History: We have a Dell Dimension 8300 desktop computer with Windows 7 Ultimate which initially had the C: drive encrypted with Bitlocker. There is no TPM on this model, so to enable the encryption we followed the steps for changing the local security policy to allow encryption without TPM and encrypted it with a USB key. The computer was brought into us giving only a black screen after the Dell POST screen. We were eventually able to get it to boot into Windows by connecting the drive to another Windows 7 Ultimate computer and decrypting it, which allowed us to use the startup repair tools from the Windows 7 disc to mark the OS partition as active and then repair the startup and boot into Windows again. Once it was booting, we found and removed a number of viral infections, which we suspect to be the cause of the original issues. All hardware has passed diagnostice tests, and we have no issues with general use on the computer. The Problem: When we attempt to re-encrypt the OS drive with bitlocker, we get through the process to the point where bitlocker needs to reboot the computer before commencing with the encryption - i.e. it has verified the system and created the encryption key, and we have created several copies of the backup key. We then reboot the computer and are returned to the original issue, we get the Dell POST screen, and then nothing, just black, no cursor, no mouse. We have left the computer in this state for 12+ hours with no change, and it will power down immediately on a single press of the power button. We can then boot it to the Windows 7 disc again, run the start up repair once and reboot it back into Windows with no problems, but with the OS drive still unencrypted. Any suggestions on how to re-encrypt the drive are welcome.J. Duke Rogers Communicore Technologies & Triangle Forensics

Hi, Have you inserted the USB startup key when you boot computer? If your computer was not manufactured with TPM version 1.2 or higher, you can create a BitLocker startup key using a USB flash drive to store the encryption keys and decryption keys. You will have to insert the flash drive each time you start the computer. Alex Zhao TechNet Subscriber Support in forum If you have any feedback on our support, please contact tnmff@microsoft.com.Alex Zhao TechNet Community Support

Yes, we insert the usb key upon enabling Bitlocker on the drive so that it can be setup as the key and leave it in the computer during the reboot. We have also tried removing it while the computer is powered off to see if we get the 'key not found' message on boot up, which we do not, just the same blank black screen. We have also tried using different usb keys in case the original was damaged in some way, but always get the same blank black screen.J. Duke Rogers Communicore Technologies & Triangle Forensics

Hi, From your description, just as a thought, please make sure that you set the first boot option as disk boot in BIOS. Alex Zhao TechNet Subscriber Support in forum If you have any feedback on our support, please contact tnmff@microsoft.com.Alex Zhao TechNet Community Support

Hi, I am just writing to check the status of this thread. Was the information provided in previous reply helpful to you? Do you have any further questions or concerns? Please feel free to let us know. Regards, Alex Zhao TechNet Subscriber Support in forum If you have any feedback on our support, please contact tnmff@microsoft.com.Alex Zhao TechNet Community Support

First boot option is set to the hard drive containing the OS, and was already set this way.J. Duke Rogers Communicore Technologies & Triangle Forensics

Hi, I would like to confirm the following information for further troubleshooting: 1. When you boot with installation disk, did you insert the USB key? Although Windows RE also contains the drivers and tools that are needed to unlock a BitLocker-protected drive, we still need a recovery key or recovery password. 2. Can you encrypt the other drives successfully? Sometimes, encrypt could failed with a fault drive, please try the chkdsk /r command to perform a check for your disk. Meanwhile, try to update the BIOS to the latest version. TechNet Subscriber Support in forum If you have any feedback on our support, please contact tnmff@microsoft.com.Alex Zhao TechNet Community Support

Hi, we have the same issue here with some Lenovo notebooks. Main problem was that our external monitor wasn´t able to show the Bitlocker informations. Maybe there is a hardware limitation on the display resolution? Don´t know, but on the build-in display shows all fine. You also could check if your PC supports booting from USB. Best regards A. Speerle

1 - when we boot with the installation disk, we have done so both with and without the usb key with the same results, the repair wizard finds our OS and we are able to perform the startup repair option on it. This seems to indicate that the drive never successfully encrypts. 2 - we have not attempted to encrypt any other drives on this machine since this issue began. We have run chkdsk /r on the drive in question, and while it did find and fix problems after the initial recovery on the drive that allowed to boot into windows again, all subsequent checks have found no problems. 3 - BIOS is already on the latest version.J. Duke Rogers Communicore Technologies & Triangle Forensics

Do you have SP1 installed? Does installing this hotfix make a difference? http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;975496 Take a look at the issues mentioned in: 923123 You cannot start a Windows Vista-based computer by using a BitLocker key that is stored on a USB device http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;923123 Sumesh P - Microsoft Online Community Support

Yes, SP1 is installed. I will take a look at the hotfix and the article. Thanks. edit - I have just reviewed both the article and the hotfix, and we have attempted all of the steps outlined in the article. As I have stated, prior to the viral infection that initially caused this issue, we had successfully encrypted this drive, using this USB key. We feel strongly that this is not an issue with the bios or the hardware itself. Additionally, when the encryption was functional, if you booted the PC without the USB Key connected, you received an error that the key could not be found and a prompt to insert it. With the current issue, you get the same blank black screen after POST whether the USB Key is connected or not. Which indicates to us that this is not an issue of hardware detection, or a problem with the key, but rather an issue with the implementation of bitlocker itself. Also, the hotfix appears to apply to an issue where the hardware is not signalled to power off when Windows shuts down with bitlocker enabled, whereas our issue is that the hardware powers on, but Windows never successfully loads after the POST. We will put it on our list of things to attempt to resolve this issue but we are doubtful that it will address it. Thanks, Matt J. Duke Rogers Communicore Technologies & Triangle Forensics

Please upload the MPS report from the system to look for events related to bitlocker: http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=24745 Install the following update if you have advanced format disk An update that improves the compatibility of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 with Advanced Format Disks is available http://support.microsoft.com/kb/982018 Compare the BIOS settings of this machine with a similar working box. We still cant rule out any modifications the malware might have introduced in the system that could have caused the issue. Do you have a drive/partition free for a parallell install?Sumesh P - Microsoft Online Community Support