Windows 11, like its predecessor, consists of straightforward choices to encrypt your system drive. With device encryption turned on on your PC’s system drive, your private knowledge is protected in case your laptop computer is misplaced or stolen. If Home windows determines that boot integrity has been compromised, it’ll demand a restoration key (a 48-digit quantity, divided into eight teams of six numbers every) earlier than it unlocks the data.
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As hundreds of thousands of individuals found throughout the CrowdStrike meltdown, Home windows can demand that restoration key if you least anticipate it. There are additionally a handful of eventualities that may throw you into the recovery-key zone with out warning. For this reason you need to make sure you at all times have prepared entry to the restoration key if you want it.
For those who use the built-in Home windows system encryption choice, Home windows mechanically saves the encryption key to your Microsoft account. Go to https://microsoft.com/recoverykey and register together with your Microsoft account (private or enterprise) to entry that key from any system. For those who want a command line, open PowerShell and use this command to view particulars about encryption on the system drive, together with the restoration key:
(Get-BitLockerVolume -MountPoint C).KeyProtector
For those who’re working Home windows 11 Professional, Home windows prompts you to avoid wasting the restoration key if you first activate BitLocker encryption. Home windows offers you three choices for saving a restoration key. It can save you the important thing to your Microsoft account (private or enterprise), save the important thing to a textual content file you save on a storage system of your selecting, or ship that key to a printer and save the arduous copy in a protected location. For those who’re the belt-and-suspenders sort, you are able to do all three.
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Any time after that, it can save you a contemporary copy of the important thing by going to the Handle BitLocker Management Panel. Simply sort a couple of letters of the phrase BitLocker within the search field to search out it. Click on “Again up your restoration key” to open the dialog field proven right here:
The highest choice is the simplest: save the important thing to OneDrive and retrieve it any time by signing in together with your Microsoft account at https://microsoft.com/recoverykey. You need to use the browser in your cell phone if vital. For a private Microsoft account, that shortcut goes on to the web page containing restoration keys. On a enterprise account, click on “Handle units” and increase the menu for the system you are making an attempt to unlock to see a “View BitLocker keys” button.
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For those who want another cloud storage service, save the restoration key as a file (to a drive apart from the system drive) after which add it to the cloud manually.
And should you anticipate that you will be touring to a spot the place you may’t rely on prepared entry to your Microsoft account, save the restoration key as a file in your cell phone, or print it out on a slip of paper and tuck it into your pockets.