Windows 11 Pro Bitlocker

Hello,

My desktop pc has 3 hard drives.
If I enable bitlocker on all 3 drives, do I have to input 3 passwords to enable all 3 drives during boot?

Hi, welcome.

Bitlocker isn’t a system wide security. Each BitLocker-protected drive has its own unique recovery key.

This may work for you though?

Thanks, I didn't know there was an auto unlock option. Will try that.

The reason I ask is because I was using a Linux live USB and could see and open all my unprotected files.

This brings up another question with bitlocked drives.

I'm using Macirum backup. If I do a USB restore procedure, would it ask for a password to unlock the drives?

Once you protect your OS drive, the other drives can be unlocked automatically as antspants noted with the link provided. This makes it completely transparent. Once you sign into Windows, the other drives will be immediately available and unlocked.

The one piece of advice that I can give you is this: When you enable BitLocker on the OS drive make 100% sure that you save the recovery key somewhere safe but where you can get to it. There are various things that will trigger Windows to ask for that recovery key and you are doomed if you cannot get access to it! For the other drives it's not typically as big a deal because you will protect those using a password that you will presumably be able to remember rather than the big long recovery key.