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Written by: IT Pro

Category: How to Articles

Published: 01 August 2025

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1. Go to Windows Desktop

2. Click the Start button

3. After the Start menu is erected, type “bitlocker” and wait till it finds the Bitlocker Control Panel icon. Once it finds it, click it and wait for the Bitlocker Drive Encryption window to open.

4. Once Bitlocker Drive Encryption is open, look for the Turn on Bitlocker sentence and click on it and wait for the Bitlocker Drive Encryption wizard to appear.
     a. Once the wizard appears it will automatically verify if the computer meets the system requirements required to encrypt data using Bitlocker.
     b. Though it says it takes a few minutes, in most cases it takes a up to 30 seconds on a modern computer setup.

5. Once the verification stage is done and the wizard finds the computer Bitlocker capable, it will ask how would you like to save your Bitlocker recovery key
     a. Microsoft account – saves it in your Microsoft account
     b. Save to a file – saves the recovery key to a text file
     c. Print the Recovery Key – prints the Bitlocker recovery key, even to a virtual printer.

 

 

6. In this article we will choose the last option which is Print the Recovery Key and we will save it locally.
     a. Note that Bitlocker doesn’t allow saving a recovery key file onto the same drive that is            about to be encrypted.
     b. However, it does allow printing that recovery key to a file on the same drive that is about      to be encrypted. This method is not recommended as well but for the sake of this article we will do it this way.
     c. Note – Never save the recovery code file onto the same drive that is about to be encrypted. If for some reason that drive gets locked out, the recovery key file would be locked out along with it.

7. Once that option is chosen, the wizard will ask which printer to use to print the Bitlocker recovery key. In this article, as mentioned in stage 6, we will choose the Microsoft Print to PDF printer, which will print the recovery key into a PDF file.

8. After choosing the printer, click Print

9. A new window will pop up. Use this window to name the Bitlocker recovery key PDF file and to choose where you would like you save it. In this case we named it “Bitlocker Recovery Key”.

10. Click Save
     a. Once the Save button is clicked, the window is going to get closed and we will get back to            the wizard, only this time, the Next key is going to become clickable.

11. Click Next

12. In the current stage, you will be asked to choose how much of your drive you would like to encrypt
     a. In this article we will choose the first option which is faster to accomplish
     b. Click Next

13. In the current stage, you will be asked to choose which encryption mode to use
     a. In this article we will choose the first option, which is the New Encryption Mode option. Choose it and click Next

14. Though it is not mandatory but recommended, we will mark the Run Bitlocker system Check option.
     a. The system check ensures that Bitlocker can read the recovery and encryption keys correctly before encrypting the drive.
     b. Once that option is marked, the button will change from “start encrypting” to “Continue”.
     c. Click Continue

15. A few seconds after clicking Continue, a side notification window is going to appear from the right-bottom side of the window.
     a. Click on it once
     b. Once clicked, another pop-up window is going to appear which will ask whether to restart now to start the encryption process or later.
     c. Click the Restart Now button and wait for the computer to restart itself completely.

16. Once the computer is fully restarted, click the taskbar’s upward arrow (Notification area overflow icon).
      a. Look for the Bitlocker icon and double click it
     b. Once clicked, the Bitlocker drive encryption process window will appear, showing the status of the encryption process
     c. Once that process bar is full at 100%, the encryption process is done

17. Another way to check for the status of the encryption process is to use the CLI of Bitlocker through CMD
     a. Click the Start button
     b. Type CMD
     c. Click on Run as administrator

18. Click YES in the UAC window

19. In cmd type manage-bde -status and click enter

20. The lines that will appear will present information about the encryption process:
     a. Size - The size of the drive being encrypted
     b. Bitlocker Version – The version of Bitlocker used to encrypt the drive
     c. Conversion Status – Shows the current encryption state of a drive
     d. Percentage Encrypted – Shows the how much of the selected drive has been encrypted
     e. Encryption Method – Shows the encryption method being used
     f. Protection Status – Shows if the Bitlocker protection is currently off or on
     g. Lock Status – Shows if the selected drive is locked or unlocked (accessible or not accessible)
     h. Identification Field - refers to a label or optional string you can assign to a BitLocker-protected volume to help             identify it, especially when managing multiple drives or recovery key
     i. Key Protectors – Shows the authentication mechanisms that protect the encryption keys used to unlock a drive.             When you encrypt a drive, BitLocker uses one or more key protectors to guard access to it

