I recently installed Windows 11 on a new computer build, which included both my NVMe drive for Windows and an older storage drive. During the installation, BitLocker was automatically enabled on both drives. However, I ultimately decided to downgrade back to Windows 10 and wiped the NVMe drive. Now my storage drive remains locked, and I'm confused as to why this is happening since I'm using the same CPU and motherboard as before. I don't have the BitLocker key or the Microsoft account since I generated it randomly. Is there any workaround to unlock the drive since it was encrypted on the same hardware? Like, if I install Windows 11 on a spare drive, could that help? I thought the TPM would retain the keys, so what gives? Is the BitLocker lock tied to the drive, or is it based on the Windows install?
3 Answers
Your best bet is to try using disk part or another wiping tool to get rid of the partitions on that storage drive. Just so you know, Windows 10 is nearing its end of life, which could pose a security risk for you. But if you’re just needing that drive to be free again, wiping it might be the way to go.
That’s a tough spot to be in without the key. If the stored key was tied to your original Windows 11 install, the TPM would normally still work, but there might have been a glitch during the downgrade process that locked it with no way to unlock. Sorry!
Unfortunately, if you don’t have the BitLocker key, it looks like the data is gone for good. You can still wipe the drive and set it up fresh as a new drive, though.
But why would it still be locked? It's puzzling that it remains locked when the same TPM chip is being used.
That's off-topic, though. The user is specifically asking why the drive is still locked after using the same hardware.