Bit Locker Encryption

[mchjr01]

I just upgraded from XP Pro to Vista Ultimate and would like to activate the
Bit Locker Encryptopn software and I am having problems.

My desktop is configured with a 160GB hard drive partitioned with C (60GB)
which is my system parition where Vista is installed and Dirve D where all my
files nd documents are save. In addition I have a second physical hard drive
(250GB) installed in the the same box. In addition my desktop is equpped with
a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) which has been turned on and activated.

When I try to install or activate BLE (Bit-Locker Encryption) I am getting a
message telling me that my hard drive is partitioned properly. Checking the
how to and instructions within Vista, the only requirement is a C system
partition - which the BLE will encrypt and another decrypted partition akso
with a TPM to avoid using a Flash Drive (USB).

With the above configuration of my desktop, what else am I missing? Also
when I got BLE activatd, can I encrypt my D drive and the 2nd physical hard
drive in my machine.

Please help and I thank you.

Mike
mchjr01@hotmail.com

 

[Paul Adare]

Re: Bit Locker Encryption

On Mon, 14 Jan 2008 16:27:01 -0800, mchjr01 wrote:

> My desktop is configured with a 160GB hard drive partitioned with C (60GB)
> which is my system parition where Vista is installed and Dirve D where all my
> files nd documents are save. In addition I have a second physical hard drive
> (250GB) installed in the the same box. In addition my desktop is equpped with
> a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) which has been turned on and activated.
>
> When I try to install or activate BLE (Bit-Locker Encryption) I am getting a
> message telling me that my hard drive is partitioned properly. Checking the
> how to and instructions within Vista, the only requirement is a C system
> partition - which the BLE will encrypt and another decrypted partition akso
> with a TPM to avoid using a Flash Drive (USB).
>
> With the above configuration of my desktop, what else am I missing? Also
> when I got BLE activatd, can I encrypt my D drive and the 2nd physical hard
> drive in my machine.

You're not reading the help files correctly. BDE (Bitlocker Drive
Encryption, not BLE) requires a minimum 1.5 GB system partition that is
marked as active and not what you state above. Since you're running Windows
Ultimate, make sure that you've downloaded the optional Windows Ultimate
Extras from Windows Update. One of those extras is a tool that will
automatically repartition your drive to properly support BDE. The tool is
non-destructive but make sure you've got a good backup first.

--
Paul Adare
MVP - Virtual Machines
http://www.identit.ca
Where the system is concerned, you are not allowed to ask "Why?".

 

[mchjr01]

Re: Bit Locker Encryption

Hi Paul,

Thanks for your response. I am new on this Vista and still on the learning
curb so please bear with me if I ask these dumb questions.

1. Where do I find the auto partitioning on Vista Ultimate and if I
activated the bit locker encryption, can I encrypt the hard drive I use for
back up?

2. Is the 1.5GB partition can I get that from my C drive (I have 28+GB free
space).

Again, I thank you for your help.

Mike

"Paul Adare" wrote:

> On Mon, 14 Jan 2008 16:27:01 -0800, mchjr01 wrote:
>
> > My desktop is configured with a 160GB hard drive partitioned with C (60GB)
> > which is my system parition where Vista is installed and Dirve D where all my
> > files nd documents are save. In addition I have a second physical hard drive
> > (250GB) installed in the the same box. In addition my desktop is equpped with
> > a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) which has been turned on and activated.
> >
> > When I try to install or activate BLE (Bit-Locker Encryption) I am getting a
> > message telling me that my hard drive is partitioned properly. Checking the
> > how to and instructions within Vista, the only requirement is a C system
> > partition - which the BLE will encrypt and another decrypted partition akso
> > with a TPM to avoid using a Flash Drive (USB).
> >
> > With the above configuration of my desktop, what else am I missing? Also
> > when I got BLE activatd, can I encrypt my D drive and the 2nd physical hard
> > drive in my machine.
>
> You're not reading the help files correctly. BDE (Bitlocker Drive
> Encryption, not BLE) requires a minimum 1.5 GB system partition that is
> marked as active and not what you state above. Since you're running Windows
> Ultimate, make sure that you've downloaded the optional Windows Ultimate
> Extras from Windows Update. One of those extras is a tool that will
> automatically repartition your drive to properly support BDE. The tool is
> non-destructive but make sure you've got a good backup first.
>
> --
> Paul Adare
> MVP - Virtual Machines
> http://www.identit.ca
> Where the system is concerned, you are not allowed to ask "Why?".
>