21. Once the encryption process is done for the selected drive, the small window that previously showed a process bar will now show:” Encryption of C: is complete”

22. This could be verified through CMD by typing manage-bde -status again and clicking enter
     a. Notice that the following values are now changed:
          i. Conversion Status: Used Space Only Encrypted
          ii. Percentage Encrypted: 100.0%
          iii. Protection Status: Protection On

23. In the next step we will take a look at the Bitlocker recovery key PDF file

24. Go to the path in which it was originally saved and open it

25. Notice the 2 important values:
     a. Identifier
     b. Recovery Key

26. It is highly recommended to save these values in more than one medium and location such as:
     a. Printed format
     b. Password manager

Details

Written by: IT Pro

Category: How to Articles

Published: 01 August 2025

Hits: 5753

1. Go to Windows Desktop

2. Click the Start button

3. After the Start menu is erected, type “bitlocker” and wait till it finds the Bitlocker Control Panel icon. Once it finds it, click it and wait for the Bitlocker Drive Encryption window to open.

4. Once Bitlocker Drive Encryption is open, look for the Turn on Bitlocker sentence and click on it and wait for the Bitlocker Drive Encryption wizard to appear.
     a. Once the wizard appears it will automatically verify if the computer meets the system requirements required to encrypt data using Bitlocker.
     b. Though it says it takes a few minutes, in most cases it takes a up to 30 seconds on a modern computer setup.

5. Once the verification stage is done and the wizard finds the computer Bitlocker capable, it will ask how would you like to save your Bitlocker recovery key
     a. Microsoft account – saves it in your Microsoft account
     b. Save to a file – saves the recovery key to a text file
     c. Print the Recovery Key – prints the Bitlocker recovery key, even to a virtual printer.

 

 

6. In this article we will choose the last option which is Print the Recovery Key and we will save it locally.
     a. Note that Bitlocker doesn’t allow saving a recovery key file onto the same drive that is            about to be encrypted.
     b. However, it does allow printing that recovery key to a file on the same drive that is about      to be encrypted. This method is not recommended as well but for the sake of this article we will do it this way.
     c. Note – Never save the recovery code file onto the same drive that is about to be encrypted. If for some reason that drive gets locked out, the recovery key file would be locked out along with it.

7. Once that option is chosen, the wizard will ask which printer to use to print the Bitlocker recovery key. In this article, as mentioned in stage 6, we will choose the Microsoft Print to PDF printer, which will print the recovery key into a PDF file.

8. After choosing the printer, click Print

9. A new window will pop up. Use this window to name the Bitlocker recovery key PDF file and to choose where you would like you save it. In this case we named it “Bitlocker Recovery Key”.

10. Click Save
     a. Once the Save button is clicked, the window is going to get closed and we will get back to            the wizard, only this time, the Next key is going to become clickable.

11. Click Next

12. In the current stage, you will be asked to choose how much of your drive you would like to encrypt
     a. In this article we will choose the first option which is faster to accomplish
     b. Click Next

13. In the current stage, you will be asked to choose which encryption mode to use
     a. In this article we will choose the first option, which is the New Encryption Mode option. Choose it and click Next

14. Though it is not mandatory but recommended, we will mark the Run Bitlocker system Check option.
     a. The system check ensures that Bitlocker can read the recovery and encryption keys correctly before encrypting the drive.
     b. Once that option is marked, the button will change from “start encrypting” to “Continue”.
     c. Click Continue

15. A few seconds after clicking Continue, a side notification window is going to appear from the right-bottom side of the window.
     a. Click on it once
     b. Once clicked, another pop-up window is going to appear which will ask whether to restart now to start the encryption process or later.
     c. Click the Restart Now button and wait for the computer to restart itself completely.

