Deactivate BitLocker To Go encryption (2024)

FAQs

Deactivate BitLocker To Go encryption? ›

Press Windows Start button. Type bitlocker. Click Manage BitLocker to enter the BitLocker Drive Encryption menu. Select Turn off BitLocker to proceed with decryption.

Press Windows Start button. Type bitlocker. Click Manage BitLocker to enter the BitLocker Drive Encryption menu. Select Turn off BitLocker to proceed with decryption.

To disable the requirement for USB drives to be BitLocker encrypted, you can check the registry key PreventDeviceEncryption. You can update the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\BitLocker registry key and set the value of PreventDeviceEncryption to False.

In the search box on the taskbar, type "Manage BitLocker" and then click it from the results. On the "BitLocker encrypted drive" window, select "Suspend Protection." Click "Yes" to confirm that you want to stop BitLocker decryption temporarily.

The BIOS key is usually either F2, F12, or Delete, but it may be different depending on your computer. Once you are in BIOS, navigate to the Security tab. Look for the BitLocker Drive Encryption option and select it. You will see a few options for disabling BitLocker.

The Disable-BitLocker cmdlet disables BitLocker Drive Encryption for a BitLocker volume. When you run this cmdlet, it removes all key protectors and begins decrypting the content of the volume. If the volume that hosts the operating system contains any automatic unlocking keys, the cmdlet does not proceed.

If you do not have the BitLocker password and recovery key, you need to format the encrypted drive to remove the encryption or turn to third-party tools, such as Passware Kit, Elcomsoft Forensic Disk Decryptor, or Elcomsoft Distributed Password Recovery.

it's now enabled automatically if certain hardware specs and conditions are met (even on 'home' editions): msa (recovery key goes there), uefi/secure boot, tpm2. 0, and modern standby support. You should actually leave it on just make sure you don't lose your recovery key.

Open Command Prompt as an administrator and type one of the following commands: manage-bde -unlock X: -Password or manage-bde -unlock X: -RecoveryPassword. Remember to replace the letter “X” with the drive letter of the BitLocker encrypted drive.

How to unlock BitLocker without password and recovery key? ›

If you don't have the BitLocker password and recovery key, you may need to format the drive to remove the encryption, or use the third-party tools, such as Passware Kit, Elcomsoft Forensic Disk Decryptor, and Elcomsoft Distributed Password Recovery. Where can I retrieve the BitLocker Recovery Key?

Unlocking Bitlocker from CMD

To try unlocking the drive using the Command Prompt, start by opening Command Prompt while logged into an administrator account. Type either "manage-bde-unlockX: -Password" or "manage-bde-unlockX: -RecoveryPassword."

6. Disabling BitLocker. NOTE: Decryption can take anywhere from 20 minutes to a couple of hours. The time depends on the amount of data that has been encrypted, the speed of the computer, and whether the process is interrupted.

If you just want to remove BitLocker encryption and don't care about the data on it, you can skip directly to Part 3 and remove BitLocker encryption by formatting the BitLocker drive. Download this tool, and you can one-click remove BitLocker from the hard drive even if you don't have the password and recovery key.

There is no way to bypass the BitLocker recovery key when you want to unlock a BitLocker encrypted drive without a password. However, you can reformat the drive to remove the encryption, which needs no password or recovery key.

To unlock their drives, users must open “This PC” (or “My Computer”, depending on the version of Windows), right-click on the encrypted drive icons with the locked yellow padlock icon, click "Unlock Drive" and provide the Password.

Whenever you connect a drive to your PC and it is detected in the boot list, BitLocker will ask for the recovery key. If you're not connecting any devices and it keeps asking for the recovery key, it is because the boot support for Preboot for TBT and USB-C/TBT is turned on by default.