When I turn on my computer, instead of asking for my BitLocker password, it prompts: "Enter the recovery key to get going again." I have the password but not the recovery key. What should I do?
This issue is very rare, but some users have encountered the "Enter the recovery key to get going again" message after encrypting their Windows partition with BitLocker. This tutorial covers the basics of BitLocker and provides several methods to resolve the issue or recover lost files.
Please note that while BitLocker is very safe and reliable, if you lose all access credentials, there is no way to retrieve your encrypted files. Your only options are to recover the password you previously set or locate the recovery key that was saved during encryption.
BitLocker stands for BitLocker Drive Encryption. It is a full-volume encryption feature available in Windows Vista and later operating systems. BitLocker encrypts data on the drive using industry-standard AES-CBC and XTS-AES encryption algorithms, offering both 128-bit and 256-bit encryption strengths to meet different security needs. For more information about BitLocker, please refer to: What is BitLocker?
The BitLocker recovery key is a special key generated when a drive is encrypted. It allows access to the data on the drive. Please note that the recovery key is not the same as the encryption password. The encryption password is the one you set when encrypting the drive, while the recovery key is automatically generated by the BitLocker encryption algorithm. BitLocker will prompt you to save the recovery key during the encryption process. For more information, please refer to: What is BitLocker Recovery Key?
If you encounter the "Enter the recovery key to get going again" error and you have the BitLocker recovery key for the drive, enter it to start Windows. In most cases, Windows will start normally. If you do not have the recovery key, try the following methods to retrieve it:
If you have successfully retrieved the recovery key but still cannot boot into Windows after entering it, this usually indicates that the Windows partition has a file system error or has become corrupted. In this case, we recommend trying the following methods to fix the error or, if necessary, to retrieve lost data.
As mentioned above, accessing a BitLocker-encrypted drive requires the BitLocker password or recovery key. The methods below assume you already have the password or recovery key, yet you still cannot start Windows successfully.
If you are still unable to start Windows successfully after entering the correct BitLocker password or recovery key, this usually means that there may be some file system errors on the BitLocker encrypted drive, and fixing the file system errors may simply resolve the issue. How do we try to fix file system errors since Windows won't start, this may be the question in your mind. The answer is that we can create a portable Windows, boot Windows from the USB drive and try to fix file system errors.
Step 1. Download and install Hasleo WinToUSB, run Hasleo WinToUSB to create a portable Windows on a USB drive. Here we do not explain in detail how to create portable Windows, please refer to the detailed steps: How to create a portable Windows 11/10 USB drive?
Step 2. Boot your computer from the USB drive. Once Windows loads, double-click the BitLocker-encrypted drive in Windows Explorer.
Step 3. Enter the BitLocker password or recovery key to unlock the drive. If you cannot unlock the drive, try the following solution: How to retrieve lost files with BitLocker password or recovery key?
Step 4. Run Command Prompt (cmd.exe) as administrator. For more information about run cmd.exe as administrator, please refer to: How to run Command Prompt (cmd.exe) as administrator?
Step 5. Run "chkdsk D: /f" in cmd.exe to fix file system errors.
Step 6. After fixing the file system error, restart your computer to see if Windows can start properly.
Before decrypting a drive, we recommend backing it up with Hasleo Backup Suite Free. Data on the drive may be corrupted, and decryption could cause further damage. A backup helps prevent additional data loss.
Step 1. Download, install, and run Hasleo WinToUSB. Then create a portable Windows on a USB drive. Here we do not explain in detail how to create portable Windows. Please refer to the detailed steps: How to create a portable Windows 11/10 USB drive?
Step 2. Boot Windows from the USB drive, download and install Hasleo BitLocker Anywhere. If your Windows operating system supports decrypting BitLocker encrypted drives, decrypt the drive and try to start Windows.
Step 3. Run Hasleo BitLocker Anywhere and decrypt the drive. Please note that we still recommend that you try to fix the file system errors first, because if there are file system errors on the drive, some of the data may be corrupted after decryption.
Step 4. After decrypting the drive, restart your computer to see if Windows can start properly.
If the above mentioned methods still can't help you to fix "Enter the recovery key to get going again" error or you can't unlock the drive, then you have to consider using a BitLocker data recovery software to recover lost files, here we recommend you to try Hasleo BitLocker Data Recovery.
Step 1. Download and install Hasleo BitLocker Data Recovery on a computer running Windows. You can also install Hasleo BitLocker Data Recovery on the portable Windows created in the previous two methods.
Step 2. Create a bootable WinPE CD/DVD/USB drive with Hasleo BitLocker Data Recovery.
Step 3. Run Hasleo BitLocker Data Recovery from the bootable WinPE CD/DVD/USB drive to recover data.
This guide does not cover the step-by-step process of recovering lost files with Hasleo BitLocker Data Recovery. For detailed instructions, please refer to: How to recover data after BitLocker encrypted Windows crashed?
This tutorial describes several ways to resolve the "Enter the recovery key to get going again" error. If you encounter this issue, these methods can help you fix the error or recover lost files.
