4 Posts
0
93164
XPS 13 9365, Asking for Bitlocker recovery key after BIOS update
I just updated my BIOS on my Dell XPS 9365 and now I am asked to give a Bitlocker recovery password. Bitlocker was never enabled on this laptop. I have done several updates over the past year and this never came up. I cannot get into my computer. I have tried to use the Command prompt to either disable or pause Bitlocker but DOS also required the recovery key. What has Dell done to me and how do I get around this?
Bobtini
4 Posts
1
October 10th, 2018 12:00
Folks,
I found this in another thread on this site.See this thread with a post from CalidSi.
https://www.dell.com/community/Windows-10/BitLocker-need-a-key-but-I-never-installed-it/td-p/6019486/page/3
It worked !!!!!
Hi All,
I faced this issue today. I believe it was triggered by a BIOS update I installed last week. I have a Dell XPS 13 running Windows 10.
Upon turning on my laptop I was faced with the "Enter your BitLocker Recovery Key", despite having never installed or enabled it, so I didn't have any recovery keys generated or saved.
I called Microsoft, they said it's up to the manufacturer.
I tweeted Dell support and they were finally able to help me access my laptop once again.
"Please follow the steps mentioned below, and let us know if you are able to boot to the OS.
1. Restart the system.
2. At the Dell Logo keep tapping F2.
3. You will enter the BIOS screen
4. Under General
5. Select Boot Sequence.
6. Select UEFI
7. Select Apply.
8. Under “Security” select TPM 2.0 Security
9. Select Enable and click on Apply.
10. Under “Secure Boot”
11. Select Secure Boot Enable
12. Select Enable.
13. Click on Apply. Once these steps are done, restart the system and let us know if you are able to boot into Windows.
-----
The above worked for me: I am now able to enter Windows and access my files. To avoid this stress in future, I recommend setting up a restore point and purchasing a reputable back up software, I've just purchased Acronis.
Good luck!
CahalSi
Renx-78
66 Posts
0
October 3rd, 2018 14:00
Bobtini
4 Posts
0
October 3rd, 2018 16:00
The key was never stored on my MS account as Bitblocker was never enabled. This is a Dell issue. On the XPS 9365 Dell indicates that Bitblocker is not loaded on the Windows 10 Home edition. However, the system will show that Bitblocker is enabled but it is really the system encryption. With this latest BIOS update, somehow the system now thinks Bitblocker is enabled and is asking for the recovery key. No such key exists. This problem never existed for the past year when I updated the BIOS. This Bios update has messed something up.
Bobtini
4 Posts
1
October 3rd, 2018 16:00
jphughan
4 Operator
4 Operator
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14K Posts
0
October 4th, 2018 05:00
BitLocker is prompting for a Recovery Key and you cannot locate the key
While it's true that Window 10 Home doesn't have BitLocker, it does have a generically named "Device encryption" feature that uses BitLocker technology but has fewer management capabilities and is only available when certain hardware requirements are met. It's definitely a confusing situation. Anyway, Windows wouldn't be just "mistaken" in thinking you have BitLocker enabled when you don't. If it's asking for a Recovery Key, your drive is encrypted and the TPM is refusing to release the key automatically because the system has failed the "platform integrity check" due to the BIOS version change. If you don't know your Recovery Key, then you should flash your system back to whatever BIOS version you were running before in order to get the system to boot. You should be able to do that by pressing F12 at startup, and I believe in there you'll see an option to update the BIOS without needing Windows. If you don't see it there, go into the BIOS Setup and look for some sort of option in there. After you get back into Windows, go check your device encryption properties under Settings > Security > Device encryption I believe.
jphughan
4 Operator
4 Operator
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14K Posts
0
October 10th, 2018 16:00
If that worked, it's because the BIOS update changed some of those settings, which meant that the TPM's "platform integrity check" would have failed and therefore caused the TPM to refuse to release the key itself, hence the prompt for the Recovery Key. That definitely shouldn't have happened, but I'm glad you got it fixed. Incidentally, which of those settings did you actually have to change on your system because they were set to something else after the BIOS update?
Using imaging software on a regular basis is certainly not a bad idea (I'm a Macrium Reflect fan myself), but you should also back up your Recovery Key somewhere that's safe and accessible without your PC to avoid getting locked out due to a BIOS change or if you ever need to recover data on that drive from another PC.
GSBRA
1 Message
1
October 30th, 2019 09:00
This worked! Thank you so much. I crapped a brick when I opened my laptop to this the morning after spending all night work on an important proposal.
I'm the only one still using the Dell XPS. I've moved all of my employees over to HP EliteBooks due to the constant amount of catastrophic failures like this. It's not save to be using a system that can stop you dead in your tracks over something stupid like this.