What's the full procedure to turn BitLocker off?

mck · Sep 23, 2025

A friend bought a HP PC running Windows 11 Home. I discovered that the system C SSD and the data D HDD have BitLocker turned on.

QUESTION-1: Does Macrium Reflect Free Version 8 do image backup and restore of BitLocked drives successfully? (We backed up both drives using Macrium Reflect Free Version 8 image backups successfully. But I've not tested if Macrium's restore will restore BitLocker encrypted drives to their original BitLocked state.)

QUESTION-2: I want to turn BitLocker off on both drives. Googling, I see how to turn BitLocker off to decrypt the drives. My question is what to do to insure that BitLocker is never turned back on. Is just turning BitLocker off and decrypting the drives all that's needed? Or is there an additional step to insure that BitLocker is never turned back on?

Thanks.

Mooly · Sep 23, 2025

1/ I use Macrium 8 (paid for version) on my main PC and Macrium Free on my older one. As far as I remember the free version was fine with Bitlocker when I had Bitlocker encryption enabled on the old one. Its seamless, you don't have to even think about it as its all taken care of automatically. Restores work with Bitlocker re-enabled when completed. Nothing to think about.

2/ I'm not sure tbh. Bitlocker is enabled via the BIOS on my main PC and so any clean installs etc that I do automatically have Bitlocker applied. Other PC is older and runs W11 as unsupported hardware. I have to enable Bitlocker via other means on that one when I wanted it. So it might be worth looking in the BIOS for a Bitlocker setting as well as turning it off. If you turn it off it takes quite a while to decrypt a drive.

Fwiw I really like Bitlocker and provided you back the keys up (to your MS account which is offered as an option) and also keep a hard copy somewhere you should never have an issue.

mck · Sep 23, 2025

Mooly said:
1/ I use Macrium 8 (paid for version) on my main PC and Macrium Free on my older one. As far as I remember the free version was fine with Bitlocker when I had Bitlocker encryption enabled on the old one. Its seamless, you don't have to even think about it as its all taken care of automatically. Restores work with Bitlocker re-enabled when completed. Nothing to think about.

2/ I'm not sure tbh. Bitlocker is enabled via the BIOS on my main PC and so any clean installs etc that I do automatically have Bitlocker applied. Other PC is older and runs W11 as unsupported hardware. I have to enable Bitlocker via other means on that one when I wanted it. So it might be worth looking in the BIOS for a Bitlocker setting as well as turning it off. If you turn it off it takes quite a while to decrypt a drive.

Fwiw I really like Bitlocker and provided you back the keys up (to your MS account which is offered as an option) and also keep a hard copy somewhere you should never have an issue.

@Mooly, thanks for your responses.

1/ Thanks for the confirmation that MRF does image backups and restores of Bitlocked drives, with no issures.

2/ If anyone knows whether an additional step is required to insure that BitLocker is never turned back on, after it is turned off, the info will be greatly appreciated.

pseymour · Sep 23, 2025

BitLocker doesn't randomly turn itself back on, even in an upgrade scenario. At least not yet.

mck · Sep 23, 2025

pseymour said:
BitLocker doesn't randomly turn itself back on, even in an upgrade scenario. At least not yet.

Thanks for that important info!

Jorgen E · Sep 23, 2025

mck said:
QUESTION-2: I want to turn BitLocker off on both drives. Googling, I see how to turn BitLocker off to decrypt the drives. My question is what to do to insure that BitLocker is never turned back on. Is just turning BitLocker off and decrypting the drives all that's needed? Or is there an additional step to insure that BitLocker is never turned back on?

Maybe this ( at the bottom ) :

BitLocker Overview

Explore BitLocker deployment, configuration, and recovery options for IT professionals and device administrators.

learn.microsoft.com

glasskuter · Sep 23, 2025

Depends on if the user has device encryption (Home)or Bitlocker (Pro)

Turn On or Off Device Encryption in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to turn on or off device encryption on a Windows 11 PC. Device encryption is a Windows feature that enables BitLocker encryption automatically for the Operating System drive and fixed drives. It’s particularly beneficial for everyday users who want to ensure...

www.elevenforum.com

Turn Off BitLocker for Drive in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to turn off BitLocker for an encrypted 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...

www.elevenforum.com

garlin · Sep 23, 2025

The same reg key is used to prevent automatic BitLocker and Device Encryption.