 

[Paul Adare]

Re: Bit Locker Encryption

On Wed, 16 Jan 2008 21:43:01 -0800, mchjr01 wrote:

> Thanks for your response. I am new on this Vista and still on the learning
> curb so please bear with me if I ask these dumb questions.
>
> 1. Where do I find the auto partitioning on Vista Ultimate and if I
> activated the bit locker encryption, can I encrypt the hard drive I use for
> back up?

If you've installed the Ultimate Extras, the BDEL Drive Preparation Tool
will be on the Start Menu under Accessories/System Tools/Bitlocker.
With the RTM version of Vista, only the C drive is supported for encrypting
with BDE, as of SP1, any drive can be encrypted.

>
> 2. Is the 1.5GB partition can I get that from my C drive (I have 28+GB free
> space).

Yes, the tool will do this for you.

--
Paul Adare
MVP - Virtual Machines
http://www.identit.ca
Don't let the computer bugs bite!

 

[Paul Adare]

Re: Bit Locker Encryption

On Thu, 17 Jan 2008 02:20:04 -0500, Paul Adare wrote:

> BDEL

BDE, not BDEL.

--
Paul Adare
MVP - Virtual Machines
http://www.identit.ca
FIFO: Common name for a dog.

 

[mchjr01]

Re: Bit Locker Encryption

Thanks Paul, I think I will wait for SP1, for the drive that I really want to
encrypt are my data drives and of course my system drive as well.

Again thanks again.

Mike

"Paul Adare" wrote:

> On Wed, 16 Jan 2008 21:43:01 -0800, mchjr01 wrote:
>
> > Thanks for your response. I am new on this Vista and still on the learning
> > curb so please bear with me if I ask these dumb questions.
> >
> > 1. Where do I find the auto partitioning on Vista Ultimate and if I
> > activated the bit locker encryption, can I encrypt the hard drive I use for
> > back up?
>
> If you've installed the Ultimate Extras, the BDEL Drive Preparation Tool
> will be on the Start Menu under Accessories/System Tools/Bitlocker.
> With the RTM version of Vista, only the C drive is supported for encrypting
> with BDE, as of SP1, any drive can be encrypted.
>
> >
> > 2. Is the 1.5GB partition can I get that from my C drive (I have 28+GB free
> > space).
>
> Yes, the tool will do this for you.
>
> --
> Paul Adare
> MVP - Virtual Machines
> http://www.identit.ca
> Don't let the computer bugs bite!
>

 

[DevilsPGD]

Re: Bit Locker Encryption

In message <205AF721-0E55-4643-9DC7-30E144794E5A@microsoft.com> mchjr01
<mchjr01@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

>Thanks Paul, I think I will wait for SP1, for the drive that I really want to
>encrypt are my data drives and of course my system drive as well.
>
>Again thanks again.

You don't really need SP1, you can use bitlocker on your primary drive
(which includes your EFS keys) and EFS on all other data.

This increases complexity somewhat, but as long as you have good backups
of the *data* (not a full image, just the data) then little can go wrong
that isn't recoverable.

 

[Alun Jones]

Re: Bit Locker Encryption

"Paul Adare" <pkadare@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:11r8ultp8khsw$.1cm9o87sv3p9n.dlg@40tude.net...
> If you've installed the Ultimate Extras, the BDEL Drive Preparation Tool
> will be on the Start Menu under Accessories/System Tools/Bitlocker.
> With the RTM version of Vista, only the C drive is supported for
> encrypting
> with BDE, as of SP1, any drive can be encrypted.

This is a little ambiguous.

Searching through the MSDN, you will see that the APIs for BitLocker in
Vista RTM do support encryption of other drives (anything except the system
drive, which has to remain unencrypted because it contains the boot code
that loads the decryption engine!).

There is no GUI for encrypting other drives until SP1 - but there is a
scripting tool, manage-bde.wsf, which does allow you to encrypt or decrypt
other drives.

Alun.
~~~~