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7290 BIOS 1.10.0 will not install - Bitlocker encrypting
Attempting to install BIOS 1.10.0 on Dell Latitude 7290. I'm receiving an error message that Bitlocker is currently encrypting the hard drive. It is not. This is a fresh installation of the OS and Windows Explorer still has the option to "Turn on Bitlocker". Anyone seen this behavior and perhaps have a solution? Regards. Doug
jphughan
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July 8th, 2019 09:00
BitLocker might be pre-staged in an encrypted but suspended state. Dell ships some systems in this state so that if you choose to link your Windows logon account with your Microsoft account, BitLocker can be immediately enabled (without having to wait for the actual data blocks to be encrypted) and your Recovery Key gets backed up to the cloud. In that case, suspending BitLocker possibly through the PowerShell command might allow the BIOS update to install, otherwise you can try:
- Manually downloading the BIOS update package and running it, since that method does not get blocked by BitLocker being enabled -- although if BitLocker IS in fact enabled and you update the BIOS, you will have to enter a Recovery Key for the first boot after that update before the system will be usable again, so be aware of that.
- Enabling BitLocker and then disabling it. That would remove any pre-staged state, and you would NOT have to wait for your data to fully encrypt before turning it off again.
Mary G
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July 8th, 2019 09:00
What operating system did you install? Did you do a clean install where you deleted the partition with windows? Make sure it is the exact same version as you had activated before. Only Pro and higher versions have bitlocker. Home doesn't have it.
jphughan
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July 9th, 2019 07:00
@Mary G that isn't entirely true. Win10 Home when installed on hardware that meets certain requirements has a capability called "Device encryption", which uses BitLocker under the hood. My wife's XPS 13 9350 has Win10 Home and has BitLocker enabled right now, and you'll find discussion about this here and in other forums. The "Device encryption" implementation doesn't have all of the features of BitLocker available in Pro, such as encrypting non-OS disks and the ability to use certain types of protectors, but it DOES allow encrypting the OS partition with BitLocker. Dell has been shipping Win10 Home systems with the BitLocker pre-staged configuration I described above for a few years now, and it's caught several people out because unfortunately nothing ever informs the user that their drive is encrypted with BitLocker or that their Recovery Key was backed up to their Microsoft account -- so if they update their BIOS or get a motherboard replacement or something, they're prompted for a Recovery Key they didn't even realize existed and have no idea where to find, since the Recovery Key prompt doesn't suggest checking their Microsoft account either.
Sharil Sharizal
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July 12th, 2019 21:00
Same. it just failed suddenly
Sharil Sharizal
3 Posts
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July 27th, 2019 21:00
Use this new released bios. Problem fixed.
storecreekgeek
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October 13th, 2022 06:00
I had the same problem after placing a new image on a Dell factory SSD. I had left a small amount of unused space at the end of the drive because the size of my image was smaller than the drive. I created a partition with the unused space and rebooted. Problem solved. BIOS update installed without a hitch.