Enabling Bitlocker on Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64 bit
Updated 6/24/18
A while back, I added a new laptop that required Enabling Bitlocker on Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64 bit. At that time some of my other devices run Windows 7 Ultimate 32 bit with Bitlocker security encryption enabled (since upgraded to various Windows 10 editions). However back then, I ran into a problem getting Bitlocker to work on the 64 bit version of Windows 7 Professional.
Yes I know I should not be using Windows and I also have plenty of iDevices and other Apple products lying around. Likewise to the security pros and security arm-chair quarterbacks I know I should not be using Bitlocker, instead using Truecrypt of which I have done some testing and may migrate too in the future along with self-encrypting device (SED).
However lets stay on track here ;).
Image courtesy of Lenovo.com
The problem that I ran into with my then new Lenovo X1 was that it came with Windows 7 Professional 64 bit, which has a few surprises when trying to turn on Bitlocker drive encryption. Initializing and turning on the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) management was not a problem, however for those needing to figure out how to do that, check out this Microsoft TechNet piece.
The problem was as simple as not having a tab and easy way to enable Bitlocker Drive Encryption with Windows 7 Professional 64 bit. After spending some time searching around various Microsoft and other sites to figure out how to hack, patch, script and do other things that would take time (and time is money), it dawned on me. Could the solution to the problem be as simple as upgrading from the Professional version of Windows 7 bit to Windows 7 Ultimate?
Update: 6/25/18
While this post is about Windows 7, there are some new challenges with Windows 10 bit locker and removable devices including USB. These new issues are tied to Windows 10 running in BIOS instead of UEFI boot mode.
Here are some additional Windows 10 Bitlocker related resources:
Windows 7 image courtesy of Amazon.com
The answer was going to the Microsoft store (or Amazon among other venues) and for $139.21 USD (with tax) purchase the upgrade.
Once the transaction was complete, the update was automatically and within minutes I had Bitlocker activated on the Lenovo X1 (TPM was previously initiated and turned on), a new key was protected and saved elsewhere, and the internal Samsung 830 256GB Solid State Device (SSD) initializing and encrypting. Oh, fwiw, yes the encryption of the 256GB SSD took much less time than on a comparable Hard Disk Drive (HDD) or even an HHDD (Hybrid HDD).
Could I have saved the $139.21 and spent some time on work around? Probably, however as I did not have the time or interest to go that route, however IMHO for my situation it was a bargain.
Sometimes spending a little money particular if you are short on or value, your time can be a bargain as opposed to if you are short on money however long on time.
I found the same to be true when I replaced the internal HDD that came with the Lenovo X1 with a Samsung 256GB SSD in that it improved my productivity for writing and saving data. For example in the first month of use I estimate easily 2 to three minutes of time saved per day waiting on things to be written to HDDs. In other words 2 to three minutes times five days (10 to 15 minutes) times four weeks (40 to 60 minutes) starts to add up (e.g. small amounts or percentages spread over a large interval add up), more on using and justifying SSD in a different post.
Samsung SSD image courtesy of Amazon.com
If your time is not of value or you have a lot of it, then the savings may not be as valuable. On the other hand, if you are short on time or have a value on your time, you can figure out what the benefits are quite quickly (e.g. return on investment or traditional ROI).
Learn more about Windows, Bitlocker and related topics
Additional learning experiences along with common questions (and answers), as well as tips can be found in Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials book.
The reason I bring the topic of time and money into this discussion about Bitlocker is to make a point that there are situations where spending some time has value such as for learning, the experience, fun or simple entertainment aspect, not to mention a shortage of money. On the other hand, sometimes it is actually cheaper to spend some money to get to the solution or result as part of being productive or effective. For example, other than spending some time browsing various sites to figure out that there was an issue with Windows 7 Professional and Bitlocker, time that was educational and interesting, the money spent on the simple upgrade was worth it in my situations. While many if not most of you have since upgraded to Windows 8 or Windows 10, some may still have the need for Enabling Bitlocker on Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64 bit.
Ok, nuff said, for now.
Gs
Greg Schulz – Microsoft MVP Cloud Data Center Management, VMware vExpert 2010-2018. Author of Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials (CRC Press), as well as Cloud and Virtual Data Storage Networking (CRC Press), The Green and Virtual Data Center (CRC Press), Resilient Storage Networks (Elsevier) and twitter @storageio. Courteous comments are welcome for consideration. First published on https://storageioblog.com any reproduction in whole, in part, with changes to content, without source attribution under title or without permission is forbidden.
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Update: If you have trouble finding Windows 7 professional on Amazon.com or other venues, try using different search criteria as some sites you may have to use different search combinations. For example just checked Amazon.com and searched using "windows 7 professional" and found versions for sale, granted the prices vary...
thanks for sharing greate information.
Thank you for sharing knwoledge , but how can i restore data if i forget the password of bitlocker
@Afssac great question! First when you encrypt your files, data, storage, save your passwords to some safe place and not just on the devices or locations that you are encrypting. Save them to another computer, USB thumb drive kept in a safe place, on a sheet of paper in safe place, somewhere so if you have to go back and re-enter the key, you can do so. Also, you can setup bitlocker and other similar tools to auto-unlock once you have initially entered your password, however there is a catch. With auto unlock you may be more likely to forget your password if you are not using it (e.g. hence the previous point).
Finally, have a good, and regular backup so if something does go bad, you can restore from it. The above may not help if you forgot your password and did not have a good backup implementing the 4 3 2 1 rule, however they can help to prevent something bad from happening.