My PC ran into a problem - BitLocker recovery

Modified on Wed, 24 May, 2023 at 1:46 PM

In the event of a failed update, or some other hardware issue, your computer may refuse to restart unless a BitLocker recovery key is entered. 

Please note that it is helpful to know the name of your computer, MHSF One to One laptops are usually named "M-AUTO-nnnnnn", but provided you are the "owner" of only one or two devices then knowing the computer name is not essential.



On the failed device, first try pressing Enter to reboot and try again. If theBitLocker fails again do not try and restore the computer as this will fail, make a note of the Recovery key ID - usually just the first 8 characters will suffice.



On another device, visit the Microsoft Self-Service Portal


On another device (phone, or another computer), log into the Self-Service Portal and select “Devices”. 



Locate your device, if there are multiple Windows computers and you do not know the name of your computer then you will have to select each device in turn. Select the drop-down arrow next to the device in question (it should always show status active).



Select “View BitLocker Keys”.



Confirm that the Key ID is as you noted earlier, select “Show recovery key”.
If the Key ID is not the same as you noted, try another device.



Make a careful note of the recovery key (possibly by taking a photo as well as using the copy button) and carefully enter the 48-digit key into the failed computer.



The failed computer should now boot up.



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