially corrupt your disk, nothing less, nothing more. It's important to defer the process before shutting down/restarting, gracefully or otherwise, as otherwise quite literally half your disk will be encrypted, and half won't. That's not a good situation to recover from, especially since it will be likely encrypting on the fly whilst it encrypts the partition.

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Yes, I've figured that out. But any more specific effects? F.E. Will the OS boot? Can I use a recovery CD? – Vercas Dec 21 '10 at 18:09
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I've not tried it myself (for obvious reasons), but as far as I would imagine: the OS will not boot, a recovery CD will not help, you may be able to recover some data, but it would all be from the unencrypted part. – Matthieu Cartier Dec 21 '10 at 18:15
Good thing that I have an unencrypted partition. – Vercas Dec 21 '10 at 18:16
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