Dell Encryption Removal Considerations and Best Practices
Summary: There are multiple methods to successfully decrypt and remove the Dell Encryption suite of products. This article helps offer insight, guidance, and best practices to the overall removal process of all Dell Encryption Solutions. ...
Instructions
- Products listed in the Affected Products may not be in an Active state. For up-to-date information about support for a product, reference Product Lifecycle (End of Support / End of Life) Policy for Dell Data Security. If you have any questions on alternative articles, either reach out to your sales team or contact endpointsecurity@dell.com.
- Reference Endpoint Security for additional information about current products.
Affected Products:
- All Credant Technologies Products
- All Dell Data Security (formerly Dell Data Protection) Software
- All Dell Data Security (formerly Dell Data Protection) Hardware
- All Dell Data Security (formerly Dell Data Protection) Utilities
Affected Operating Systems:
- Windows 11
- Windows 10
- Windows 8.1
- Windows 8
- Windows 7
- Windows Server 2022
- Windows Server 2019
- Windows Server 2016
- Windows Server 2012 R2
There are multiple methods to successfully decrypt and remove the Dell Encryption suite of products. This article helps offer insight, guidance, and best practices to the overall removal process of all Dell Encryption Solutions.
Encryption solutions are complex and not tested or supported to co-exist with each other. This can leave a gap in protection of deployed devices as customers are migrating away from one encryption solution to another.
As Dell Encryption begins its path to End of Support and End of Life, customers may find it easier to let their current deployment of devices age out using hardware attrition or operating system failure. When a device is refreshed, or the operating system is reloaded onto an existing device the customer can start fresh at that point with their replacement Encryption solution.
All Dell Encryption solutions are targeted to protect the Data-at-Rest (DAR) which means if you were to boot the machine with a Windows PE disk or attempt to access the drive as a secondary drive on a second computer you would not be able to open or view any of the data that was protected using Dell Encryption as of the last operating system user session.
A common misconception of Dell Encryption is that the data is encrypted even if it moved off the device say to a network or cloud share. When the operating system has loaded all the Windows system files, they are in an accessible state. In this state as files are moved from the device to a network or cloud share, they leave the computer in their plaintext state and are saved at their destination in that plaintext state. If a device refresh is not an option, having the user backup all their files to a network our cloud share and then placing a fresh operating system image on the device is a fast and quick way to migrate away from Dell Encryption.
One of the first steps of the removal process of any Dell Encryption solution is to begin decryption. The below topics are broken down per encryption solution for ease of understanding the differences, recommendations, and risks.
Table of Contents
- Dell Encryption Policy Based Encryption
- Dell Encryption External Media
- Dell Encryption Personal
- Dell Encryption Self-Encrypting Drive Manager
- Dell BitLocker Manager
- Dell Encryption Full Disk Encryption (FDE)
Dell Encryption Policy Based Encryption
Decrypting Endpoints using a policy-based group
- Sign in to Dell Data Security Console

Figure 1: (English Only) Dell Data Security Sign in
- From the Dashboard, go to Populations > Endpoint Groups.

Figure 2: (English Only) Go to Populations > Endpoint Groups
- Click Add.

Figure 3: (English Only) Click Add
- Select ADMIN-DEFINED Group and click Add Group.

Figure 4: (English Only) Select ADMIN-DEFINED Group and click Add Group

Figure 5: (English Only) Adding endpoint group: Device Targeted Decryption message
- Select newly created Endpoint Group.

Figure 6: (English Only) Select newly created Endpoint Group
- Select the Members Tab.

Figure 7: (English Only) Select the Members Tab
- Add targeted Endpoints using Add Endpoint to Group or Upload Multiple Endpoints from File (CSV).

Figure 8: (English Only) Add Endpoint to Group or Upload Multiple Endpoints from File (CSV)
- To configure a decryption policy, click the Security Polices tab.

Figure 9: (English Only) Click the Security Polices tab
- Under Windows Encryption, click Policy-Based Encryption.

Figure 10: (English Only) Click Policy-Based Encryption
- If SDE Encryption was enabled in the environment, ensure that the SDE Encryption Enabled Box is Checked.

