Question I enabled Bitlocker but the recovery key it gave does not work. So how to recover my files or turn off bitlocker ?

dagobert

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Aug 31, 2010
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I have windows 10 installed on a m.2 NVMe drive and windows 11 on a separate ssd. I turned on bitlocker for my windows 10 installation so that windows 11 won't have access to the files on Windows 10. It saved the recovery key on a flash drive and I printed it out as well. I went through the prompts and it restarted my pc. The whole process seemed pretty quick before it asked me to restart it. It kept rebooting in a loop and going into recovery mode. Long story short, when it asks me to enter the recovery key, I enter it and it doesn't accept it. It also doesn't accept what's on the flash drive.

Really don't want to format anything here if possible.

I tried opening up command prompt and tried manage-bde - unlock c: - rp and the recovery key, but it says thr volume is already unlocked. Restarting takes me back to recovery, if I try to do a system restore, it asks for the recovery key which doesn't work for whatever reason. I also use a local username and password, so no Microsoft account login.

I tried getting into my Windows 11 OS which was on a separate drive, no bitlocker enabled on that, and I can't even boot into that. A few minutes I go I was able to. Not anymore. After trying to fix my Windows 10 boot, when I restarted it, it took me to a windows 11 setup which is weird. I restarted it again and now it won't even go into that. Attempts to recover it, then a blue screen saying automatic repair couldn't repair your pc. It gives a location for the log file. Just loops into that. I'm not too concerned with my windows 11 boot, it's the windows 10 I need to get into.

I feel like this issue may be related due to the fact I had a dual boot system? Any way to go about doing this without formatting my windows 10 drive? Is it possible to do something if I were to install windows 11 again and then try to recovered the files?