This tutorial will show you how to check the current status if BitLocker Drive Encryption for a drive in Windows 10 and Windows 11.
BitLocker Drive Encryption is a data protection feature that integrates with the operating system and addresses the threats of data theft or exposure from lost, stolen, or inappropriately decommissioned drives and computers.
You can turn on BitLocker to encrypt the operating system drive (Windows drive), fixed data drives (internal hard drives), and removable data drives (external hard drive or USB flash drive).
Knowing the current BitLocker Drive Encryption status of a drive can help you to manage BitLocker settings for the drive.
You must be signed in as an administrator to check the status of BitLocker Drive Encryption.
BitLocker Drive Encryption is only available in the Windows 10/11 Pro, Enterprise, and Education editions.
Contents
- Option One: Check BitLocker Drive Encryption Status using "manage-bde -status" command
- Option Two: Check BitLocker Drive Encryption Status using "Get-BitLockerVolume" command
1 Open Windows Terminal (Admin), and select either Windows PowerShell or Command Prompt.
2 Type the command below you want to use into Windows Terminal (Admin), and press Enter. (see screenshots below)
(Get BitLocker status of all drives)
manage-bde -status
OR
(Get BitLocker status of specific drive)
manage-bde -status <drive letter>:
Substitute <drive letter> in the command above with the actual drive letter (ex: "C") you want to check the status of.
For example: manage-bde -status C:
3 The manage-bde -status command provides the following information about a drive on the PC:
- Size
- BitLocker version
- Conversion status
- Percentage encrypted
- Encryption method
- Protection status
- Lock status
- Identification field
- Automatic Unlock
- Key protectors
Status: BitLocker encryption in progress
Status: BitLocker turned on (encrypted entire drive)
Status: BitLocker turned on (encrypted used space only)
Status: BitLocker turned off (decrypted)
1 Open Windows Terminal (Admin), and select Windows PowerShell.
2 Type the command below you want to use into Windows Terminal (Admin), and press Enter. (see screenshots below)
(Get BitLocker status of all drives)
Get-BitLockerVolume | Format-List
OR
(Get BitLocker status of specific drive)
Get-BitLockerVolume -MountPoint "<drive letter>:" | Format-List
Substitute <drive letter> in the command above with the actual drive letter (ex: "C") you want to check the status of.
For example: Get-BitLockerVolume -MountPoint "C:" | Format-List
3 The Get-BitLockerVolume command provides the following information about a drive on the PC:
- VolumeType = Data or Operating System.
- Mount Point = Drive letter.
- CapacityGB = Size of drive.
- MetadataVersion - Returns the FVE metadata version of the volume.
- 0 - Unknown - The operating system is unknown.
- 1 - Vista - Windows Vista format, meaning that the volume was protected with BitLocker on a computer running Windows Vista.
- 2 - Win7 - Windows 7 format, meaning that the volume was protected with BitLocker on a computer running Windows 7 or the metadata format was upgraded by using the UpgradeVolume method.
- VolumeStatus = Whether BitLocker currently protects some, all, or none of the data on the volume.
- Encryption Percentage = Percent of the volume protected by BitLocker.
- KeyProtector = Type of key protector or protectors.
- AutoUnlock Enabled = Whether BitLocker uses automatic unlocking for the volume.
- Protection Status = Whether BitLocker currently uses a key protector to encrypt the volume encryption key.
- EncryptionMethod = Indicates the encryption algorithm and key size used on the volume.
Status: BitLocker encryption in progress
Status: BitLocker turned on (encrypted entire drive)
Status: BitLocker turned off (decrypted)
That's it,
Shawn Brink
Related Tutorials
- Add BitLocker Status for Drive Context Menu in Windows 11
- Change BitLocker Drive Encryption Method in Windows 11
- Turn On or Off Device Encryption in Windows 11
- Turn On BitLocker for Operating System Drive in Windows 11
- Turn On BitLocker for Fixed Data Drive in Windows 11
- Turn On BitLocker for Removable Data Drive in Windows 11
- Suspend or Resume BitLocker Protection for Drive in Windows 11
- Add or Remove Manage BitLocker Context Menu in Windows 11
- Lock BitLocker Drive in Windows 11
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