[Solved] How to Encrypt Windows Partition (C: drive) With BitLocker in Windows 11/10 Home?

I have a laptop computer came with Windows 10 home edition as the operating system, and I wanted to encrypt the Windows partition with bitlocker to protect some private files. After trying, I found it impossible, because I couldn't find BitLocker anywhere in Windows 10 Home. Can someone tell me how to encrypt Windows partition with BitLocker in Windows 10 Home?

BitLocker is a disk encryption tool that is integrated into the Windows 11/10 operating system, however, it is only available in the Pro and Enterprise edition of Windows 11/10. We know that Windows home users also have disk encryption requirements, so the lack of BitLocker features is a pity for home edition users. Is there still any way to encrypt Windows partition (C: drive) with BitLocker in Windows 11/10 Home? The answer is to use Hasleo BitLocker Anywhere, and you can find detailed steps below.

Tutorial to Encrypt Windows Partition (C: drive) With BitLocker in Windows 11/10 Home.

Step 1. Download and install Hasleo BitLocker Anywhere.

Step 2. Launch Hasleo BitLocker Anywhere, right-click the Windows drive letter (usually C:), then click "Turn On BitLocker".

 

Step 3. In this step, you are asked to choose how to unlock the Windows drive at startup. You can choose to enter a password or insert a USB flash drive each time you start your PC.

 

If you choose to enter a password at startup, you are required to specify a password for encrypting the drive, enter the password and click "Next". You should choose a password having a combination of upper and lower case letters, numbers, spaces, and special symbols.

 

If you choose to insert a USB flash drive at startup, you are required to specify a USB drive to save the startup key, select a USB drive and click "Next".

 

• Encrypt used disk space only: Allows you to encrypt only the disk space that is currently used by the drive file system, unused space will remain unencrypted, this option can help you save time spent on encryption. After you encrypt a drive with this option, all files that you added to the drive are automatically encrypted.
• Compatible mode: If the drive that you plan to encrypt needs to be used on Windows operating systems prior to Windows 10 Version 1511, you should choose compatible mode. Windows 10 Version 1511 introduces a new disk encryption mode (XTS-AES) that is not compatible with older versions of Windows, the compatible mode (AES-CBC) is full compatible with older versions of Windows.
• Use 256-bit encryption: Bitlocker supports 128-bit and 256-bit encryption strength. The 256-bit encryption is more secure but will take up more CPU resources, so you should choose different encryption strengths according to your needs. Please tick this checkbox if you want to use 256 encryption strength.

 

Step 4. After clicking "Next", you are asked how you want to backup the BitLocker recovery key. You can save the recovery key to a file or print a copy of it, then click "Next" to move on. Please note that anyone can use the recovery key to gain access to the drive, even if they do not have the startup key or password created in the previous step, so please do not disclose it to others.

 

Step 5. Now a pop-up will appear asking you if you want to reboot into Pre-OS to encrypt the Windows partition. Click "Yes" to continue.

 

Step 6. Another pop-up will appear asking you if you want to build a WinPE image to continue. Click "Yes".

 

Step 7. Hasleo BitLocker Anywhere starts building WinPE. This may take several minutes, so please be patient to wait.

 

Step 8. After successfully builded the WinPE image, Hasleo BitLocker Anywhere will prompt you to reboot the computer, click "Yes" button to allow Hasleo BitLocker Anywhere to reboot your computer.

 

Step 9. Hasleo BitLocker Anywhere will now reboot and enter Pre-OS to encrypt the contents of the selected drive using BitLocker drive encryption. The encryption process could take a long time to finish depending on the size of the drive, so please be patient to wait. If you don't want to wait until the encryption operation is finished, "Shut down the computer when the operation is completed" option is a good idea. Just check it.

 

Step 10. After the encryption is complete, click the "Finish" button to close the window.

 

Step 11. Now you have to enter the BitLocker password or plug in the USB drive which contains the startup key before you can start the Windows.