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Last week, a small business partner asked me whether the hard disk of their computer was encrypted using Bitlocker, and what they should do if they forgot their password. Honestly, relying on someone like me to provide tips for breaking such a high-level encryption isn’t realistic. It’s also odd that the disk is encrypted with Bitlocker without them realizing it. To prevent potential data disasters, let's discuss Bitlocker in more detail.
In short, enabling the Bitlocker tool that comes with the system still has certain limitations. For instance, on modern laptops or desktops equipped with UEFI, you can simply right-click the partition, select Bitlocker, and follow the instructions step-by-step.
A few years ago, however, it was much harder to use Bitlocker on computers running older Legacy boot methods or lacking new TPM security chips. These processes were quite complex. If you're following the prompts while encrypting your disk and wish to avoid third-party software, here’s what you need to consider.
To check if your computer has a TPM chip, look into your BIOS settings to see if there's an option available. If not, press Win+R, type "gpedit.msc," and navigate to "Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > BitLocker Drive Encryption > Operating System Drives."
From there, select "Require additional authentication at startup," then enable "Allow BitLocker without a compatible TPM."
If your computer does have a TPM chip but you prefer not to rely on it for automatic decryption, you can change "Configure TPM startup" to "Do not allow TPM," keeping the rest of the settings as default.
For enhanced BitLocker encryption security, head to "Administrative Templates > Windows Components > BitLocker Drive Encryption" and select "Choose drive encryption method and cipher strength." Depending on your system version, choose accordingly. While opting for "AES 256-bit" is generally unbreakable, keep in mind that it takes longer to encrypt.
Finally, the system will prompt you to either use a USB drive to decrypt or enter a password. It's highly recommended to create a strong password rather than using a USB drive, which could get lost, damaged, or misplaced.
Make sure to back up the recovery key to your Microsoft account so that even if you forget your password, you can retrieve the decryption key from the Microsoft website. This has saved my own data multiple times (and I’ve always stressed the importance of having a Microsoft account).
Lastly, if you plan to reinstall the operating system or format your data, remember to disable Bitlocker encryption first. Otherwise, you might run into unexpected issues. Don't say I didn’t warn you!
By the way, if you ever need to recover files from a Bitlocker-encrypted drive without the password, professional data recovery services are your best bet.