About Windows® 7 BitLocker®

Microsoft BitLocker Drive Encryption technology uses the strongest publicly

available encryption to protect your computer’s data, and prevents others
from accessing your disk drives without authorization.
Additionally, the BitLocker To Go® feature prevents unauthorized data
access on your portable storage devices, including Universal Serial Bus
(USB) flash drives, also known as “thumb drives.”
Topics in this guide include:
 Prepare to Enable BitLocker
 Back Up and Transfer Files
 Turn On BitLocker
 Suspend BitLocker Protection
 Decrypt Your Drive
 Encrypt a Portable Drive with BitLocker To Go
 Manage BitLocker To Go
 Decrypt a Portable Drive

Customization note: This document contains guidance and/or step-by-step installation instructions
that can be reused, customized, or deleted entirely if they do not apply to your organization’s
environment or installation scenarios. The text marked in red indicates either customization guidance
or organization-specific variables. All of the red text in this document should either be deleted or
replaced prior to distribution.
Prepare to Enable BitLocker
All new systems that <<organization >>provides are ready for BitLocker enablement. However, before
you enable BitLocker, you need to join your computer to a corporate domain (if it isn’t already joined)
and ensure that you are connected to the <<organization >>corporate network. For information on
joining your computer to a corporate domain, see the Joining a Windows 7 System to a Domain Work
Smart Guide:
<< Insert Joining a Windows 7 System to a Domain Work Smart Guide file location or URL>>

Note
You will not be able to encrypt your drive unless you have a network connection.

Back Up and Transfer Files

<<Organization >> provides several solutions for backing up your data.

• <<insert preferred methods here>>

• <<insert preferred methods here>>

Turn On BitLocker
After you connect to the corporate network, you can turn on BitLocker. BitLocker then turns on your
computer’s Trusted Platform Module (TPM) chip, which is a microchip that enables your computer to
utilize advanced security features.
Start BitLocker
Initially, when you start BitLocker, you can create a personal identification number (PIN) that you can
use each time you start your computer, or you can designate a startup key that you must enter each
time that you attempt to access a USB drive. This additional protection is optional, but is recommended.
If you are going to use DirectAccess as your remote-connectivity software solution, you must create a
PIN.
To start BitLocker and create a PIN or startup key:

1 Click Start , click Control Panel, click System and Security, and then click BitLocker
Drive Encryption.
2 Ensure your computer’s TPM is turned on. To do this, look for a TPM Administration link in
the lower-left corner of the window under See also.

If you do not see this link, the TPM is not on. For assistance in turning it on, contact <<
helpdesk contact or technical support URL>>.
3 Click Turn On BitLocker.

4 On the Set BitLocker startup preferences page, click Require a PIN at every startup.

Important
<<Organization >> recommends using a PIN or startup key because it is the most secure option.
You must create a PIN if you are going to use DirectAccess as your remote-connectivity software
solution.
5 On the Enter a numeric startup PIN page, in the PIN field, type a number that is between 5
 and 20 digits in length. The longer your PIN number, the more secure your computer will be.
6 In the Confirm PIN field, retype the number.
7 Click Set PIN.
8 On the How do you want to store your recovery key? page, click one of the following
options:
• Save the recovery key to a file. Microsoft IT recommends this option, which enables you
to save your password to a network file-share folder, such as My Site.
• Print the recovery key.

9 Click Next.
10 On the Encrypt the drive page, select the Run BitLocker System check box, and then click
Continue.
11 Close and save any files that you have open. (In the next step, you will restart the computer.)
12 Click Continue.
BitLocker restarts your computer and begins the encryption process.
Notes
• BitLocker will encrypt your hard-disk drive in approximately one to three hours, depending on
its size. You can continue to use your computer during the encryption process.
• After BitLocker is enabled, each time that you attempt to log on to your computer, you will need
to enter your BitLocker PIN before Windows starts. If you have any issues accessing your
computer, contact
<< helpdesk contact or technical support URL>>.

Suspend BitLocker Protection

You may need to suspend BitLocker. For example, you might need to do a hardware upgrade or basic
input/output system (BIOS) updates. When you suspend BitLocker, Windows disables protection on
your system. You won’t need to enter your PIN to start your computer, but your data will be
unprotected.
You can perform all updates and system changes by suspending BitLocker protection. You typically do
not need to turn BitLocker off for any reason other than to decrypt your drive.
To suspend BitLocker:

1 Click Start , click Control Panel, click System and Security, and then click BitLocker Drive
Encryption.

2 Click Suspend Protection.

Resume BitLocker Protection

1 Click Start , click Control Panel, click System and Security, and then click BitLocker
Drive Encryption.
2 Click Resume Protection.

