Solved How to get BitLocker to open when drive is plugged in?

jagwar

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I just encrypted an external hard drive via BitLocker, and when I plug it in I do get the little box on the top right of my computer saying it's BitLocked. So I press on that, enter my password, and everything is good to go. But how do I make my computer automatically open the password window to make the process simpler/easier? Is there a way?
OS: Windows 8.1 Pro

Also a side question; how do I find out what kind of encryption it has? (128bit or 256bit)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus
    CPU
    Intel i7 4th Gen
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia Geforce GTX 950m
    Monitor(s) Displays
    27in Asus display
    Screen Resolution
    1080p
    Hard Drives
    240GB SSD, x2 2TB My Passport, x2 6TB My Book
    Browser
    Chrome
Hello Jag,

Unfortunately, only internal hard drives encrypted by Bitlocker are able to be automatically unlocked. Removable drives will need to have a password entered to unlock it. :(

Unless you changed the cipher strength used for Bitlocker, it would have been 128-bit. You can change it to 256-bit, but you would have to decrypt the drive first, change it to use 256-bit, then encrypt the drive again.

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/21108-bitlocker-choose-encryption-cipher-strength-windows-8-a.html
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
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    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
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    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Hello Jag,

Unfortunately, only internal hard drives encrypted by Bitlocker are able to be automatically unlocked. Removable drives will need to have a password entered to unlock it. :(

Unless you changed the cipher strength used for Bitlocker, it would have been 128-bit. You can change it to 256-bit, but you would have to decrypt the drive first, change it to use 256-bit, then encrypt the drive again.

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/21108-bitlocker-choose-encryption-cipher-strength-windows-8-a.html
Hi shawn,
i am not talking about automatic unlocking, just automatically giving me the password window :)
Also I did change the option to 256bit via a guide from google.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus
    CPU
    Intel i7 4th Gen
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia Geforce GTX 950m
    Monitor(s) Displays
    27in Asus display
    Screen Resolution
    1080p
    Hard Drives
    240GB SSD, x2 2TB My Passport, x2 6TB My Book
    Browser
    Chrome
If you set AutoPlay to automatically open removable drives when connected, then it should give you the BitLocker password window.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
If you set AutoPlay to automatically open removable drives when connected, then it should give you the BitLocker password window.
And where do i find the specific drive's autoplay settings in the autoplay control panel window?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus
    CPU
    Intel i7 4th Gen
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia Geforce GTX 950m
    Monitor(s) Displays
    27in Asus display
    Screen Resolution
    1080p
    Hard Drives
    240GB SSD, x2 2TB My Passport, x2 6TB My Book
    Browser
    Chrome
It wouldn't be for a specific drive, but for the type of drive. It should be the "Removable drive" option to set to "Open folder to view files".
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Hello Jag,

Unfortunately, only internal hard drives encrypted by Bitlocker are able to be automatically unlocked. Removable drives will need to have a password entered to unlock it.

??? You certainly can configure external drives secured by password to be automatically unlocked. I have, let's see, at least 10 that do just that. This capability was one of the criteria I needed to be met in order to move from TrueCrypt to Bitlocker.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro with Media Center
Hello Jag,

Unfortunately, only internal hard drives encrypted by Bitlocker are able to be automatically unlocked. Removable drives will need to have a password entered to unlock it.

??? You certainly can configure external drives secured by password to be automatically unlocked. I have, let's see, at least 10 that do just that. This capability was one of the criteria I needed to be met in order to move from TrueCrypt to Bitlocker.

Care to share?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Hi Brink,

I also have usb drives auto-unlock and they work fine.

How do I use the unlock options in BitLocker Drive Encryption?

When you encrypt fixed data drives, you can choose to have the drive automatically unlock when you log on to Windows.

Removable data drives can be set to automatically unlock after they are encrypted by right-clicking the drive in the Computer folder, and then clicking Manage BitLocker.

HTH
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
Thank you. :)

Removable data drives can be set to automatically unlock after they are encrypted by right-clicking the drive in the Computer folder, and then clicking Manage BitLocker.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
There's also an "Automatically unlock" option in the Metro-style unlock dialog Windows 8 uses, but you have to press a "More options" button to reveal it. This feature is also available in Windows 7, and it appears right there in its unlock dialog.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro with Media Center
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