Code:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\BitLocker]
"PreventDeviceEncryption"=dword:00000001

DE is a simplified version of BitLocker. Same technology, but Home users don't get to fiddle with all the advanced settings.

Mooly · Sep 24, 2025

And jus a bit more info.

I actually save the disk images to a Bitlocker encrypted drive and there are no issues doing so.

I forget the exact wording but Macrium does give a 'warning' message that such an image is not in itself 'protected' and that you can use Macrium's own encryption to make the image itself 'safe'. None of this makes any difference to making and restoring images though. Also the image file on the Bitlocker drive can be moved as desired to another drive for archiving etc (and that drive can be Bitlocker protected or not).

So I image the C drive and put the image onto the 'Macrium' drive (pc has two internal drives). I also move backup when needed to a 1Tb USB drive that is 'Bitlocker to Go' protected.

C and D are one 256Gb drive and F and M the other 256Gb drive. All Bitlocker protected. All keys stored on MS account and also printed and squirrelled away safe should they be needed.

mta3006 · Sep 24, 2025

I have two systems running W11 Home, and both came with device encryption turned on, which I immediately turned off. Today I noticed my MS account has "BitLocker Keys" saved for both of them. Is there any reason to keep the keys or to delete them? I have no desire to use encryption of any kind.

mck · Sep 24, 2025

Jorgen E said:
Maybe this ( at the bottom ) :

BitLocker Overview

Explore BitLocker deployment, configuration, and recovery options for IT professionals and device administrators.

learn.microsoft.com

I see at the following at the bottom of the link you provided:

1) "Note: If device encryption is turned off, it will no longer automatically enable itself in the future. The user must enable it manually in Settings."

And Googling:
2) "Windows 11 Device Encryption is an automatically enabled, consumer-focused version of BitLocker designed for Windows Home editions that uses a Microsoft account to back up the recovery key. In contrast, BitLocker is the more robust, feature-rich encryption tool available on Windows Pro, Enterprise, and Education editions, offering greater control over which drives are encrypted, the ability to require pre-boot authentication, and more flexible management of recovery keys."

Since my friend's PC is running Win11 Home, it appears that the drives are locked via "Device Encryption". And thus item-1 above applies.

Thanks!

mck · Sep 24, 2025

glasskuter said:
Depends on if the user has device encryption (Home)or Bitlocker (Pro)

Turn On or Off Device Encryption in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to turn on or off device encryption on a Windows 11 PC. Device encryption is a Windows feature that enables BitLocker encryption automatically for the Operating System drive and fixed drives. It’s particularly beneficial for everyday users who want to ensure...

www.elevenforum.com

Turn Off BitLocker for Drive in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to turn off BitLocker for an encrypted 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...

www.elevenforum.com

Very informative links. Will refer to them when I turn off Device Encryption on the two drives in my friend's PC.

Thanks much!

mck · Sep 24, 2025

Duplicate post so deleted this one.

mck · Sep 24, 2025

garlin said:
The same reg key is used to prevent automatic BitLocker and Device Encryption.

Code:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\BitLocker] "PreventDeviceEncryption"=dword:00000001

DE is a simplified version of BitLocker. Same technology, but Home users don't get to fiddle with all the advanced settings.

Thanks for the additional clarification.

mck · Sep 24, 2025

Mooly said:
And jus a bit more info.

I actually save the disk images to a Bitlocker encrypted drive and there are no issues doing so.

I forget the exact wording but Macrium does give a 'warning' message that such an image is not in itself 'protected' and that you can use Macrium's own encryption to make the image itself 'safe'. None of this makes any difference to making and restoring images though. Also the image file on the Bitlocker drive can be moved as desired to another drive for archiving etc (and that drive can be Bitlocker protected or not).

