BitLocker Drive Encryption , or BitLocker , is a data protection feature introduced by Microsoft since Windows Vista. It implements some hard/software measures to encrypt either USB external flash drives or internal system SSD/HDD devices. You may read more about BitLocker Drive Encryption on the Microsoft site or Wikipedia .

 

There are following encryption methods (protectors in the Microsoft terms) that can be utilized in the BitLocker protection:

• A TPM/TPM+PIN chip

• A USB key (a flash drive containing a .bek file)

• A user's password (not to confuse with a user's logon password) / recovery key

These methods can be used either individually or as a combination thereof. If they are used as a combination, knowing the decryption information for only one method is enough to unlock the device.

 

R‑Drive Image can unlock devices encrypted with BitLocker provided that all the necessary information is known.

 

Important: When you backup a BitLocker container already unlocked by the system, it will be backed up unlocked. If the container isn't unlocked by the system, R‑Drive Image will backup it locked, or will ask for its password/key to unlock the volume.

BitLocker ToGo and BitLocker-Encrypted Non-System Disks

This is the method used to lock external removable devices and non-system disks. The password or a recovery key is necessary to know to unlock the device. A recovery key may be in the printed form or contained in a file. A name of such a file has the following pattern: BitLocker Recovery Key 600397A9-48AA-4DE4-B775-C71EB130EA1B.txt , where the last characters is the BitLocker container identifier. That file contains the BitLocker container identifier and a recovery key.

 

When R‑Drive Image backups a locked BitLocker container,

it creates the image with locked BitLocker container

If the BitLocker container is already unlocked, by the system or R‑Drive Image ,

the image will contain the unlocked partition.

Restoring data from an image with a BitLocker container

When restoring data from images with BitLocker containers, R‑Drive Image renders the following results.

R‑Drive Image can unlock a locked container or image by itself

Double-click the locked BitLocker container and enter its password or recovery key.

Please note that R‑Drive Image unlocks BitLocker containers/images only for itself. They remain locked for the system.

BitLocker System Drive Encryption

This is the method used to lock internal system drives.

Depending on what methods are used, the following information is necessary to know to unlock the drive.

• A recovery key in the printed form or in a file. A name of such a file has the following pattern: BitLocker Recovery Key FDA7B96C-635E-45AA-BE63-00C3DB3771EE.txt , where the last characters is the BitLocker container identifier. That file contains the BitLocker container identifier and a recovery key.

• A password used to start the preboot process. It shouldn't be confused with the password for the user's logon.

 

R‑Drive Image always shows the system partition (usually Disc C:) unlocked.

 

 

and creates images with the unlocked (unencrypted) BitLocker r container.

Use the startup version to create an image with a locked BitLocker container with a system disk. It increases data security but makes image recovery on another computer harder or even not possible.

Data recovery to a system disk is possible on when the startup version is used.