Bitlocker on drives

[frase]

I have a major issue here, have an Asus ROG laptop. The two m.2's are encrypted with bitlocker, do I have any options at all to get to the data at least?

Thanks.

 

[Porthos]

do I have any options at all to get to the data at least?

If you have access to the MS account.

Find your BitLocker recovery key - Microsoft Support

Learn how to find your BitLocker recovery key in Windows.

support.microsoft.com

 

[frase]

@Porthos Can I do this when it is plugged into an external m.2 reader, as original system does not power on. It does say something about unlocking when I click on the drive. Sorry am dumb on Bitlocker, most stupidist idea ever to force it upon a user.

 

[fincoder]

Can I do this when it is plugged into an external m.2 reader, as original system does not power on

Yes you can unlock when accessed on another computer.

Goto
https://account.microsoft.com/devices/recoverykey
And sign into their Microsoft Account to copy the key for pasting into the bitlocker unlock prompt.

 

[frase]

Clients device is not associated with the account..

 

[Porthos]

Clients device is not associated with the account..

Assuming this was Win 11 and the end user set it up themselves, without any workarounds to avoid a MS account, then you have been given the wrong MS account to check.
You need to question the client more and prepare them for the data loss.

 

[frase]

Yeap asked client he never did it himself.

 

[Rigo]

he never did it himself

Almost criminal for whoever set it up for him to not use his details to do it.
Hopefully he could go back and ask them to retrieve it for him.
If it was done at Hardly Normal then no chance indeed

 

[Porthos]

Yeap asked client he never did it himself.

If a family member did it then you might have a chance.
If a shop did it, the user is screwed.

Almost criminal for whoever set it up for him to not use his details to do it.

Exactly.

 

[Markverhyden]

2 m2s? Might have RAID to add to the mess then if they are the same size.

 

[britechguy]

Almost criminal for whoever set it up for him to not use his details to do it.
Hopefully he could go back and ask them to retrieve it for him.

I agree. And without naming any names, I've repeatedly seen certain posters here do the insanely dumb thing of setting up a local account after having used a "generic MS setup account" to set up the machine, then nuking it. This leaves the machine's owner high and dry in way more ways than one.

A Windows 10 or Windows 11 machine must be set up with a Microsoft Account that the owner of said machine can access. If they want to use a local account for all day-to-day activity, fine, then create one. But do not leave them in a position where the device information for that machine is not linked to an MS account that they have the ability to access!

 

[britechguy]

If it was done at Hardly Normal

I realize that "Hardly Normal" has to be a term of non-affection for some chain, and we have plenty of those (e.g. Wally World for WalMart and even worse for things like "The Geek Squad") on this side of the pond. What is "Hardly Normal"?

 

[Porthos]

What is "Hardly Normal"?

Probably Harvey Norman.

 

[nlinecomputers]

Yeap asked client he never did it himself.

If he pulled out of the box himself he almost certainly did. Check his common email addresses. He used some email address on the first boot-up. That account he was required to make on the first boot-up is the account used.

 

[britechguy]

If he pulled out of the box himself he almost certainly did. Check his common email addresses. He used some email address on the first boot-up.

Amen to that! I will never understand why, when any new account gets created (and it's obvious that's going on if you're doing it), that recording that information, somewhere, isn't automatic.

Most of my senior citizen clients who did not even come up in the cyber age do that as a matter of routine, usually in a notebook they keep in their desks.

 

[frase]

Am in the process of the user trying to find password for another MS Account.

 

[fincoder]

A Windows 10 or Windows 11 machine must be set up with a Microsoft Account that the owner of said machine can access. If they want to use a local account for all day-to-day activity, fine, then create one. But do not leave them in a position where the device information for that machine is not linked to an MS account that they have the ability to access!

Sorry Brian but you're wrong on this point. The approach taken by some of us is to not use a Microsoft Account to setup for a customer at all (e.g. using the bypass method provided by Microsoft). In this case there is no encryption, there is no "device information" needed.

 

[britechguy]

@fincoder

We'll have to agree to disagree. I never set up a machine sans MS-Account linked to Win User Account.

Turning off Bitlocker on a fresh box takes all of 2 seconds, and I do that, too. There are too many useful things that go with having a Microsoft Account to avoid having one, in my opinion. If you keep Bitlocker on, it's not just useful, but vital, and some people do choose to keep it on.

 

[fincoder]

Turning off Bitlocker on a fresh box takes all of 2 seconds, and I do that, too.

I do that too, because some people switch to Microsoft Account login after my setup, or having the account remembered might trigger the encryption.

here are too many useful things that go with having a Microsoft Account to avoid having one, in my opinion.

You've made this kind of comment before, and I've responded before that there aren't any useful Microsoft services that require Microsoft Account login. If there is a specific thing that you get from MS Account login, that you don't get with local account login, then that might be a good argument but I'm yet to hear it.

Local account logins also keep track of MS Accounts used for apps and services, my office PC with local account login has two MS accounts associated with it and they're used for various apps. I use one for OneDrive, 365 Family subscription and Edge sync, and a different one for QuickAssist (more professional name). It all works quite seamlessly. What am I missing out on?

 

[britechguy]

What am I missing out on?

In my opinion, that this is all really, truly seamless when you are using a MS-Account-Linked Win User Account.

I have no desire to have multiple MS Accounts in the manner that you have and are using them. I actually have more than one, but all of my "business use" is for one, testing for another, and other than logging in to Windows with each, and opening whatever Microsoft service I want to use, I never deal with them again.

Also having all my licenses, Bitlocker key (even though I've disabled it, the key is still there), subscriptions, family members, etc., all in one, convenient, tidy package is worth quite a bit to me. It may not be to you, and that's fine. But we each have to make choices based on our own experiences and preferences, and I'd never set up a client with a local account only. And I definitely wouldn't do that and then log in to a Microsoft account to use cloud services under a local account; I just don't see the point. It adds so many extra steps.