Unable to unlock the locked External Drive on conversion to Windows 11

Hello Folks,
I have been on Windows 10 under the name Bit.
I just converted my other Windows 10 to Windows 11. The other one did not have a TPM Chip and is otherwise a good machine. I simply downloaded the Windows 11 iso, mounted it and ran it from that as a drive. It converted and everything without a hitch. However, on the old system I had a OneTouch Seagate 6 TB drive with a lot of stuff on it, backups and Multimedia etc. During the conversion I did not disconnect the external HDD so in Windows 11 it is showing as a locked drive and I can't access it. It does not take the password I had to unlock it. I do have the SID and PSID codes to Reset it, but I am not sure how to use those.
I would therefore appreciate if some could help fix it and get it going.
Thank you and looking forward to some kind help in the matter.
Best regards,
Cay
PS: I shall enter the specs of the other system as soon as I am done.

The Bit Lock keys if thats your issue ,are saved on your Microsoft profile if you have one .

I use Rufus for usb boot drive, with Bit Locker disabled option , when reinstalling

Thanks, but it's not the Bit Locker Key. This is a simple 6TB external drive that's got stuck. It was open and running before installing Windows 11: it came back locked!

This might help; USB External Troubleshooter | Seagate US

When something goes wrong you need to look at the last change you made, and that's Windows 11. That's not surprising. FYI: Newer versions of Windown 11 encrypt everything upon installation - actually during installation - using Bitlocker. There is no warning, no alert, no asking for permission. That can happen even if you don't have a Microsoft account, in which case you lost all your data on your drive. If you do have a Microsoft account, log in and see if you can find the key under Manage Devices (assuming Bitlocker is the problem).

You mentioned PSID, SID, so let's assume those are for encrypting and decrypting Seagate drive. Did you encrypt your drive without realizing it? Otherwise Seagate decided to encrypt your drive automatically when it freaked out that the OS had changed. There are other conditions that will cause a Seagate drive to lock automatically, such as a power surge or interruption. Sadly, you say you don't know how to use the drive decryption keys (SID, PSID) to unlock the drive. That should have been your first option. Get on the Seagate's website and figure it out. Otherwise, again, you lost your data.

Hopefully you can recover your data, but take precautions for next time. Have backups. Don't depend on magic software to do things that you don't FULLY understand. That's especially true for anything that promises to "safeguard" your data using encryption. We're talking about Bitlocker, OneDrive, Seagate, etc. In such cases you are actually giving the keys to your data to some corporate strangers who control all access to your data.

Finally, to help others on the forum diagnose a problem you need to be more descriptive and precise about the nature of your problem. Terms such as "under the name Bit", locked, stuck, SID, PSID, old and new machines, etc. .... don't help much.

SumpterX said:

When something goes wrong you need to look at the last change you made, and that's Windows 11. That's not surprising. FYI: Newer versions of Windown 11 encrypt everything upon installation - actually during installation - using Bitlocker. There is no warning, no alert, no asking for permission. That can happen even if you don't have a Microsoft account, in which case you lost all your data on your drive. If you do have a Microsoft account, log in and see if you can find the key under Manage Devices (assuming Bitlocker is the problem).

Click to expand...

I found that out a few months ago when I did a clean install of Windows 11 Pro. Fortunately, I did the setup disconnected from the Internet. I also started with a local account. I just happened to check and found that BitLocker was enabled. There was a message saying I needed to log in with my Microsoft account to complete BitLocker setup. Instead I selected to unencrypt my drive(s). It did so without any problem. If there was ever an encryption key I was never told me about it.

Cay said:

I do have the SID and PSID codes to Reset it, but I am not sure how to use those.

Click to expand...

The OP is locked out of their data and needs instructions on how to use their SID/PSID codes to regain access to the drive under Windows 11.

ChatGPT / Google Gemini:

The mention of a PSID reset is important:

• A PSID reset is usually a last-resort factory reset for encrypted SSD/HDDs.
• It normally erases all data while unlocking the device.
• So using the PSID is not the same as recovering access.

Click to expand...

Because you upgraded Windows using an ISO mount while the drive was connected, Windows 11 likely changed the drive's initialization state or security context in Disk Management, which frequently blocks the standard unlock prompt.

