Unknown Bitlocker key FIXED

grumpycrab

A neighbour's dell is blue screening because of a duff dell driver (dellinstrumentation.sys).  
I cannot uninstall it in NORMAL mode and I cannot get into SAFE mode because W10Pro requires a Bitlocker Key.

I'm not at all familiar with Bitlocker.  Can I clean install W10Pro or will Bitlocker thwart me?

Neil_Jones

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/how-to-reinstall-windows-10-in-bitlocker-encrypted/43979bba-a680-4f11-b397-7d08bcb2cbc5

In theory you should be able to clean install.  You'll just have to remember to remove all the partitions.

But that being said, are you saying you are only being asked for a Bitlocker key in Safe Mode and not when you lad up normal mode?  That shouldn't be happening, Safe Mode is the same version of Windows in normal mode only with the essentials.

grumpycrab

Neil_Jones said:

In theory you should be able to clean install.  You'll just have to remember to remove all the partitions.

Thanks - obvious when I think about it!

Neil_Jones said:

But that being said, are you saying you are only being asked for a Bitlocker key in Safe Mode and not when you lad up normal mode?  That shouldn't be happening.

Yes, only when trying to get into safe mode.

[Deleted User]

grumpycrab said:

A neighbour's dell is blue screening because of a duff dell driver (dellinstrumentation.sys).  
I cannot uninstall it in NORMAL mode and I cannot get into SAFE mode because W10Pro requires a Bitlocker Key.

I'm not at all familiar with Bitlocker.  Can I clean install W10Pro or will Bitlocker thwart me?

Can you get it to boot at all in normal mode before it bluescreens? If so you can get the bitlocker key.

The owner of the laptop should have a copy of the bitlocker key, they are vital really if you are going to encrypt a disk. They can be stored in the Microsoft account normally:

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

grumpycrab

Easy (I haven't used bitlocker before). Yes, I have about 1 minute before it blue screens, so goto Bitlocker Management and turn it off.  I panicked when it said decrypting because I thought it would crash without me knowing the key.... but I immediately rebooted to safe mode with no problem and removed the duff dell driver.