I recently swapped out my motherboard, and now I'm having serious trouble accessing my device. When I try to log in, I see a message saying, "Your PIN is no longer available due to a change to the security settings on this device. Click to set up your PIN again." Unfortunately, I can't set a new PIN because it keeps telling me that I can't configure a new one and to try later. Logging in with my password still brings up the same PIN error. If I skip the 'configure PIN code' option, it just sends me back to the login screen. I've tried booting in safe mode and restoring to a previous version, but nothing has worked. Some people are saying I might be bitlocked, but I don't have a flash drive or another PC to reinstall Windows. Can anyone help?
4 Answers
It sounds like your issue is related to the fTPM NVRAM, which can't find the encrypted key for your old PIN since that was stored on your old motherboard. First, connect your device to an Ethernet cable; it can help with getting your WiFi drivers installed, as you'll need Internet for resetting your PIN through your Microsoft account. Just to clarify, this doesn't seem like BitLocker because you would normally see a recovery screen asking for a key if that were the case.
This doesn't look like a BitLocker issue to me. When you deal with BitLocker, you usually see a black screen demanding a 48-digit key right after booting. Have you considered switching back to your old motherboard for the time being? It might help you regain access, especially if it was just a faulty board.
Make sure you have a backup plan for logging in. It's risky to rely solely on a PIN. If you can, set up a password option and create another local admin account. Either way, if you can temporarily use your old motherboard, it could provide access to sort out your accounts before you swap back.
I suspect you might need to clear your TPM cache. It's not too uncommon after a motherboard swap. You can look up some troubleshooting guides for the TPM security processor to make sure you're following the latest steps. There are plenty of reliable resources out there.
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