New York Wedge

Windows 7 Utimate Bitlocker to Go Not Encrypting

I have Windows 7 Ultimate installed on my Dell Studio XPS 16 and have my system drive and some external drives encrypted. One of my drives has run out of space, so I transfered the data to a larger drive.

I attempted to encrypt the new drive several times: before the formatting, after quick format, after a long format, and after transferring the data and looking into the Group Policy settings. Bitlocker only shows my system drive and the already encrypted bitlocker to go drive. Since there are no options and the drive isn't visible in bitlocker, I cannot encrypt it.

The BitLocker Control Panel and the Windows Explorer right-click menu doesn't show bitlocker options for unencrypted drives. This includes the new larger drive, a previously encrypted drive-but now reformatted-drive, a flash drive, and an SD card. They are all NTFS formatted drives.

Anyone know why I can't encrypt the external drives?

This thread is locked. You can vote as helpful, but you cannot reply or subscribe to this thread.

Answer

Samhrutha G

Hi New York Wedge,

Welcome to Microsoft Answers Forum!

Some drives cannot be encrypted with Bit Locker. Reasons a drive cannot be encrypted include insufficient disk size, an incompatible file system, or a drive is designated as the system partition. By default, the system drive (or system partition) of a computer running Windows 7 is hidden from display in the Computer window. However, if it is not created as a hidden drive when the operating system was installed due to a custom installation process, that drive might be displayed but cannot be encrypted.

Links related to the same:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee449438(WS.10).aspx#BKMK_noturnon

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc732725(WS.10).aspx

Thanks and Regards:

Samhrutha G S - Microsoft Support.

Visit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forum and let us know what you think.