So I image the C drive and put the image onto the 'Macrium' drive (pc has two internal drives). I also move backup when needed to a 1Tb USB drive that is 'Bitlocker to Go' protected.

C and D are one 256Gb drive and F and M the other 256Gb drive. All Bitlocker protected. All keys stored on MS account and also printed and squirrelled away safe should they be needed.

View attachment 146420

Thanks for the confirmation that Macrium will backup and restore Win11 encrypted drives successfully.
Actually, the backups will be done just as a safety measure in case decryption of my friend's drives is unsuccessful for whatever reason.
Thanks.

Mooly · Sep 25, 2025

mta3006 said:
I have two systems running W11 Home, and both came with device encryption turned on, which I immediately turned off. Today I noticed my MS account has "BitLocker Keys" saved for both of them. Is there any reason to keep the keys or to delete them? I have no desire to use encryption of any kind.

If you are not using Bitlocker then you can forget about the keys and delete them if you wish. Remember the keys for the C drive change anyway if you reinstall W11 and I think also if you decrypt and re-encrypt.

Scannerman · Nov 14, 2025

pseymour said:
BitLocker doesn't randomly turn itself back on, even in an upgrade scenario. At least not yet.

Well I sure would like to know what happened here then because I sure didn't select anything that said BitLocker. All I did was upgrade to 25H2.

Scannerman · Nov 14, 2025

Let me tell ya'll a story about a friend of mine. (And yes, he really was a friend of mine and still is. In fact the guy could run circles around me when it comes to both software and hardware. He's only a little younger than me and he was building computers back in the 70's.) Well, to make a long story short he thought he would enable BitLocker. He thought it was a great idea at the time but I was reluctant about the idea of letting some other party encrypt my physical data on my PC. About a month later my friend got ransomwared. That was enough reason for me NOT to enable BitLocker on my PC. Ya'll can do what you like. Personal preference prevails. All I know is I never enabled BitLocker and I never got ransomware. Looks like Mr. Braxman was correct about Win 11 after all.

glasskuter · Nov 14, 2025

Scannerman said:
Well I sure would like to know what happened here then because I sure didn't select anything that said BitLocker. All I did was upgrade to 25H2.

Maybe because Microsoft does not like you.

Seriously though, I've not seen that happen during an upgrade. But when using a MS account things are getting stranger and stranger about what we, as users, can expect during any given scenario when it comes to stuff Microsoft wants us to have. Bitlocker/device encryption and Onedrive are at the top of MS list and they can force it down our throat at will.

When I'm going to go through the roof and stroke out is when they force me to use secure boot. I want no part of the secure boot key crap just like I want no part of bitlocker. But I know it's a comin' right along with some other stuff that's going to prevent us from changing a lot of stuff we can currently change..... especially in Home. All mine are Pro, but even in Pro, I'm not sure we will be spared from some things MS has in their plan.

Scannerman · Nov 14, 2025

glasskuter said:
Maybe because Microsoft does not like you.
Seriously though, I've not seen that happen during an upgrade. But when using a MS account things are getting stranger and stranger about what we, as users, can expect during any given scenario when it comes to stuff Microsoft wants us to have. Bitlocker/device encryption and Onedrive are at the top of MS list and they can force it down our throat at will.

When I'm going to go through the roof and stroke out is when they force me to use secure boot. I want no part of the secure boot key crap just like I want no part of bitlocker. But I know it's a comin' right along with some other stuff that's going to prevent us from changing a lot of stuff we can currently change..... especially in Home. All mine are Pro, but even in Pro, I'm not sure we will be spared from some things MS has in their plan.

That happened on a local account. I managed to decrypt but that's not the point. I should not have to decrypt my drives simply because I upgraded my OS to 25H2. The only Home edition of Win 11 I own is in my gaming rig which is slated for disassembly. I have a hunch this is a TPM thing. Linux couldn't ask for a better friend.

What's the full procedure to turn BitLocker off?

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