Part 6. Bitlocker and BitLocker To Go : 1. What is BitLocker? BitLocker Drive Encryption (BDE) was first introduced with Windows Vista for system volumes and was later extended with Windows Vista Server Pack 1 and Windows 2008 to include data volumes as well as system volumes. BDE is valuable to corporations and users alike to encrypt drives in the event that they are lost, stolen or recycled. However, in Windows Vista, configuring Bit Locker requires significant customer interaction. In Windows 7, BitLocker drive preparation is integrated. It greatly simplifies its configuration. BitLocker can be found under System and Security in the Control Panel. Basically, you only have to turn on BitLocker, and the Drive Preparation Tool does the rest. 2. Are there any basic requirements for BitLocker Drive Encryption? Yes. System requirement: Windows 7 Enterprise and Windows 7 Ultimate editions. Hardware requirement: The computer has a TPM (Trust Platform Module). If not, the encryption key also can be stored on a USB stick. 3. How to use Bitlocker to encrypt your disk drive? To do this, please follow the steps below: I. Click Start button, click Control Panel , click All Control Panel Items , and then click BitLocker Drive Encryption . II. Under BitLocker Drive Encryption – Hard Disk Drives , click the Turn on BitLocker option for the drive you wish to encrypt. This starts the encryption wizard and it will scan your computer to make sure that it meets the BitLocker system requirements. If your computer meets the requirements, BitLocker will inform you of the next steps that need to be taken to turn on BitLocker and you can just follow the wizard to finish it. 4. What is BitLocker To Go? BitLocker To Go (BTG) is a new feature in Windows 7 which extends BitLocker data protection to USB storage devices. This enables them to be restricted with a passphrase. BitLocker To Go also enables you to more securely share data with others who not yet deployed Windows 7. 5. How to encrypt a removable drive with BitLocker To Go? There are several ways to do this: I. In Windows Explorer , right click on the removable drive and select Turn on BitLocker. II. Click Start button, click Control Panel , click All Control Panel Items and then click BitLocker Drive Encryption .Under BitLocker Drive Encryption –BitLocker To Go, click the Turn on BitLocker option for the removable drive you want to encrypt. Then just follow the encryption wizard to finish this. 6. What is the BitLocker Repair Tool? The BitLocker Repair Tool (Repair-bde) is a command-line tool included with Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. This tool can help you access encrypted data if the hard disk has been severely damaged. You can Use this command-line tool if the following conditions are true: You have encrypted the volume by using BitLocker Drive Encryption. Windows does not start, or you cannot start the BitLocker recovery console. You do not have a copy of the data that is contained on the encrypted volume. 7. How to repair a BitLocker-protected drive by using Repair-bde? To do this, please follow the steps below: I. Open an elevated command prompt II. In the command prompt, depending on the method you have, you can try the following different commands: The usage of this tool: repair-bde[.exe] InputVolume { OutputVolumeOrImage | {-NoOutputVolume|-nov} } { {-RecoveryPassword|-rp} NumericalPassword | {-RecoveryKey|-rk} PathToExternalKeyFile } [{-KeyPackage|-kp} PathToKeyPackage] [{-LogFile|-lf} PathToLogFile] [{-?|/?}] Note: In this example, C: is an example for InputVolume and Z: is for OutputVolumeOrImage . Examples: a. To repair using a recovery password: repair-bde C: Z: -rp NumericalPassword b. To repair using a recovery key: repair-bde C: Z: -rk PathToExternalKeyFile c. To repair using a recovery package and the corresponding recovery password: repair-bde C: Z: -kp PathToKeyPackage -rp NumericalPassword d. To repair using a recovery package and the corresponding recovery key: repair-bde C: Z: -kp PathToKeyPackage -rk PathToExternalKeyFile