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I enabled BitLocker recently on both my C: and D: drives, both internal. D is my data drive, with only some very large apps on it, so it shouldn’t be needed for the system to work. I have my two recovery keys, so the data isn’t at stake.

  • Originally, I enabled autounlock on D:, and the system was able to boot, with the drive unlocked.

  • But today, I tried to disable autounlock on D, and when I tried to reboot, Windows wouldn’t start. The automatic recovery starts, and I end up on the recovery page, where I can open cmd or restart in safe mode.

  • From there, I tried to enable autounlock with manage-bde -autounlock -enable D: but that obviously didn’t work as it’s not the "right" system that ran the command.

  • Booting in safe mode didn’t work either, it just brought me back to the recovery options page.

  • Then, I booted in HBCDPE, and from there I’m able to unlock my two drives with their recovery key, but I can’t edit their BitLocker settings, and I’m not sure if I can edit the registry (regedit opens the PE’s registry, not the one on C).

Any ideas on how to get back to a bootable state?

UPDATE : What I tried after posting, none of it worked :

  • physically removing my D drive and rebooting

  • Running the automatic system repair tool, it failed and the log file says nothing

  • Running sfc and dism on my C drive. Both succeeded without errors, but the system still doesn’t boot

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  • Maybe suspending the BitLocker protection could work? Not sure how to accomplish that though.
    – Daniel B
    Feb 11, 2023 at 11:51
  • Would that even persist through a restart though ?
    – Léonito
    Feb 11, 2023 at 12:23
  • Yes; It would..
    – Ramhound
    Feb 11, 2023 at 12:38
  • Well in any case I don't know how to do that so...
    – Léonito
    Feb 11, 2023 at 17:36

2 Answers 2

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A drastic procedure, if nothing else works: reinstall Windows completely without encryption.

  • First, make disk images of both drives, lest there be further issues. You can boot from Linux on USB and use dd, or create a rescue USB with a tool such as Macrium Reflect Free. Since this image might still be encrypted, check if you can access files and folders.

  • Second, if you cannot access everything in the image, copy all files and folders from the original disks.

  • Third, make a Windows 11 ISO installation USB using the Microsoft media creation tool.

    • Try reinstalling Windows, keeping files.
    • If that fails, try reinstalling Windows, starting anew.
    • Finally, if encryption prevents the above two, you may need to wipe drives and then install Windows.

N.B. One of the most common issues at SuperUser is inability to access an encrypted drive. If you feel you must encrypt an entire drive, make an image (which can be encrypted) of the drive before encrypting the whole drive. Another alternative is to store sensitive data in an encrypted folder. You seem to at least have access to your files, and are currently far better off than many users.

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  • Reinstalling should not be necessary. If all else fails, OP could simply decrypt from Windows Recovery.
    – Daniel B
    Feb 12, 2023 at 9:04
  • @DanielB, that was suggested, to access data... but OP wishes to make the encrypted disk bootable, and has stated, " but I can’t edit their BitLocker settings." If encryption settings cannot be changed from RE, then reinstallation might be needed. Feb 12, 2023 at 19:00
  • By decrypting I was referring to in-place removal of BitLocker encryption. The drive could then easily be encrypted again later.
    – Daniel B
    Feb 12, 2023 at 19:02
  • @DanielB, then please make that an answer: given what OP states, ex[plain, step-by-step, how does one remove BitLocker encryption? Feb 12, 2023 at 19:18
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After reading more info on how exactly autounlock stores the key in the registry, I figured it would be nearly impossible to enable it "manually".

Fortunately, I had full backups of my C drive, and I was able to restore my system without having to reinstall windows completely.

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