Figure 11: (English Only) SDE Encryption Enabled Box is Checked
- For the remainder of the policies, ensure your settings match the table below.
| Policy Name | Policy Value |
|---|---|
| SDE Encryption Rules | -^3F#:\ |
| Common Encrypted Folders | -^3F#:\ |
| SDE Encryption Algorithm | Customer Choice |
| Common Encryption Algorithm | Customer Choice |
| Encrypt Windows Paging File | Cleared |
| Secure Windows Credentials | Cleared |
| Block Unmanaged Access to Domain Credentials | Cleared |
| Secure Windows Hibernation File | Cleared |
| Prevent Unsecured Hibernation | Cleared |
| Policy Proxy Connections | Customer Choice |
| Policy Proxy Polling Interval | Customer Choice |
| Length of Each Reboot Delay | 15 |
| Number of Reboot Delays Allowed | 3 |
| Temporary File Encryption key type | Off |
- To commit the policy changes, go to Management > Commit.

Figure 12: (English Only) Go to Management > Commit
- Add in a comment and then select Commit Policies.

Figure 13: (English Only) Add in a comment and select Commit Policies
- As endpoints begin to receive the new policies, they will be prompted for a reboot, and then the decryption process will begin at the next user login. Depending on project timelines, devices can stay in this group configuration for if they are needed and are ready to be uninstalled after a few days. For uninstall recommendations and processes, reference the Uninstallation section.
Decrypting Users using policy using an admin defined user group
- Sign in to Dell Data Security Console

Figure 14: (English Only) Dell Data Security Sign in
- From the Dashboard, go to Populations > User Groups.

Figure 15: (English Only) Go to Populations > User Groups
- Click Add.

Figure 16: (English Only) Click Add
- Select ADMIN-DEFINED Group and click Add Group.

Figure 17: (English Only) Select ADMIN-DEFINED Group and click Add Group

Figure 18: (English Only) Adding Admin-Defined User group: Admin Defined message
- Back on the User Groups page select the newly created User Group.

Figure 19: (English Only) Select the newly created User Group
- Select the Members Tab.

Figure 20: (English Only) Select the Members Tab
- Add targeted Users using Add Users to Group or Upload Multiple Users from File (CSV).

Figure 21: (English Only) Add Users to Group or Upload Multiple Users from File (CSV)
- To configure a decryption policy, click the Security Polices tab.

Figure 22: (English Only) Click the Security Polices tab
- Click Policy-Based Encryption

Figure 23: (English Only) Click Policy-Based Encryption
- Ensure that the Policy-Based Encryption policy is switched to On.

Figure 24: (English Only) Policy-Based Encryption policy is switched to On
- For the remainder of the policies, ensure your settings match the table below.
| Application Data Encryption Key | Current Customer Value |
|---|---|
| User Encrypted Folders | -^3F#:\ |
| Application Data Encryption List | Blank |
| User Encryption Algorithm | Customer Choice |
| Encrypt Outlook Personal Folders | Cleared |
| Encrypt Temporary Files | Cleared |
| Encrypt Temporary Internet Files | Cleared |
| Encrypt User Profile Documents | Cleared |
| Managed Services | Blank |
| Secure Post-Encryption Cleanup | Checked |
| Workstation Scan Priority | Customer Choice |
| User Data Encryption Key | Customer Choice |
| Current Shield State | Activate |
| Allow Activations | Checked |
| Number of Policy Update Delays Allowed | 3 |
| Force Logoff/Reboot on Policy Updates | Checked |
| Policy Viewer Enabled | Customer Choice |
| Display Local Encryption Processing Control | Cleared |
| Suppress File Contention Notification | Checked |
| Number of Encryption Processing Delays Allowed | 0 |
| Length of Each Encryption Processing Delay | 5 |
| Length of Each Policy Update Delay | 15 |
| Allow Encryption Processing Only When Screen is Locked | False |
| Hide Overlay Icons | Customer Choice |
- Scan Workstation on Logon helps speed-up the decryption process as devices are restarted files can be unlocked and Dell Encryption can access previously locked files to decrypt them.
- To throttle the amount of CPU and lessen the impact of decryption on an endpoint, a customer can set the
- Workstation Scan Priority setting to Low or Lowest (this increases the amount of time the machine takes to decrypt but can be helpful in lessening user impact or resources on aged hardware).
- Policy Viewer Enabled allows you to confirm using the local Dell Encryption console that the user and endpoint are getting the correct policy to begin decryption.
- Hide Overlay Icons can help end-users see what files they have that are still encrypted but could increase customers helpdesk calls as the new icon could confuse users if it previously was not enabled in a customer’s environment.
- Click Save
- To commit the policy changes, go to Management > Commit.

