AOMEI Partition Assistant
Why “This Computer Uses Windows BitLocker Encryption” Keeps Showing on My PC?
Many users see “This computer uses Windows BitLocker encryption” when they want to set dual boot on a BitLocker encryption Windows computer. You can see how to solve this issue via detailed steps.
By Lucas / Updated on February 19, 2024
Scenario: BitLocker is blocking in a dual boot system with Windows 10
"I have Windows 10 64 as primary OS, now I am trying to install Ubuntu 20.04, the latest version on the site, and to have dual boot. I have this error from Ubuntu installation when I try to do that. But, Windows BitLocker encryption is saying that it is not encrypted, and Disk management is saying that it is encrypted this partition. It seems that I can’t turn off BitLocker normally. How I solve this, please? Thank you."
BitLocker Drive Encryption is a data security utility seamlessly integrated with the Windows operating system. When activated, it encrypts the information stored on Windows hard disks, making the data indecipherable without the essential decryption key. Its primary purpose is to mitigate the potential for data theft or exposure resulting from lost or stolen computers.
Upon the user's computer boot-up and successful authentication using the appropriate credentials, BitLocker decrypts the data, facilitating seamless access to the hard disk and its contents. Without the correct credentials, the encrypted data on the hard disk appears as random noise, ensuring enhanced protection against unauthorized access.
BitLocker encryption & dual-boot installation
If you intend to install a dual-boot installation alongside Windows, you must evaluate your computer's operating configuration.
First, if BitLocker is not used, dual-boot installation will view the correct hard disk structure, including any partitions and data saved on it. This enables the guided wizard to accurately map the data and securely make modifications to suit the extra Windows installation.
If you use BitLocker, however, the hard disk contents will be inaccessible and will seem like random noise. This means that the Ubuntu installer cannot map data accurately, and further installation cannot be conducted securely without data loss... Furthermore, some vendors send systems with BitLocker enabled but not yet encrypted hard disk contents.
In this circumstance, the dual-boot installer will also be unable to transfer data accurately. And you may see the warning “This computer uses Windows BitLocker encryption”.
How to fix “this computer uses Windows BitLocker encryption” pop during dual-boot installation
The solution of how to fix “this computer uses Windows BitLocker encryption” is quite simple. You can cancel the installation of dual-boot and continue using Windows only, or erase the entire hard drive and create its structure. However, this is a destructive operation, with no option to recover any Windows data.
Another option is to turn BitLocker off. This will turn the encryption feature, and the hard drive and its data will be visible and accessible from the dual-boot installer, allowing it to correctly and safely set up a side-by-side configuration. For systems with BitLocker enabled but not yet encrypted you will need to first turn BitLocker on and then turn it off.
In the scenario, the user can’t turn off BitLocker encryption in Windows. Thus, in this part, we’ll show you how to use different tools to turn BitLocker off.
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Back your data up: Any encryption procedure, hard drive structure change, or installation of new operating systems on a hard drive that already contains data can potentially lead to data loss. You need to make sure your data is safe. Even simply copying the important files to an external drive can minimize the risk of data loss.
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Quit the dual-boot installer and reboot the computer into Windows.
Way 1. Turn off BitLocker drive encryption
Step 1. In Windows, open Settings > type Manage BitLocker in the search box. Alternatively, open Control Panel > System and Security > BitLocker Drive Encryption.
Step 2. Windows will now inform you that it is going to decrypt the data.
Step 3. This process can take a little bit of time.
Once this step is completed, restart the computer and log into Windows to ensure that everything is working properly and that all of your data is intact.
Then, you can restart your computer and run the dual-boot installation. At this point, you can go on to the hard disk configuration phase.
Way 2. Turn off BitLocker encryption in CMD
Step 1. Click the Windows Start menu Windows Start. It's the button with the Windows logo in the taskbar at the bottom of the screen. This displays the Windows Start menu.
Step 2. Type CMD. This displays the Command Prompt in the Windows Start menu.
Step 3. Right-click the Command Prompt icon Windows cmd and click Run as Administrator. This opens the Command Prompt with administrative privileges. If you are not signed in to an administrative account, you may be asked to enter an administrative password.
Step 4. Type manage-bde -off : and press ↵ Enter. Replace "D:" with the drive letter that you want to decrypt. This will decrypt that drive.
For example, if you want to decrypt your D: drive, you would type manage-bde -off D: and press Enter.
To check the status of BitLocker in the Command Prompt, type manage-bde -status and press Enter.
Way 3. Using PowerShell to turn off BitLocker encryption
Step 1. Right-click the Windows Start menu Windows Start. Right-clicking the Windows Start menu displays a context menu with a variety of system applications.
Step 2. Click Windows Powershell (admin). This opens Powershell with administrative privileges.
Step 3. Type Disable-BitLocker -MountPoint ":" and press Enter. Replace "C:" with the letter of the drive you want to decrypt. This will decrypt the drive.
For example, if you want to decrypt your C: drive, you would type Disable-BitLocker -MountPoint "C:" and press Enter.
If you want to check the status of BitLocker, type Get-BitLockerVolume and press Enter.
To decrypt all drives, type Disable-BitLocker -MountPoint $BLV and press Enter.
Way 4. Using a handy tool to turn off BitLocker
If your Windows built-in tools can't help you turn off BitLocker encryption just like our user in the scenario, you can try a third-party tool to turn off BitLocker. Here, we recommend AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard, a free disk and partition drive management tool for all Windows users. The "BitLocker" function in this tool allows Windows users to encrypt and decrypt drives. And if you need, the Professional edition of this tool even supports Windows Home users to BitLocker encrypted drives.
AOMEI Partition AssistantThe Best Windows Disk Partition Manager and PC Optimizer
Step 1. Install this tool and launch it. Find the encrypted drive you would like to decrypt and click the option "Turn off BitLocker".
Step 2. There are still 2 ways available to decrypt the drive: Use password to decrypt the drive and Use recovery key to decrypt the drive. Please select either way as per your need.
If you select "Use a password to decrypt the drive", please enter the right password and then click the "Decrypt" button.
If you select "Use a recovery key to decrypt the drive", please enter the recovery key saved in the TXT file or printed when you encrypted the drive, and then click the "Decrypt" button.
Only decrypt the used disk space: When checked, only used disk space is decrypted; when unchecked, the entire disk is decrypted.
Step 3. Then, the decryption process will start and it might take time to decrypt the drive. Before the process is finished, please do not terminate the program, remove the drive, or turn off the power.
Once the decryption process is finished, please click "Completed". Finally, the BitLocker on the drive is decrypted.
Conclusion
This is how to solve "this computer uses Windows BitLocker encryption". There are 4 ways to turn off BitLocker encryption to help you finish the dual-boot process. If Windows tools have any problems, you can try AOMEI Partition Assistant to turn it off. Besides BitLocker management, this tool also can clone disk, move installed apps, convert disk to MBR/GPT without data loss, clean duplicate files, and so on. What's more, it also has the Server edition to manage Windows Server devices.
