BitLocker Repair Tool - Recover Drive in Windows 7 and 8

BitLocker Repair Tool - Recover Drive in Windows 7 and 8

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Brink Administrator Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 20,807

How to Use BitLocker Repair Tool to Recover a Drive in Windows 7 and Windows 8

   Information

The  BitLocker Repair Tool ( Repair-bde) is a command-line tool included with  Windows Server 2008 R2,  Windows 7,  Windows Server 2012, and  Windows 8. This tool attempts to repair or decrypt (译电文) a damaged BitLocker-encrypted volume using the supplied recovery information to reconstruct (重建) critical parts of the drive and salvage  recoverable (可收回的) data to another volume. 

This tutorial will show you how to use the  BitLocker Repair Tool to recover your data from a damaged encrypted  operating system (OS) drive,  fixed data drive (ex: internal volume/drive), or  removable data drive (ex: USB drive) in  Windows 7 and  Windows 8.

You must be signed in as an  administrator to be able to do the steps in this tutorial.

   Note

• You must have at least one of the following for the BitLocker encrypted drive:
  
  • Password
  • Recovery key
  • Startup key .BEK file location
  
  
• You will need to have an empty output volume (drive) of equal or larger size than the damaged BitLocker encrypted drive. The contents of the output volume will be completely deleted and overwritten by the decrypted(译电文) contents of the damaged BitLocker drive.

   Warning

The  BitLocker Repair Tool should only be used as a  last resort when you were unable to decrypt or unlock the encrypted drive using either the  password,  recovery key,  USB flash drive, or  BitLocker Recovery. 

   Tip

If you were signed in to your Microsoft account when you encrypted a drive with BitLocker, then you can get your recovery key from your OneDrive at the link below.


Microsoft account: BitLocker recovery keys

EXAMPLE: Before and After using BitLocker Repair Tool
NOTE:  In this example, the BitLocker encrypted drive is F: and the output volume is E: .

Here's How:

1. Do  step 2, 3, or 4 below depending on what you would like to do.


2. To Use the Password in Windows 8
NOTE:  This option is only available in Windows 8, and would be for an OS drive, fixed data drive, or removable data drive that you have configured to be unlocked by a password.

A) Open an  elevated command prompt.

B) In the elevated command prompt, type the command below, and press Enter. (see screenshot below)

repair-bde F: E: -pw -F

   Note

For only items in  red in the command above:

Substitute  F for the drive letter of the Bitlocker encrypted drive. Not the last F. 

Substitute  E for the drive letter of the output volume you want to have the contents of the Bitlocker encrypted drive  decrypted (译电文) and copied to.

C) When prompted in the command prompt, type the recovery  password for this encrypted drive, press Enter, and go to  step 5 below.
NOTE:  You will not see the password as you type it.

3. To Use the Recovery Key in Windows 7 and 8
NOTE:  This would be for an OS drive, fixed data drive, or removable data drive that you still have the recovery key either saved to your Microsoft account, saved to a file, saved to a USB flash drive, or printed.

A) Open an  elevated command prompt.

B) In the elevated command prompt, type the command below, press Enter, and go to  step 5 below. (see screenshot below)

repair-bde F: E: -rp BitLockerRecoveryKey -F


For example:

Code:

repair-bde F: E: -rp 261173-522599-237072-583517-442068-316811-199375-623755 -F

   Note

For only items in  red in the command above:

Substitute  F for the drive letter of the Bitlocker encrypted drive. 

Substitute  E for the drive letter of the output volume you want to have the contents of the Bitlocker encrypted drive  decrypted (译电文) and copied to.

Substitute  BitLockerRecoveryKey for the actual 48 digit  recovery key for the encrypted drive like below.

Saved to USB or File:




Saved to Microsoft account:

4. To Use the Startup Key in Windows 7 and 8
NOTE:  This would only be for an OS drive that you have configured to be unlocked by a USB flash drive.

A) Since you will not be able to boot from the OS drive, you will need to first connect it to another  Windows Server 2008 R2,  Windows 7,  Windows Server 2012, or  Windows 8 PC.

B) Open an  elevated command prompt in the other PC.

C) In the elevated command prompt, type the command below, press Enter, and go to  step 5 below. (see screenshot below)

repair-bde F: E: -rk I:\StartupKey.BEK -F

For example:

Code:

repair-bde Z: E: -rk I:\AFA58D77-94CD-4300-8009-68B36AE53276.BEK -F

   Note

For only items in  red in the command above:

Substitute  F for the drive letter of the Bitlocker encrypted drive. 

Substitute  E for the drive letter of the output volume you want to have the contents of the Bitlocker encrypted drive  decrypted (译电文) and copied to.

Substitute  I for the USB drive letter that the  startup key has been saved or copied to.

Substitute  StartupKey for the actual file name of the startup key for the encrypted drive like below. The BEK file (startup key) will be a  hidden protected OS file. 

5. When finally successfully finished, follow any given  "ACTION REQUIRED" first. For example, to run  chkdsk on the output volume before opening. (see screenshots below step 2, 3, and 3 above)

NOTE:  The BitLocker Repair Tool may take a long time to finish, but you will still be able to use your PC during the recovery process. Just do not turn off the PC until it has finished.

6. You will now be able to open the output volume (ex: E) to view the  decrypted (译电文) files from the BitLocker encrypted drive (ex: F).