Figure 25: (English Only) Go to Management > Commit
- Add in a comment and then select Commit Policies.

Figure 26: (English Only) Add comments and select Commit Policies
- As users begin to receive the new policies they will be prompted for a reboot, and then the decryption process will begin at the next log in. Depending on project timelines, devices can stay here if they are needed and are ready to be uninstalled after a few days. For uninstall recommendations and processes, reference the Uninstallation section.
Dell Encryption External Media
- Sign in to Dell Data Security Console

Figure 27: (English Only) Sign in to Dell Data Security Console
- From the Dashboard, go to Populations > User Groups.

Figure 28: (English Only) Go to Populations > User Groups
- Click Add.

Figure 29: (English Only) Click Add
- Select ADMIN-DEFINED Group and click Add Group.

Figure 30: (English Only) Select ADMIN-DEFINED Group and click Add Group

Figure 31: (English Only) Adding Admin-Defined User group: Admin Defined message
- Back on the User Groups page select the newly created User Group.

Figure 32: (English Only) Select the newly created User Group
- Select the Members Tab.

Figure 33: (English Only) Select the Members Tab
- Add targeted Users using Add Users to Group or Upload Multiple Users from File (CSV).

Figure 34: (English Only) Add Users to Group or Upload Multiple Users from File (CSV)
- To configure a decryption policy, click the Security Polices tab.

Figure 35: (English Only) click the Security Polices tab
- Click Policy-Windows Media Encryption.

Figure 36: (English Only) Click Policy-Windows Media Encryption
- Set the Windows Media Encryption policy to switch off.

Figure 37: (English Only) Set the Windows Media Encryption policy to switch off
- Click save
- To commit the policy changes, go to Management > Commit.

Figure 38: (English Only) Go to Management > Commit
- Add in a comment and then select Commit Policies.

Figure 39: (English Only) Add comments and select Commit Policies
- As users begin to receive the new policies, they must connect any encrypted external media to start the decryption process.
Dell Encryption Personal
- Click the Start button and open Dell Encryption.

Figure 40: (English Only) Open Dell Encryption
- From the Dell Encryption console, click advanced.

Figure 41: (English Only) Click advanced
- Click default settings

Figure 42: (English Only) Click default settings
- Enter your encryption administrator password.

Figure 43: (English Only) Enter your encryption administrator password
- Select the Encryption Disabled template and click save.

Figure 44: (English Only) Select the Encryption Disabled template and click save
- Click home at the bottom right, and notice the decrypting sweep in progress.

Figure 45: (English Only) Decrypting, sweep in progress
- If you have encrypted removable media, connect it to allow it to be decrypted.
Dell Encryption Self-Encrypting Drive Manager
Deactivate the Self-Encrypting Drive using policy
- Sign in to the Dell Data Security Console

Figure 46: (English Only) Sign in to the Dell Data Security Console
- From the Dashboard, go to Populations > Endpoint Groups.

Figure 47: (English Only) Go to Populations > Endpoint Groups
- Click Add.

Figure 48: (English Only) Click Add
- Select ADMIN-DEFINED Group and click Add Group.

Figure 49: (English Only) Select ADMIN-DEFINED Group and click Add Group
- Select newly created Endpoint Group.

Figure 50: (English Only) Select newly created Endpoint Group
- Select the Members Tab.

Figure 51: (English Only) Select the Members Tab
- Add targeted Endpoints using Add Endpoint to Group or Upload Multiple Endpoints from File (CSV).

Figure 52: (English Only) Add Endpoint to Group or Upload Multiple Endpoints from File (CSV)
- To disable Self-Encrypting Drive Manager, select Security Policies.

Figure 53: (English Only) Select Security Policies
- Select Self-Encrypting Drive (SED) under the Windows Encryption Category.

Figure 54: (English Only) Select Self-Encrypting Drive (SED)
- Switch Self-Encrypting Drive (SED) to Off and click Save.

