need Bitlocker key but account.micrososft.com doesn't list my laptop

Question

need Bitlocker key but account.micrososft.com doesn't list my laptop

DAVID ROBERTSON 0

Can't boot laptop drive because of Bitlocker (didn't know this existed till now). MS Support says login to my account and select device to request key but my device doesn't appear in the list. Dell Inspiron2 laptop w/ Win10

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Answer 1

If your drive is encrypted with Bitlocker, the only place the Bitlocker Recovery key is automatically stored is on the associated Microsoft account on the link below, be sure to check any Microsoft account that may have been used on the PC and also any work or school account that may be linked to the PC.

(Note, even if your device does not show on the Microsoft account, the Bitlocker Recovery Key may still be available on this link)

https://account.microsoft.com/devices/recoverykey

Are you able to find the Bitlocker Recovery Key on any account that may have been used or linked to the laptop?

If not, do you have a safe backup of your files, or use a cloud service like OneDrive to sync your files online.

If you are unable to find the Bitlocker Recovery Key on any account that may have been used on that device, then I am sorry for the bad news, a Windows reset will not work on an encrypted drive, the only way to access that device is to create a bootable Windows USB on another working PC and use that to clean install Windows and at the start of the installation, delete all partitions on the drive to remove the encryption, which will sadly result in loss of all data on the drive.