16. Once the computer is fully restarted, click the taskbar’s upward arrow (Notification area overflow icon).
      a. Look for the Bitlocker icon and double click it
     b. Once clicked, the Bitlocker drive encryption process window will appear, showing the status of the encryption process
     c. Once that process bar is full at 100%, the encryption process is done

17. Another way to check for the status of the encryption process is to use the CLI of Bitlocker through CMD
     a. Click the Start button
     b. Type CMD
     c. Click on Run as administrator

18. Click YES in the UAC window

19. In cmd type manage-bde -status and click enter

20. The lines that will appear will present information about the encryption process:
     a. Size - The size of the drive being encrypted
     b. Bitlocker Version – The version of Bitlocker used to encrypt the drive
     c. Conversion Status – Shows the current encryption state of a drive
     d. Percentage Encrypted – Shows the how much of the selected drive has been encrypted
     e. Encryption Method – Shows the encryption method being used
     f. Protection Status – Shows if the Bitlocker protection is currently off or on
     g. Lock Status – Shows if the selected drive is locked or unlocked (accessible or not accessible)
     h. Identification Field - refers to a label or optional string you can assign to a BitLocker-protected volume to help             identify it, especially when managing multiple drives or recovery key
     i. Key Protectors – Shows the authentication mechanisms that protect the encryption keys used to unlock a drive.             When you encrypt a drive, BitLocker uses one or more key protectors to guard access to it

21. Once the encryption process is done for the selected drive, the small window that previously showed a process bar will now show:” Encryption of C: is complete”

22. This could be verified through CMD by typing manage-bde -status again and clicking enter
     a. Notice that the following values are now changed:
          i. Conversion Status: Used Space Only Encrypted
          ii. Percentage Encrypted: 100.0%
          iii. Protection Status: Protection On

23. In the next step we will take a look at the Bitlocker recovery key PDF file

24. Go to the path in which it was originally saved and open it

25. Notice the 2 important values:
     a. Identifier
     b. Recovery Key

26. It is highly recommended to save these values in more than one medium and location such as:
     a. Printed format
     b. Password manager

Details

Written by: IT Pro

Category: How to Articles

Published: 01 August 2025

Hits: 5643

1. ወደ ዊንዶውስ ዴስክቶፕ ይሂዱ

2. የጀምር አዝራሩን ጠቅ ያድርጉ

3. የጀምር ምናሌው ከተነሳ በኋላ “bitlocker” ብለው ይተይቡ እና የBitlocker መቆጣጠሪያ ፓነል አዶን እስኪያገኝ ድረስ ይጠብቁ። አንዴ ካገኘው በኋላ ጠቅ ያድርጉትና የቢትሎከር ድራይቭ ኢንክሪፕሽን መስኮቱ እስኪከፈት ይጠብቁ።

4. የቢትሎከር ድራይቭ ኢንክሪፕሽን አንዴ ከተከፈተ፣ የቢትሎከርን አብራ የሚለውን ዓረፍተ ነገር ይፈልጉና በላዩ ላይ ጠቅ ያድርጉና የቢትሎከር ድራይቭ ኢንክሪፕሽን ዊዛርድ እስኪታይ ድረስ ይጠብቁ።
  ... b. ዊዛርድ አንዴ ከታየ ኮምፒውተሩ በቢትሎከር በመጠቀም ውሂብን ለመመስጠር የሚያስፈልጉትን የስርዓት መስፈርቶች ማሟላቱን በራስ-ሰር ያረጋግጣል።
                    b. ምንም እንኳን ጥቂት ደቂቃዎችን እንደሚወስድ ቢናገርም፣ በአብዛኛዎቹ አጋጣሚዎች በዘመናዊ የኮምፒውተር ማዋቀር እስከ 30 ሰከንዶች ይወስዳል።

