Bitlocker encrypted ssd

[abcdlaptop]

Hello,

I recently upgraded the ssd on my xps13 laptop and am trying to use the old ssd as an external drive. The old ssd still has the old windows installation and data on it which I no longer need. When I put the ssd in an enclosure and plug it in via usb it asks me for a bitlocker key which I dont have. Also I dont remember ever setting a password or turning on bitlocker after I bought the laptop.

I have looked at a few guides that mention that I should turn off bitlocker encryption on the drive but I cant find the bitlocker option in the control panel where the guides mention it should be. Some guides also mention that unless I decrypt it before formatting I wont be able to use it as a windows drive again.

I dont need the data and just want to format it and use it as an external usb drive. How should I go about doing this?

Thanks

 

[captaincharisma]

did you buy the laptop used. that would be the only explanation i could see why bitlocker got enabled other them you unknowingly activated it

 

[vrumor]

Or the SSD wasnt his and he doesnt have the info to access it. Its the internet, could be any reason.

 

[abcdlaptop]

I bought the laptop new directly from the dell website. Maybe dell has encryption turned on by default? I certainly dont remember turning it on myself or setting any password. But whatever the reason how should I format it?

 

[vrumor]

If you dont have the bitlocker password, you cant. And no one here can help you bypass it, its impossible.

 

[abcdlaptop]

If you dont have the bitlocker password, you cant. And no one here can help you bypass it, its impossible.

Maybe you are right but based on what I am reading on number of different places, it seems you can format an encrypted drive. You just cant recover the data which I am not interested in anyway. I will try a couple of tutorials I found and post an update if it works. Also maybe I will put it back into my laptop and see if I can boot from it and disable bitlocker.

 

[captaincharisma]

I bought the laptop new directly from the dell website. Maybe dell has encryption turned on by default? I certainly dont remember turning it on myself or setting any password. But whatever the reason how should I format it?

no manufacturer would have bitlocker on by default especially if the laptop comes with windows 10 home edition which does not have that feature

 

[vrumor]

If there was a way past BitLocker, what good would it be? How could the maker sell it as an encryption that can be bypassed? Forum rules state that no one here can assist you with this. There is no way to verify what you say, its the internet, anyone can say anything, like I stated above. Dont update what happens, cause it isnt going to work and it isnt information that you can post here anyways.

 

[abcdlaptop]

If there was a way past BitLocker, what good would it be? How could the maker sell it as an encryption that can be bypassed? Forum rules state that no one here can assist you with this. There is no way to verify what you say, its the internet, anyone can say anything, like I stated above. Dont update what happens, cause it isnt going to work and it isnt information that you can post here anyways.

FYI bitlocker is designed to prevent others from accessing your data. It does nothing to stop you from wiping the disk clean or formatting it which is what I had asked for.

And I dont think I am posting anything against forum rules. There are numerous threads on this forum on the same topic and I found the solution on one of them that worked. All I had to do was format the disk using the windows disk management utility from control panel instead of using the right click and format option in my computer.

 

[vrumor]

That is what is it for. Wiping it, absolutely can be done. Accessing it or asking how is what I was referring to. And since that isnt what you were asking, I apologize. Totally read that wrong and I read it twice. Good luck to you.