Bit Locker Encryption

[mchjr01]

I just upgraded from XP Pro to Vista Ultimate and would like to activate the
Bit Locker Encryptopn software and I am having problems.

My desktop is configured with a 160GB hard drive partitioned with C (60GB)
which is my system parition where Vista is installed and Dirve D where all my
files nd documents are save. In addition I have a second physical hard drive
(250GB) installed in the the same box. In addition my desktop is equpped with
a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) which has been turned on and activated.

When I try to install or activate BLE (Bit-Locker Encryption) I am getting a
message telling me that my hard drive is partitioned properly. Checking the
how to and instructions within Vista, the only requirement is a C system
partition - which the BLE will encrypt and another decrypted partition akso
with a TPM to avoid using a Flash Drive (USB).

With the above configuration of my desktop, what else am I missing? Also
when I got BLE activatd, can I encrypt my D drive and the 2nd physical hard
drive in my machine.

Please help and I thank you.

Mike
(e-mail address removed)

 

[Paul Adare]

My desktop is configured with a 160GB hard drive partitioned with C (60GB)
which is my system parition where Vista is installed and Dirve D where all my
files nd documents are save. In addition I have a second physical hard drive
(250GB) installed in the the same box. In addition my desktop is equpped with
a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) which has been turned on and activated.

When I try to install or activate BLE (Bit-Locker Encryption) I am getting a
message telling me that my hard drive is partitioned properly. Checking the
how to and instructions within Vista, the only requirement is a C system
partition - which the BLE will encrypt and another decrypted partition akso
with a TPM to avoid using a Flash Drive (USB).

With the above configuration of my desktop, what else am I missing? Also
when I got BLE activatd, can I encrypt my D drive and the 2nd physical hard
drive in my machine.

You're not reading the help files correctly. BDE (Bitlocker Drive
Encryption, not BLE) requires a minimum 1.5 GB system partition that is
marked as active and not what you state above. Since you're running Windows
Ultimate, make sure that you've downloaded the optional Windows Ultimate
Extras from Windows Update. One of those extras is a tool that will
automatically repartition your drive to properly support BDE. The tool is
non-destructive but make sure you've got a good backup first.

 

[mchjr01]

Hi Paul,

Thanks for your response. I am new on this Vista and still on the learning
curb so please bear with me if I ask these dumb questions.

1. Where do I find the auto partitioning on Vista Ultimate and if I
activated the bit locker encryption, can I encrypt the hard drive I use for
back up?

2. Is the 1.5GB partition can I get that from my C drive (I have 28+GB free
space).

Again, I thank you for your help.

Mike

 

[Paul Adare]

Thanks for your response. I am new on this Vista and still on the learning
curb so please bear with me if I ask these dumb questions.

1. Where do I find the auto partitioning on Vista Ultimate and if I
activated the bit locker encryption, can I encrypt the hard drive I use for
back up?

If you've installed the Ultimate Extras, the BDEL Drive Preparation Tool
will be on the Start Menu under Accessories/System Tools/Bitlocker.
With the RTM version of Vista, only the C drive is supported for encrypting
with BDE, as of SP1, any drive can be encrypted.

2. Is the 1.5GB partition can I get that from my C drive (I have 28+GB free
space).

Yes, the tool will do this for you.

 

[Paul Adare]

BDEL

BDE, not BDEL.

 

[mchjr01]

Thanks Paul, I think I will wait for SP1, for the drive that I really want to
encrypt are my data drives and of course my system drive as well.

Again thanks again.

Mike

 

[DevilsPGD]

In message <[email protected]> mchjr01

Thanks Paul, I think I will wait for SP1, for the drive that I really want to
encrypt are my data drives and of course my system drive as well.

Again thanks again.

You don't really need SP1, you can use bitlocker on your primary drive
(which includes your EFS keys) and EFS on all other data.

This increases complexity somewhat, but as long as you have good backups
of the *data* (not a full image, just the data) then little can go wrong
that isn't recoverable.

 

[Alun Jones]

If you've installed the Ultimate Extras, the BDEL Drive Preparation Tool
will be on the Start Menu under Accessories/System Tools/Bitlocker.
With the RTM version of Vista, only the C drive is supported for
encrypting
with BDE, as of SP1, any drive can be encrypted.

This is a little ambiguous.

Searching through the MSDN, you will see that the APIs for BitLocker in
Vista RTM do support encryption of other drives (anything except the system
drive, which has to remain unencrypted because it contains the boot code
that loads the decryption engine!).

There is no GUI for encrypting other drives until SP1 - but there is a
scripting tool, manage-bde.wsf, which does allow you to encrypt or decrypt
other drives.

Alun.
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