Figure 55: (English Only) Switch Self-Encrypting Drive (SED) to Off and click Save
- To commit the policy change, go to Management > Commit.

Figure 56: (English Only) Go to Management > Commit
- Select Commit Policies.

Figure 57: (English Only) Select Commit Policies
- Upon the endpoints receiving the new policy, they are prompted to Shut Down to remove the Self-Encryption Drive Manager and Pre-Boot Authentication screen.
Dell BitLocker Manager
- Sign in to Dell Data Security Console

Figure 58: (English Only) Sign in to Dell Data Security Console
- From the Dashboard, go to Populations > Endpoint Groups.

Figure 59: (English Only) Go to Populations > Endpoint Groups
- Click Add.

Figure 60: (English Only) Click Add
- Select ADMIN-DEFINED Group.
- Enter a Group Name and click Add Group.

Figure 61: (English Only) Enter a Group Name and click Add Group
- Select the newly created Endpoint Group.

Figure 62: (English Only) Select the newly created Endpoint Group
- Select the Members Tab.

Figure 63: (English Only) Select the Members Tab
- Add targeted Endpoints using Add Endpoint to Group or Upload Multiple Endpoints from File (CSV).

Figure 64: (English Only) Add Endpoint to Group or Upload Multiple Endpoints from File (CSV)
- To disable BitLocker management or decrypt BitLocker protected drives click the Security Policies tab, then click BitLocker encryption.

Figure 65: (English Only) Click BitLocker encryption
If you are managing BitLocker with another application
- Switch BitLocker encryption to not managed

Figure 66: (English Only) Switch BitLocker encryption to not managed
Back To Top
If you want to decrypt the drives
- For any drive (system, fixed, or removable) that is set to turn on encryption change the selection to turn off encryption from the drop-down menu.

Figure 67: (English Only) Change the selection to turn off encryption
- Click save.
- To commit the policy change, go to Management > Commit.

Figure 68: (English Only) Go to Management > Commit
- Add a comment about the policy changes made and then click Commit Policies.

Figure 69: (English Only) Add a comment and click Commit Policies
- Once the endpoint has received the policy, BitLocker no longer manages or decrypts depending on the policy changes made.
Dell Encryption Full Disk Encryption (FDE)
- Sign in to Dell Data Security Console

Figure 70: (English Only) Sign in to Dell Data Security Console
- From the Dashboard, go to Populations > Endpoint Groups.

Figure 71: (English Only) Go to Populations > Endpoint Groups
- Click Add.

Figure 72: (English Only) Click Add
- Select ADMIN-DEFINED Group and click Add Group.

Figure 73: (English Only) Select ADMIN-DEFINED Group and click Add Group
- Select newly created Endpoint Group.

Figure 74: (English Only) Select newly created Endpoint Group
- Select the Members Tab.

Figure 75: (English Only) Select the Members Tab
- Add targeted Endpoints using Add Endpoint to Group or Upload Multiple Endpoints from File (CSV).

Figure 76: (English Only) Add Endpoint to Group or Upload Multiple Endpoints from File (CSV)
- To disable Full Disk Encryption, select Security Policies.

Figure 77: (English Only) Select Security Policies
- Select Full Disk Encryption (FDE) under the Windows Encryption Category.

Figure 78: (English Only) Select Full Disk Encryption (FDE)
- Switch Full Disk Encryption (FDE) to off and click Save.

Figure 79: (English Only) Switch Full Disk Encryption (FDE) to off and click Save
- To commit the policy change, go to Management > Commit.

Figure 80: (English Only) Go to Management > Commit
- Add a comment about the policy changes you made and click Commit Polices.