5. የማረጋገጫ ደረጃው ከተጠናቀቀ እና ጠንቋዩ ኮምፒዩተሩ Bitlocker እንዲሰራ ካገኘ በኋላ የBitlocker መልሶ ማግኛ ቁልፍዎን እንዴት ማስቀመጥ እንደሚፈልጉ ይጠይቃል
        a. የማይክሮሶፍት መለያ - በማይክሮሶፍት መለያዎ ውስጥ ያስቀምጣል
      b. ወደ ፋይል ያስቀምጡ - የመልሶ ማግኛ ቁልፉን ወደ ጽሑፍ ፋይል ያስቀምጣል
              c. የመልሶ ማግኛ ቁልፉን ያትማል - የቢትሎከር መልሶ ማግኛ ቁልፉን ወደ ምናባዊ አታሚ እንኳን ያትማል።

 

6. በዚህ ጽሑፍ ውስጥ የመጨረሻውን አማራጭ እንመርጣለን፤ እሱም የማገገሚያውን ህትመት ቁልፍ እና በአካባቢው እናስቀምጠዋለን።
           a. ቢትሎከር የመልሶ ማግኛ ቁልፍ ፋይልን በተመሳሳይ ድራይቭ ላይ ማስቀመጥ እንደማይፈቅድ ልብ ይበሉ።
  ... ሆኖም ግን፣ ያንን የመልሶ ማግኛ ቁልፍ በተመሳሳይ ድራይቭ ላይ ወዳለ ፋይል ማተም ያስችላል፣ ይህም ኢንክሪፕት እንዲደረግ ነው። ይህ ዘዴ እንዲሁ አይመከርም ነገር ግን ለዚህ ጽሑፍ ሲባል በዚህ መንገድ እናደርገዋለን።
ማሳሰቢያ - የመልሶ ማግኛ ኮድ ፋይሉን ሊመሰጠር በተቃረበው ተመሳሳይ ድራይቭ ላይ በጭራሽ አያስቀምጡ። በሆነ ምክንያት ያ ድራይቭ ከተቆለፈ፣ የመልሶ ማግኛ ቁልፍ ፋይሉ ከእሱ ጋር ይቆለፋል።

7. ያ አማራጭ አንዴ ከተመረጠ በኋላ፣ ጠንቋዩ የቢትሎከር መልሶ ማግኛ ቁልፍን ለማተም የትኛውን አታሚ መጠቀም እንዳለበት ይጠይቃል። በዚህ ጽሑፍ ውስጥ፣ በደረጃ 6 ላይ እንደተጠቀሰው፣ የመልሶ ማግኛ ቁልፉን ወደ ፒዲኤፍ ፋይል የሚያትመውን ማይክሮሶፍት ፕሪንት ወደ ፒዲኤፍ አታሚ እንመርጣለን።

 

Details

Written by: IT Pro

Category: How to Articles

Published: 01 August 2025

Hits: 5987

1. Go to Windows Desktop

2. Click the Start button

3. After the Start menu is erected, type “bitlocker” and wait till it finds the Bitlocker Control Panel icon. Once it finds it, click it and wait for the Bitlocker Drive Encryption window to open.

4. Once Bitlocker Drive Encryption is open, look for the Turn on Bitlocker sentence and click on it and wait for the Bitlocker Drive Encryption wizard to appear.
     a. Once the wizard appears it will automatically verify if the computer meets the system requirements required to encrypt data using Bitlocker.
     b. Though it says it takes a few minutes, in most cases it takes a up to 30 seconds on a modern computer setup.

5. Once the verification stage is done and the wizard finds the computer Bitlocker capable, it will ask how would you like to save your Bitlocker recovery key
     a. Microsoft account – saves it in your Microsoft account
     b. Save to a file – saves the recovery key to a text file
     c. Print the Recovery Key – prints the Bitlocker recovery key, even to a virtual printer.

