If you're a veteran Windows user, you probably know we can't use BitLocker Drive Encryption to encrypt volumes in Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7 Home & Windows 7 Pro Editions by default, because Microsoft does not enable BitLocker Drive Encryption feature in these editions of Windows. This is why Hasleo BitLocker Anywhere came into being. Hasleo BitLocker Anywhere is the World's First BitLocker Solution for Windows Home and Windows 7 Pro, with it you can easily encrypt volumes with BitLocker in Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7 Home & Windows 7 Pro Editions, and this article will help you explain how it works.
Tips:
- Terminating the program, removing the drive or abnormal power off during encryption will result in data corruption, so it is recommended that you back up the files on the volume you want to encrypt before encrypting it.
- Please keep the BitLocker password in mind and back up the BitLocker recovery key safely, losing both of them will cause the data to be inaccessible.
- Not only can you use it to encrypt data partitions, you can also use it to encrypt Windows partition.
Tutorial to Encrypt Drive with BitLocker in Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7 Home & Windows 7 Pro Editions with Hasleo BitLocker Anywhere For Windows.
Step 1. Download and install Hasleo BitLocker Anywhere For Windows.
Step 2. Launch Hasleo BitLocker Anywhere, right-click the drive letter you want to encrypt, then click "Turn On BitLocker".
Please note: Not only can you use it to encrypt data partitions, you can also use it to encrypt Windows partition. For details, please refer to the links below:
- How to Encrypt Windows 7 Partition and Start the BitLocker Encrypted Windows 7 with a BitLocker Startup Key USB Drive?
- How to Encrypt Windows 7 Partition and Start the BitLocker Encrypted Windows 7 with a Password? New
- How to Encrypt Windows Partition with BitLocker in Windows 10/8 Home?
Step 3. In this step, 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. Once the encryption is complete, you can access the drive using this password.
- 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. Back up BitLocker recovery key, then click “Next” to move on. You can save the recovery key to a file or print a copy of it. Please note that anyone can use the recovery key to gain access to the drive, even if they do not know the password entered in the previous step, so please do not disclose it to others.
Step 5. Hasleo BitLocker Anywhere will now 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 6. After the encryption is complete, click the "Finish" button to close the window.
To sum it all up, Hasleo BitLocker Anywhere is a versatile software tool that provides a unique and very useful feature: giving you the chance to encrypt drive with BitLocker in Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7 Home & Windows 7 Pro Editions. With the easy encryption wizard, enabling BitLocker drive encryption is as easy as it can be.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for Encrypting Drive with BitLocker
A: No, Windows Home doesn't support BitLocker natively. You need Hasleo BitLocker Anywhere to encrypt drives.
A: Encryption time depends on drive size. Larger drives take longer. Use "Encrypt used disk space only" to speed up.
A: No, encryption doesn't erase data. However, always back up important data before encrypting as a precaution.
A: 256-bit is more secure but uses more CPU resources. For most users, 128-bit AES is sufficient.
A: Compatible mode uses AES-CBC for older Windows versions. Default XTS-AES mode requires Windows 10 version 1511 or later.
A: Use the recovery key to unlock the drive. Always back up the recovery key in a safe place.
A: Yes, but it requires rebooting into pre-OS mode to complete encryption. Follow the special wizard for system drives.
A: No, never interrupt encryption as it may cause data corruption. Let the process complete fully.
Related Articles
- How to Turn On BitLocker in Windows 11/10 Home?
- How to Encrypt Windows Partition With BitLocker in Windows 7 Pro?
- How to Encrypt Windows Partition With BitLocker in Windows 10 Home?
- How to Change BitLocker Password in Windows 11/10/8/7 Home & Windows 7 Pro?
- How to Decrypt BitLocker Encrypted Drive in Windows 11/10/8/7 Home & Windows 7 Pro?
