Has the ability to enable bitlocker w/o a TPM been removedcompletely or have the settings been moved from Group Policy > Computer Management > Administrative Templates >Windows Components > Bitlocker Drive Encryption?

No one have any idea at all?

Hardware requirements for the drive that Windows is installed on To encrypt the drive that Windows is installed on (the operating system drive), BitLocker stores its own encryption and decryption key in a hardware device that is separate from your hard disk, so you must have one of the following: A computer with Trusted Platform Module (TPM), which is a special microchip in some newer computers that supports advanced security features. If your computer was manufactured with TPM version 1.2 or higher, BitLocker will store its key in the TPM. A removable USB memory device, such as a USB flash drive. If your computer doesnt have TPM version 1.2 or higher, BitLocker will store its key on the flash drive. To turn on BitLocker Drive Encryption on the operating system drive, your computers hard disk must: Have at least two partitions. One partition must include the drive Windows is installed on and must be at least 400 MB. This is the drive that BitLocker will encrypt. The other partition is the active partition, which must remain unencrypted so that the computer can be started. If your computer does not have two partitions, BitLocker will create them for you. Be formatted with the NTFS file system. Have a BIOS that is compatible with TPM or supports USB devices during computer startup. If this is not the case, you will need to update the BIOS before using BitLocker. For more information on updating your BIOS, see Update the BIOS for BitLocker Drive Encryption. I'm still seeing that it supports USB. When I get home I'll check on my Windows 2008 r2 server and check the settings.

Local Computer Policy > Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > BitLocker Drive Encryption > Operating System Drives In the right-hand pane, double-click on "Require additional authentication at startup" Select "Enabled" and "Allow BitLocker without a compatible TPM" Apply and away you go. I tried it on a Dell 1525 laptop and it seems to work fine.

Daedelus, you rock! That's exactly the answer I was looking for.