M
Maria GR
I have a big problem. My work surface decided to encrypt my personal external drive as soon as I connected it for the first time. I have my last 6 years of files and information encrypted and I have no idea what the password is or where it is stored. I have a few questions, so I'll start writing down what I've tried and the questions I have.
When I go to bitlocker I can see my external drive under "bitlocker to go", and it shows up as locked. When I try to unlock, a popup shows up on the top-right and it says something like "load key from usb unit". The crazy part is that my work surface has just one USB port, where I have the external drive connected, so it's literally impossible that I saved the key in a USB unit.
That brings a couple of questions:
Looking for solutions online I found a few things. The first one I tried was to open the console as admin and write "manage-bde -protectors -get D:", because my encrypted external drive is D:. The following information showed up:
Volumen D: [Etiqueta desconocida]
Todos los protectores de clave
Clave externa:
Id.: {5216B160-9446-4117-A4FB-58EBB97BBA81}
Nombre de archivo de clave externa:
5216B160-9446-4117-A4FB-58EBB97BBA81.BEK
It's in Spanish, but I guess that format is standard enough. It gives me a reference to a file, where I can allegedly find the recovery key. I did a search on the surface, but that file wasn't found anywhere. So that's another question.
I also read that the password might be stored in my microsoft account, and that I could see the recovery key going into Sign in to your Microsoft account . I tried that, but I'm asked to log in and I have no clue what my user and password could be. I've tried with a hotmail account I own, but then I'm asked for a code that I should have been sent either to another email account or my mobile phone, but I never receive any code. So that's another question.
I also read something about AD. I went there but I have no idea what I'm looking for in that place.
I've also tried to contact Microsoft on the phone to no avail. And microsoft support in general doesn't look very helpful so far.
So, in summary, Microsoft decided to encrypt my personal external drive. They decided to store my password somewhere, and apparently that could be a few different places. So my last question is this.
I'd really appreciate any help. Thanks!
Continue reading...
When I go to bitlocker I can see my external drive under "bitlocker to go", and it shows up as locked. When I try to unlock, a popup shows up on the top-right and it says something like "load key from usb unit". The crazy part is that my work surface has just one USB port, where I have the external drive connected, so it's literally impossible that I saved the key in a USB unit.
That brings a couple of questions:
- How is it possible that bitlocker decided to encrypt my external drive without my consent or telling me anything about it?
- How is it possible that it asks for a USB unit when I can't connect the external drive and a USB unit at the same time?
Looking for solutions online I found a few things. The first one I tried was to open the console as admin and write "manage-bde -protectors -get D:", because my encrypted external drive is D:. The following information showed up:
Volumen D: [Etiqueta desconocida]
Todos los protectores de clave
Clave externa:
Id.: {5216B160-9446-4117-A4FB-58EBB97BBA81}
Nombre de archivo de clave externa:
5216B160-9446-4117-A4FB-58EBB97BBA81.BEK
It's in Spanish, but I guess that format is standard enough. It gives me a reference to a file, where I can allegedly find the recovery key. I did a search on the surface, but that file wasn't found anywhere. So that's another question.
- Where can I find the file 5216B160-9446-4117-A4FB-58EBB97BBA81.BEK?
I also read that the password might be stored in my microsoft account, and that I could see the recovery key going into Sign in to your Microsoft account . I tried that, but I'm asked to log in and I have no clue what my user and password could be. I've tried with a hotmail account I own, but then I'm asked for a code that I should have been sent either to another email account or my mobile phone, but I never receive any code. So that's another question.
- What's my microsoft account and how can I receive that code?
I also read something about AD. I went there but I have no idea what I'm looking for in that place.
I've also tried to contact Microsoft on the phone to no avail. And microsoft support in general doesn't look very helpful so far.
So, in summary, Microsoft decided to encrypt my personal external drive. They decided to store my password somewhere, and apparently that could be a few different places. So my last question is this.
- How can I decrypt the external drive following a list of steps that are not missleading or have multiple different branching options?
I'd really appreciate any help. Thanks!
Continue reading...