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Smittydk-1585 avatar image
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Smittydk-1585 asked Hebert-Seven commented

Bitlocker recovery help request

New to this forum but hoping someone can help with a bit locker issue on my daughter's computer. Here are the pertinent details:

  • Computer was being used when it suddenly rebooted

  • Reboot initiated auto-repair loop

  • Computer is asking for Bit Locker recovery key but BL was not set up by my daughter (appears to be activated by default)

  • No MS account with recovery key

  • I have been able to get to the CMD prompt

  • Using mange-bde -protectors C: -get commands I've been able to identify a numerical password but not the 48 digit recovery key

  • My daughter recently graduated (May '20) with a doctorate in PT and her licensure files are on this computer (aka critical)

  • I've spoken to MS and Lenovo but have not received much help

Question: Is there a way to recover the c: drive via cmd prompt using Recovery Key ID or numerical password? Hoping someone can provide some step-by-step direction as to how to recover the data OR point me to a company for support.

Thanks in advance for your help.

windows-10-security
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Where does it ask for the recovery key?
Is it during the startup?
Does the key stored in the TPM?
Do you have a access to Windows installer file?

0 Votes 0 ·

Hi Reza...yes, it asks for it in the repair loop after it says it can't repair. I can see a TPM ID that is alphanumeric when I use the manage-bde -get command. What is interesting is the recovery key does NOT show up using the -get command. There is a TPM ID and a numerical password. I just don't know how to proceed further to try to unlock the drive so any help you can provide would be great. Thanks for replying.

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Hebert-Seven avatar image
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Hebert-Seven answered Smittydk-1585 commented

Hi @Smittydk-1585

Did You tried the Unlock-BitLocker cmdlet?

The Unlock-BitLocker cmdlet restores access to encrypted data on a volume that uses BitLocker Drive Encryption. In order to restore access, you need to provide one of the following key protectors for the volume:

Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) account
Password
Recovery key
Recovery password

How to restores access to data on a BitLocker volume see the link

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/bitlocker/unlock-bitlocker?view=win10-ps



Another way

Step 1: Open the Powershell Administrative mode and excute the folllowing comands:

PS C:\>$BLV = Get-BitLockerVolume
PS C:\>Disable-BitLocker -MountPoint $BLV

Step 2: See the decryption process

Execute the command:

PS C:\> Get-BitlockerVolume

Check the progress of the decryption in "Volume status" and "Percentage of encryption". These values must be "FullyDecrypted".


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Hi Hebert - Is there a way to launch Powershell from the cmd prompt? I can only access the X: drive and Powershell is not recognized from the cmd prompt. There is a Powershell v1.0 directory. There are no .exe files in that directory.

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MicoMi-MSFT avatar image
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MicoMi-MSFT answered MicoMi-MSFT commented

Hi,

Is there a way to launch Powershell from the cmd prompt?

Can you lauch Powershell by typing start powershell in cmd?

BitLocker can only be decrypted by recovery password or recovery key. There is no other way.
58951-image.png
Please remember if you have used office, outlook, Xbox games or any Microsoft product. If so, you will have a Microsoft account. And then you need to try every account to find the recovery key.
Generally, the BitLocker will start only with an account, so please remember your account carefully.
If you cannot find it, the chance of recovering data seems very slim.

Thanks for your time!
Best Regards,
Mico Mi

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Hi Mico - thanks for your reply. When I use the manage-bde command I am able to retrieve the protectors from the C: drive. It shows me a numerical password ID and a TPM ID. Can either of these be used to retrieve or identify the recovery key? They are each 32 digit alphanumeric identifiers.

Also, since I am able to access the cmd prompt from the X: drive (or external drive if helpful), is there a way to prevent the bitlocker request that way?

Again, many thanks for your help.

0 Votes 0 ·

Hi,
We cannot find the recovery key by any cmd, it is due to security concern.
As the doc states:
59431-image.png

You need to remember your MS account and Sign in to your MS account on another device to find your recovery key.

If you are unable to locate a required BitLocker recovery key, you’ll need to reset your device using one of the Windows 10 recovery options. Resetting your device will remove all of your files.

Best regards,
Mico Mi
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Hebert-Seven avatar image
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Hebert-Seven answered Hebert-Seven commented

Hi @Smittydk-1585

You said your daughter did a doctorate in Portugal. Did she use any email from microsoft or Office 365? Maybe the microsoft account used was her doctorate account. Many companies store bitlocker keys in corporate or educational e-mails

I will show you how to display bitlocker keys for personal computers that have connected to Microsoft 365 accounts.

1 Step
Login to your e-mail account used for the doctorate.

2 Step
In the upper right corner of the screen, click as shown below
![59528-image.png][2]
View account


3 Step
In the left menu, click on "devices"

4 Step
Select the device and click on display Bitlocker keys
59537-image.png


5 Step
Choose the key based on the initial part of the ID
59529-image.png

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[2]: /answers/storage/attachments/59527-image.png


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Hi @Hebert-Seven
Thank you for this! You saved my live! Thanks a lot!
I searched for every answer and yours is the most helpful one. Thankfully, I always log in to every device I use. After reading your answer, I eventually opened my MS account and found the recovery key. Once again, thank you!

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Hi @coidman-6093

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