Page 1
Page 1
Started By
Message

How to solve bit lock problem?

Posted on 8/19/25 at 11:45 am
Posted by prplhze2000
Parts Unknown
Member since Jan 2007
56645 posts
Posted on 8/19/25 at 11:45 am
Windows pulled something new on friend.

Turns on computer. Says he is locked out. Asks for Bitlock access. Has no idea what that is. Says it's something new.

Suggestions?
Posted by notsince98
KC, MO
Member since Oct 2012
21268 posts
Posted on 8/19/25 at 12:11 pm to
As long as they are using a Microsoft account to login to the computer, the bitlocker keys can be retrieved online from the Microsoft account using a different device.
Posted by GrammarKnotsi
Member since Feb 2013
10066 posts
Posted on 8/19/25 at 12:50 pm to
quote:

Turns on computer. Says he is locked out. Asks for Bitlock access. Has no idea what that is. Says it's something new.



If its a work computer, his helpdesk will have the key

if its a personal computer, the person who sent the virus will have the key

If its the guy whos "company went bankrupt"...you see where this is going
Posted by prplhze2000
Parts Unknown
Member since Jan 2007
56645 posts
Posted on 8/19/25 at 2:09 pm to
He tried that. Had to use his phone. Just got a spinning wheel when he tried to access account
Posted by notsince98
KC, MO
Member since Oct 2012
21268 posts
Posted on 8/19/25 at 3:09 pm to
Well that is what you do. If the wheel is spinning it is doing something
Posted by BoudreauxsCousin
Member since May 2011
227 posts
Posted on 8/19/25 at 7:04 pm to
Boot into Safe Mode. Try logging in again.
Posted by LSshoe
Burrowing through a pile o MikePoop
Member since Jan 2008
4448 posts
Posted on 8/20/25 at 9:03 pm to
Sometimes new hardware will trigger it. Sometimes that could be a USB device. If you/he just un/plugged in something then try undoing that and seeing if that gets it going. If so once booted look online how to get the bitlocker recovery key so you'll have it for next time
Posted by Russianblue
Member since Nov 2007
1541 posts
Posted on 8/25/25 at 5:48 pm to
could also be a bios update via windows update. it’s not unheard of for updates not to suspend Bitlocker or reset a TPM.

if a reboot or 3 doesn’t work, and he didn’t have the key in his MS acct or written down somewhere, his data is toast unfortunately.
Posted by LemmyLives
Texas
Member since Mar 2019
12945 posts
Posted on 8/25/25 at 6:16 pm to
How many of us actually use Bitlocker on non-corporate PCs? Something doesn't smell right about OPs situation, but the lack of clear grammar and necessary context makes it hard.
Posted by Tree_Fall
Member since Mar 2021
1082 posts
Posted on 8/26/25 at 9:30 am to
quote:

Windows pulled something new on friend.


My experience may be completely unrelated, but the timing is suggestive. Last week W11 on my PC and MS Authenticator on my Android phone sent me spinning through infinite loops trying to login. Your friend may have Bitlocker mixed in with his MF Authentication. Problems with Multifactor Factor Authentication get you locked out pretty damn fast without an informative error message.

A pretty well-hidden MS url for sign-in problems is: LINK

Sign-In Help may send you to an account recovery form: LINK

The recovery form will ask you for some account history... such as what credit card you used to buy MS software.

To use either of these features you need an e-mail account not linked to the MS account.

Good Luck.
Posted by prplhze2000
Parts Unknown
Member since Jan 2007
56645 posts
Posted on 8/26/25 at 9:32 am to
Fixed it last night. Had him swing by and we got on my Mac. DIdn't want to use my windows computer and trigger something on it.

Got into his Microsoft account and it said he has no bit locker number. Ok. However, we did wind up changing password. Then I wanted to see what was going on so I had him boot up his laptop. Booted up fine. No idea how we fixed it.
Posted by Tree_Fall
Member since Mar 2021
1082 posts
Posted on 8/26/25 at 9:50 am to
Same experience for me. My fix once the lock was lifted was to change my password! Two other recent changes MS made were to (1) password management/password fill-in and (2) what's allowed with dual MS accounts.

Another unannounced W11 "helper" is that some MS apps (Outreach and Excel for sure) will inform you of account errors on start-up if you initiate them via their icon. That does not happen if you start them from the Edge browser. I'm almost a fan of new-Outlook.
first pageprev pagePage 1 of 1Next pagelast page
refresh

Back to top
logoFollow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News
Follow us on X, Facebook and Instagram to get the latest updates on LSU Football and Recruiting.

FacebookXInstagram