Getting rid of Bit Locker pop up

[Deleted User]

JohnB47 said:

OK some more info.

This problem hasn't occurred again but I've just logged into my wife's Microsoft account and managed to find that Bitlocker is indeed turned on, on the C drive. We've no idea how that got set up.

I now have the recovery key copied and safely stored.

So, the next time she gets asked for it, presumably she can copy and paste that key and it will get rid of the problem?

One question - presumably at the point she is asked for the key, she wouldn't be able to open a document and copy the key for pasting in. So she would have to refer to a written copy of it? If so, does she enter the dashes between each group of 5 characters, or leave the dashes out?

But why is it asking her for it - and only occasionally?

Thanks for the help.

Some laptops have it turned on by default from new, I've only come across it this year with a new laptop I bought for my brother. I do think it is a good thing, having everything encrypted is an extra security measure in case of theft, but does depend on what you store on the laptop. I have sensitive financial information, photos and passwords so I definitely do want mine encrypted.

Yes, keep the recovery key off the laptop, printed or on another machine. The online Microsoft account should also have a copy on this link:

https://account.microsoft.com/devices/recoverykey

And of course yes, won't be able to access a copy on the machine. Dashes are auto filled if I remember rightly so no need to input them.

I'm going to ask some IT bods at work tomorrow about why it is randomly asking for it, the only time I get asked for my recovery key is when I update laptop firmware.

JohnB47

Thank you.

Another silly question - on the page showing the recovery key, there's a little tick box which is ticked and has 'On' beside it. If we decide that bitlocker is not needed, can I simply untick that box and we'll never be asked for the key again?

Presumably we can also turn it on again if we think it's needed (e.g. if the laptop is ever used to store sensitive information and/or it is taken out of the house)?

Thanks again.

[Deleted User]

JohnB47 said:

Thank you.

Another silly question - on the page showing the recovery key, there's a little tick box which is ticked and has 'On' beside it. If we decide that bitlocker is not needed, can I simply untick that box and we'll never be asked for the key again?

Presumably we can also turn it on again if we think it's needed (e.g. if the laptop is ever used to store sensitive information and/or it is taken out of the house)?

Thanks again.

Yes, you can turn it back on whenever you want. The on/off process takes a while as it encrypts / decrypts the drive so leave it switch on a plugged in during the process but you can carry on using it.

Not sure about the tick box but it is easy enough to turn off Bitlocker. Search for Bitlocker in settings or right click on the Bitlockered drive and select Manage Bitlocker and the following screen will come up:

Just click on "Turn off BitLocker"

It will take a while to unencrypt the drive depending on how much data and whether it is a full or partial encryption - could be an hour.

JohnB47

Super, thanks.

EDIT: sorry, one more question, then I'm done.

Rather than wait until the laptop asks my wife for the key, which may be inconvenient (eg just before a Zoom meeting), is there a way to force it to ask her for the key?

If that could be done, I could go through the process of entering the key for her.

Cheers.

[Deleted User]

JohnB47 said:

Super, thanks.

EDIT: sorry, one more question, then I'm done.

Rather than wait until the laptop asks my wife for the key, which may be inconvenient (eg just before a Zoom meeting), is there a way to force it to ask her for the key?

If that could be done, I could go through the process of entering the key for her.

Cheers.

Not really, this is actually the crux of your problem, the fact that it is asking for it randomly which is not normal.

Ordinarily it would only ask for it when a firmware or significant Windows update has been applied in my experience. That key is stored in the hardware (TPM chip) on the laptop so should never need to be provided by the user unless the Windows boot manager detect a significant change at boot time.

I've never come across a PC that needs the Bitlocker key when coming out of standby.

If the geeky guys with beards and/or pony tails at work know anything I'll pop back tomorrow.

pbartlett

it may be that you don't need bitlocker unless you feel an overwhelming need for your c-drive to be encrypted.

If so, turn it off.

JohnB47

[Deleted User] said:

JohnB47 said:

Super, thanks.

EDIT: sorry, one more question, then I'm done.

Rather than wait until the laptop asks my wife for the key, which may be inconvenient (eg just before a Zoom meeting), is there a way to force it to ask her for the key?

If that could be done, I could go through the process of entering the key for her.

Cheers.

Not really, this is actually the crux of your problem, the fact that it is asking for it randomly which is not normal.

Ordinarily it would only ask for it when a firmware or significant Windows update has been applied in my experience. That key is stored in the hardware (TPM chip) on the laptop so should never need to be provided by the user unless the Windows boot manager detect a significant change at boot time.

I've never come across a PC that needs the Bitlocker key when coming out of standby.

If the geeky guys with beards and/or pony tails at work know anything I'll pop back tomorrow.

OK, thanks.

JohnB47

Just thought I'd report back.

My wife told me yesterday that she'd just got the bitlocker request to enter the code. Then told me that it had happened a few days ago and she'd entered the code then and forgot to tell me. So now it was asking for it again.

By the time I got to her laptop, the screen had gone blank and the machine was switched on but completely unresponsive, so we had to hold down power button for 10 seconds and restart - all normal after that.

Actually she told me that her entering the code a few days ago resulted in the same thing - still having to do a power off and on, so entering the code did nothing useful.

I used file explorer to look at the drives - the C: drive had an unlocked padlock symbol. Right clicking on the drive didn't show any option to 'Manage Bitlocker'.

I went to Settings and searched for Bitlocker and found a way to turn it off there. It took a minute or two to decrypt the drive - there was a progress bar slowly filling up as it did this.

Let's see how that goes.

Any thoughts why this is happening? The laptop is still in warranty. Should we contact the ASUS support people?

pbartlett

I bought  new Dell laptop a couple of days ago and the c-drive was encrypted with bitlocker. I haven't bought a new PC for a while, and this is the first time I have seen this. Maybe it is standard now?

Anyway, as you say, I went to settings / system and turned off bitlocker. It decrypted itself and now is un-encrypted.

outofworksch

We have bitlocker on our dell windows 10 home laptop so think it may be down to manufacture if it’s loaded or not. 

For some updates on our machine, bitlocker will automatically be suspended, could that be part of the problem

see this article from ASus support page

https://www.asus.com/UK/support/FAQ/1034920