Decrypt Your Drive

1 Click Start , click Control Panel, click System and Security, and then click BitLocker
Drive Encryption.
2 Click Turn Off BitLocker.

BitLocker will decrypt your hard-disk drive in approximately 1–3 hours, depending on the hard-disk
size. You can continue to use your computer during the encryption process.
Encrypt a Portable Drive with
BitLocker To Go
When you encrypt a portable drive with BitLocker To Go, you can set it to unlock by using a password
or your smart card.
1 Connect to the corporate network.
2 Decide whether you want to use password protection or smart card protection..
3 Insert the portable drive (USB drive, SC card, SD/MMC card, etc.) into the appropriate slot.
4 Click Start, click Control Panel, click System and Security, and then click BitLocker Drive
Encryption.
5 Click Turn On BitLocker next to the portable storage device that you want to encrypt.

6 In the Choose how you want to unlock this drive dialog box, select one of the following
options.
• If you want to use a password to unlock the drive, select the Use a password to unlock
the drive check box, enter your password twice, and then click Next.
• If you want to use a smart card to unlock the drive instead, select the Use my smart
card to unlock the drive check box, insert your smart card, and then click Next.

Important
Create a password with 8–12 characters. It is recommended that you use an easy-to-
remember passphrase and change certain letters to caps or obvious special characters.
Entering a password is a one-time event. You will not need to change or reset it unless you
want to.
7 In the BitLocker Drive Encryption dialog box, do one of the following:
• To print the recovery key, click Print the recovery key, and then click Next.
–Or–
a. To save the recovery key to My Site or another file share, click Save the recovery key to
a file.

b. In the Save BitLocker Recovery Key as dialog box, BitLocker suggests a filename to
use. You can edit this filename to distinguish it from recovery keys that you may acquire
for additional portable devices. For example, you might want to name it “BitLocker San
Disk 2Gig Recovery Key DDxxxDxx….”
 c. Go to My Site or the file-share folder where you want to save the recovery key.

d. Click Save.

8 Click Start Encrypting.

Encryption time varies but typically takes 3 minutes per GB of data. An encryption progress
dialog box will appear, followed eventually by a completion notice.
9 Click Close.
10 When the encryption is complete, remove the device. If you chose smart card encryption,
remove your smart card. Wait a few seconds and then reinsert the device and/or smart card.
11 Do one of the following:
 If you chose password protection:

i. Enter your password.

ii. If you want to have the device automatically unlocked when you use it with your
computer, select the Automatically unlock on this computer from now on
check box. To use auto-unlock, BitLocker must be enabled.

iii. Click Unlock.

• If you chose smart card protection, click Unlock, enter your PIN, and then click OK.
Notes
• BitLocker To Go can encrypt your drive in minutes or hours, depending on your drive’s size,
your connection speed, and the technology you use, such as External Serial Advanced
Technology (eSATA), FireWire, USB, or USB 2.0. You can continue to use your computer during
the encryption process.
• Each time you attempt to use the drive, you will need to enter the password or smart card
unless you set up BitLocker To Go to unlock the drive automatically. If you have any issues
accessing your drive, contact the << helpdesk contact or technical support URL>>.
• If you want to change the password for a portable drive or change the auto-unlock feature,
click Start, click Control Panel, click System and Security, and then click BitLocker Drive
Encryption. In the BitLocker Drive Encryption dialog box, click Manage BitLocker next to
the portable drive information.
• All recovery keys are stored in Active Directory® and can be obtained << selfhelp URL,
helpdesk contact, technical support URL>>.

Manage BitLocker To Go
After you encrypt a portable drive, you may want to change a password, remove a password, add a
smart card to unlock the drive, save or print a recovery key again, or turn the automatic unlock feature
on or off.
To make any of these changes:

1 Click Start , click Control Panel, click System and Security, and then click BitLocker Drive
Encryption.
 2 Click Manage BitLocker.
3 Select one of the options in the dialog box.

Decrypt a Portable Drive

1 Click Start , click Control Panel, click System and Security, and then click BitLocker Drive
Encryption.
2 Click Turn Off BitLocker.
3 Click Decrypt Drive.
For More Information
• BitLocker Drive Encryption
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/products/features/bitlocker