Windows 7 - How to encrypt a hard drive using bitlocker

Asked By Daniel on 11-Nov-11 11:36 AM
Hi!I want to encrypt my hard drive using bitlocker.can someone help step by step how to do?
dipa ahuja replied to Daniel on 11-Nov-11 12:21 PM

1.This will launch the bit locker application. If you USB / Thumb drive is connected, it should be displayed in the launched application. Point to be noticed here is that Bit Locker treats Hard drive and plugged devices separately. You will see hard drive partitions under category of Hard Disk Drives and plugged media under Bitlocker to Go.

2.Clock on the link next to USB drive which says Turn On Bit Locker. This will start the encryption process. In case the drive doesnt have enough space required for encryption you will be warned.

3.Next step would be add a password to it. Though this is all secured but still make sure you dont choose a weak password.

4.The encryption process allows you to pause the encryption process in between. This is useful if you forgot to remove some data which you didn’t wanted to safeguard. However make sure you dont remove any data unless you have paused the process. http://www.technospot.net/blogs/how-to-use-bit-locker-to-encrypt-and-password-protect-data-on-usb-drives/

Kirtan Patel replied to Daniel on 11-Nov-11 12:53 PM
Step 1 :




Step 2 :



Step 3 :



Step 4 :



Done !
Suchit shah replied to Daniel on 12-Nov-11 01:21 AM

To turn on BitLocker Drive Encryption

  1. Click Start, click Control Panel, click Security, and then click BitLocker Drive Encryption.

  2. If the User Account Control message appears, verify that the proposed action is what you requested, and then click Continue. For more information, see Additional Resources later in this document.

  3. On the BitLocker Drive Encryption page, click Turn On BitLocker on the operating system volume.

    If your TPM is not initialized, you will see the Initialize TPM Security Hardware wizard. Follow the directions to initialize the TPM and restart your computer.

  4. On the Save the recovery password page, you will see the following options:

    • Save the password on a USB drive. Saves the password to a USB flash drive.
    • Save the password in a folder. Saves the password to a network drive or other location.
    • Print the password. Prints the password.

    Use one or more of these options to preserve the recovery password. For each option, select the option and follow the wizard steps to set the location for saving or printing the recovery password.

    When you have finished saving the recovery password, click Next.

  5. On the Encrypt the selected disk volume page, confirm that the Run BitLocker System Check check box is selected, and then click Continue.

    1. Confirm that you want to restart the computer by clicking Restart Now. The computer restarts and BitLocker verifies if the computer is BitLocker-compatible and ready for encryption. If it is not, you will see an error message alerting you to the problem.

    2. If it is ready for encryption, the Encryption in Progress status bar is displayed. You can monitor the ongoing completion status of the disk volume encryption by dragging your mouse cursor over the BitLocker Drive Encryption icon in the tool bar at the bottom of your screen. .

      By completing this procedure, you have encrypted the operating system volume and created a recovery password unique to this volume. The next time you log on, you will see no change. If the TPM ever changes or cannot be accessed, if there are changes to key system files, or if someone tries to start the computer from a disk to circumvent the operating system, the computer will switch to recovery mode until the recovery password is supplied.


Jitendra Faye replied to Daniel on 12-Nov-11 02:49 AM

First, find Bitlocker on your PC Windows 7 system drive. Right click on the drive and select Turn on BitLocker.



For furture steps follow this link-
http://www.informationweek.com/byte/howto/personal-tech/storage-memory/231000137
Hope this will help you.