Figure 81: (English Only) Add a comment and click Commit Polices
Dell Encryption
- Dell Encryption BitLocker Manager
- Dell Encryption Full Disk Encryption
- Dell Encryption Personal Edition
- Dell Encryption Policy Based Encryption
How to Run the Dell Data Security Uninstaller
Dell Encryption Self-Encrypting Drive Manager
How to Deprovision Dell Encryption Enterprise Self-Encrypting Drive Manager or Dell Encryption Personal Self-Encrypting Drive ManagerDell Encryption External Media
- How to Decrypt External Media Managed by Dell Data Security / Dell Data Protection
- How to Run the Dell Data Security Uninstaller
Dell Security Management Server
It is recommended that you download and keep the Dell Security Management Server Enterprise installation files and store them along with your database backup, server_config.xml, and secretKeyStore files in the event you must fully restore your previous environment. Following the steps below ensures you can recover your deployment if needed.
- Shutdown or disable the Dell Security Management Server (DSMS) Proxy services and the DSMS Enterprise services.
- Perform a full backup of the database
- Determine a safe archival location for the files and db backup (perhaps add a secondary location and ensure that the archival locations are backed up regularly) and store the following in this location:
- Full database backup
- DSMS installer (used version [since the schema versions can change between DSMS versions]). The steps below can be used if the DSMS installer is not readily available.
- Download the same version of Dell Security Management Server as you have deployed in your environment, reference Support for Dell Encryption | Drivers & Downloads page.

Figure 82: (English Only) Download Dell Security Management Server
- Server_config.xml:
Path: <boot drive>:\Program Files\Dell\Enterprise Edition\Compatibility Server\conf
- secretKeyStore:
Path: <boot drive>:\ Program Files\Dell\Enterprise Edition\Compatibility Server\conf
- Uninstall DSMS Proxy Servers
- Uninstall DSMS Enterprise Server. The steps below can be used to uninstall the DSMS Enterprise server.
How to Uninstall Dell Security Management Server / Dell Data Protection Enterprise Edition Server
Dell Security Management Server Virtual
The Dell Security Management Server Virtual is an appliance-based management server for Dell Encryption products. The self-contained nature of this option makes it incredibly simple to back up your current deployment it and store files as needed on cold storage or offline storage.
It is recommended that you download and keep an appliance OVA or VMDK to store along with your database backup in the event you must fully restore your previous environment.
- Download the same version of Dell Security Management Server Virtual (Hyper-V) or Dell Security Management Server Virtual (VMware) as you have deployed in your environment Support for Dell Encryption | Drivers & Downloads page.

Figure 83: (English Only) Download Dell Security Management Server Virtual (Hyper-V) or Dell Security Management Server Virtual (VMware)
- In order to select Hyper-V or VMware download options, ensure that your Operating System selection is either VMware ESXi x.x or Windows Server XXXX.
- The current release version is always displayed on the main page. If a different version is needed, they can be downloaded using the Older versions link on the page.
- For information about backup and restoring, reference How to Back Up and Restore Dell Security Management Server Virtual / Dell Data Protection Virtual Edition.
- With the two steps above you could restore your Dell Security Management Server Virtual edition server to its previous configuration.
Who can I call if I have questions about Dell Encryption Removal?
Dell Data Security support is available for ProSupport customers. Customers can use the Dell Data Security International Support Phone Numbers article to locate an in-country support number and extension to get assistance.
What do I do if I still have Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 Encrypted Devices?
Effective January 31, 2023, Dell Personal Encryption and Dell Enterprise Encryption will no longer be supported for versions of Microsoft Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1. This action follows the Microsoft decisions to end support of Windows 7 (effective January 14, 2020) and Windows 8 and 8.1 (effective January 10, 2023). It is recommended to uninstall Dell Encryption from these devices or continue usage under your own risk. For more information about the Dell Encryption software life cycle, reference the Product Life Cycle (End of Support / End of Life) Policy for Dell Data Security.
When will Dell ProSupport for Software coverage end for Dell Encryption products?
You are entitled to Dell Encryption support through your most recent contract purchase. From our records, we intend to finalize Dell Encryption support in the calendar year 2026.
What happens once the license expires?
All Dell Encryption licenses are perpetual. Your deployed devices and servers can continue to run if they are healthy enough to do so.
Legal Considerations
It is possible there could be pending legal litigation going on with your encrypted devices. It is recommended that you communicate with your legal team and save a copy of your enterprise or virtual edition server configurations so that they are available if a hard drive or removable device is located several years later after you have moved away from Dell Data Security solutions. More information about how to backup and store copies of your server configurations can be found above in the Dell Security Management Server section or Dell Security Management Server Virtual section above.
To contact support, reference Dell Data Security International Support Phone Numbers.
Go to TechDirect to generate a technical support request online.
For additional insights and resources, join the Dell Security Community Forum.