 

 

6. In this article we will choose the last option which is Print the Recovery Key and we will save it locally.
     a. Note that Bitlocker doesn’t allow saving a recovery key file onto the same drive that is            about to be encrypted.
     b. However, it does allow printing that recovery key to a file on the same drive that is about      to be encrypted. This method is not recommended as well but for the sake of this article we will do it this way.
     c. Note – Never save the recovery code file onto the same drive that is about to be encrypted. If for some reason that drive gets locked out, the recovery key file would be locked out along with it.

7. Once that option is chosen, the wizard will ask which printer to use to print the Bitlocker recovery key. In this article, as mentioned in stage 6, we will choose the Microsoft Print to PDF printer, which will print the recovery key into a PDF file.

8. After choosing the printer, click Print

9. A new window will pop up. Use this window to name the Bitlocker recovery key PDF file and to choose where you would like you save it. In this case we named it “Bitlocker Recovery Key”.

10. Click Save
     a. Once the Save button is clicked, the window is going to get closed and we will get back to            the wizard, only this time, the Next key is going to become clickable.

11. Click Next

12. In the current stage, you will be asked to choose how much of your drive you would like to encrypt
     a. In this article we will choose the first option which is faster to accomplish
     b. Click Next

13. In the current stage, you will be asked to choose which encryption mode to use
     a. In this article we will choose the first option, which is the New Encryption Mode option. Choose it and click Next

14. Though it is not mandatory but recommended, we will mark the Run Bitlocker system Check option.
     a. The system check ensures that Bitlocker can read the recovery and encryption keys correctly before encrypting the drive.
     b. Once that option is marked, the button will change from “start encrypting” to “Continue”.
     c. Click Continue

15. A few seconds after clicking Continue, a side notification window is going to appear from the right-bottom side of the window.
     a. Click on it once
     b. Once clicked, another pop-up window is going to appear which will ask whether to restart now to start the encryption process or later.
     c. Click the Restart Now button and wait for the computer to restart itself completely.

16. Once the computer is fully restarted, click the taskbar’s upward arrow (Notification area overflow icon).
      a. Look for the Bitlocker icon and double click it
     b. Once clicked, the Bitlocker drive encryption process window will appear, showing the status of the encryption process
     c. Once that process bar is full at 100%, the encryption process is done

17. Another way to check for the status of the encryption process is to use the CLI of Bitlocker through CMD
     a. Click the Start button
     b. Type CMD
     c. Click on Run as administrator

18. Click YES in the UAC window

19. In cmd type manage-bde -status and click enter

20. The lines that will appear will present information about the encryption process:
     a. Size - The size of the drive being encrypted
     b. Bitlocker Version – The version of Bitlocker used to encrypt the drive
     c. Conversion Status – Shows the current encryption state of a drive
     d. Percentage Encrypted – Shows the how much of the selected drive has been encrypted
     e. Encryption Method – Shows the encryption method being used
     f. Protection Status – Shows if the Bitlocker protection is currently off or on
     g. Lock Status – Shows if the selected drive is locked or unlocked (accessible or not accessible)
     h. Identification Field - refers to a label or optional string you can assign to a BitLocker-protected volume to help             identify it, especially when managing multiple drives or recovery key
     i. Key Protectors – Shows the authentication mechanisms that protect the encryption keys used to unlock a drive.             When you encrypt a drive, BitLocker uses one or more key protectors to guard access to it

21. Once the encryption process is done for the selected drive, the small window that previously showed a process bar will now show:” Encryption of C: is complete”

22. This could be verified through CMD by typing manage-bde -status again and clicking enter
     a. Notice that the following values are now changed:
          i. Conversion Status: Used Space Only Encrypted
          ii. Percentage Encrypted: 100.0%
          iii. Protection Status: Protection On

23. In the next step we will take a look at the Bitlocker recovery key PDF file

24. Go to the path in which it was originally saved and open it

25. Notice the 2 important values:
     a. Identifier
     b. Recovery Key

26. It is highly recommended to save these values in more than one medium and location such as:
     a. Printed format
     b. Password manager