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BitLocker Recovery Key Lost – Unable to Access D: Drive

IT Support Pune 0 Reputation points
2025-12-12T10:21:38.33+00:00

Hello Microsoft Support,

One of our users’ D: drive is locked by BitLocker, and we are currently unable to access the data.

We have checked thoroughly, but the BitLocker recovery key cannot be found anywhere:

Not in the user’s email or Microsoft account

Not saved in Azure AD / Intune

Not saved in on-premises Active Directory

Not available on the local machine or any backup

Not printed or saved in any external media

We have tried to locate the key in all possible locations, but it is not available anywhere

My questions are:

Is there any official way to recover the BitLocker recovery key for this drive?

If the key cannot be recovered, is there a supported method to disable or remove BitLocker from the D: drive without losing data?

Can Microsoft confirm that without the recovery key or password, the data on the drive cannot be accessed or recovered?

Moved from Microsoft System Center | Other

Windows for home | Other | Install and upgrade
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  1. Q&A Assist
    2025-12-12T10:22:53.4766667+00:00
    AI generated content. This question contains an answer created with AI from Q&A Assist. Learn more

    If the BitLocker recovery key cannot be found in any of the usual locations (user's email, Microsoft account, Azure AD, Intune, on-premises Active Directory, local machine, or external media), unfortunately, there are no official methods to recover the BitLocker recovery key for the locked drive. The recovery key is essential for accessing the data on a BitLocker-encrypted drive.

    If the recovery key cannot be recovered, there is no supported method to disable or remove BitLocker from the D: drive without losing data. BitLocker is designed to protect the data on the drive, and without the recovery key or password, the data on the drive cannot be accessed or recovered. This is a fundamental security feature of BitLocker to ensure that unauthorized users cannot access encrypted data.

    Therefore, it is crucial to store recovery keys in a secure and accessible manner to avoid such situations in the future.

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