To safely unlock the drive and keep your data:

1. Download Seagate Toolkit: Ensure you have the latest version of the official Seagate Toolkit software installed on Windows 11.
2. Launch the Software: Open Toolkit manually. It should detect the locked 6 TB OneTouch drive.
3. Unlock via Toolkit: Click on the Seagate Secure activity tile and select Unlock.
4. Enter Your Original Password: Try your password here. Often, the software can bypass Windows-level interface bugs that prevent the password from working in standard File Explorer prompts.
5. Test a Different PC: If it still rejects the password, try plugging the drive into a completely different Windows 10 or 11 computer that has Seagate Toolkit installed to rule out an OS upgrade conflict.

Click to expand...

Hi @Cay

Check whether this helps:
Since you have installled Windows 11, it can be be considered as another/new PC

The AI overview on "how to unlock onetouch Seagate drive on another PC?" (Google search)

To unlock your Seagate OneTouch drive on a new PC, plug it in and open the built-in Unlock Drive app on the drive, or use the downloadable Seagate Toolkit app. Enter your password to access your files.

Follow these step-by-step methods:

Method 1: Using the Built-In Unlock App (No Installation Needed)
The easiest way to unlock your drive on a PC without downloading extra software is to use the lightweight application stored natively on the drive.
Connect your Seagate OneTouch drive to the new PC.
Open File Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac).
Locate and click on the DriveLocked volume that appears in your drive list.
Double-click the Unlock Drive for Windows or Unlock Drive for Mac executable file.
Enter your password (it is case-sensitive) and click OK.

Method 2: Using the Seagate Toolkit (Recommended)
If you are using the drive frequently across multiple computers, it is highly convenient to download and install the management software.
Download and install the free Seagate Toolkit software from the Seagate Support Page.
Open the Toolkit app.
Go to the Seagate Secure activity menu.
Click Unlock.

@jumanji
Hello! You have helped me before, sometime last year.
I thank you all graciously, and now suddenly it dawned on me that it must be due to BitLocker because the files names on the locked drive appear in Blue as that is evidently while these must have been encrypted. unless it treats these as system files. I do have some Microsoft accounts (I logged out of this computer's this morning). Finally as Seagate & Co were unable to troubleshoot, they offered to retrieve the Data and give me a new drive as it has valid Warranty and Replacement. It would take about a month as it is done by their staff in the Netherlands and it would be picked up and delivered at their cost by UPS. I have 30 days time to take on their offer.
So now I shall check with Microsoft and see if there is anything there. If they do that then it is quite like Ransomware!

Cay said:

@jumanji
Hello! You have helped me before, sometime last year.
I thank you all graciously, and now suddenly it dawned on me that it must be due to BitLocker

Click to expand...

Oh....... that must have been in Windows 10 forums. Thanks for remembering.

And yes, when you installed windows 11 your external disk could have gotten encrypted automatically.

You may not find the key in your Microsoft account .

Please see XxXxX's post here BitLocker key? and Alexey2912's post following it, to get the bitlocker Recovery Key. Once you decrypt the drive , turn off bitlocker encryption to that drive. Allow enough time for bitlocker decryption to complete.. Once fully decrypted,that should leave you only with the Seagate encryption. To gain access and read the contents, go ahead as in my post #8.

Would love to follow your esteemed advice, but I am in a thicker soup now. I went ahead and bought Microsoft 365 and all hell broke loose. MS365 is (activated, the last I checked) but the individual Apps could not be installed, perhaps some vestigial older 365 was still lingering somewhere, though I know I uninstalled it all and couldn't any residue anywhere! That's what error said. Then all of a sudden a window screen saver appeared, it had also picked out a picture out of the files all by itself. As I never use a screen saver I wanted it gone... go to the settings and fix it. It went but now a log in screen appeared. Okay, I clicked for the sign in, the dotted wheel turned once and the Sign in font became smaller, but no field appeared. What the hell, I tried again and nothing, no sign in field. In the right corner below the switches to restart, accessibility etc. were there so I restarted. So again it asked for a Sign In, but no log in field again. I cant go into the computer anymore and fix things. Totally flabbergasted and frustrated now. How do I get in.
I am right now using my Laptop and really up the creek without a handle!
Any suggestions to calm my badly frayed nerves?

In the meantime I have positive tidings, that the external drive has not fortunately been encrypted. I attached it my Laptop this morning and as asked me to unlock it. So I did and it works all the Files and folders are there! is there! Therefore I shall not attach it to the Desktop Computer until that is fixed.
I did try to repair (by using Shift on starting the system and finally asking Windows to fix the system and it failed to do so. There are other options available and one of them being to reinstall Windows 11 which I am reluctant to do. So I will try if I can start in Safe mode somehow and see if I can switch off the safe screen and start system without a password.