BitLocker Drive Encryption
Applies To
Windows 10 Windows 11BitLocker Drive Encryption allows you to manually encrypt a specific drive or drives on a device running Windows Pro, Enterprise, or Education edition.
For devices managed by an organization, BitLocker Drive Encryption is usually managed by the IT department, as encryption might be required by organizational policies.
Tip: If you're an IT pro looking for more details, see the BitLocker recovery documentation.
This article describes how to manage BitLocker Drive Encryption using the Control Panel.
Access BitLocker Drive Encryption
Here are the steps to access BitLocker Drive Encryption:
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Sign in to Windows with an administrator account
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From Start , type BitLocker and select Manage BitLocker from the list of results
Note: BitLocker Drive Encryption is only available on devices running Windows Pro, Enterprise, or Education editions. It isn't available on Windows Home edition. If Manage BitLocker isn't listed, it means that you don't have the correct Windows edition.
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The BitLocker Drive Encryption applet lists all the drives connected to the Windows device:
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The Operating system drive is the drive on which Windows is installed
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Additional drives are listed under Fixed data drives
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Removable drives, like USB thumb drives, are listed under Removable data drives - BitLocker To Go
Manually encrypt a drive
To manually encrypt a drive:
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Open BitLocker Drive Encryption
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Next to each drive there's a list of allowed operations. To enable encryption, select the option Turn on BitLocker
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Select an unlock option and back up the recovery key
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The drive will begin the encryption process. This can take some time to complete, but you can continue to use your device while it progresses
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