How to Install Windows on BitLocker Encrypted Drive

This post covers 2 cases to introduce how to install or reinstall Windows 10/11 on BitLocker encrypted drive with or without BitLocker recovery key.

Is it possible to reinstall Windows on a BitLocker drive? Of course! EaseUS describes two ways to reinstall Windows 10/11 on BitLocker drive with or without a recovery key. BitLocker is a widely used drive encryption utility that can be used to encrypt different storage devices on Windows with BitLocker recovery keys or passwords.

However, when you intend to do a fresh installation of Windows 11/10 on a BitLocker encrypted drive, you may receive the error "Unable to install Windows to this hard disk space. BitLocker drive encryption is enabled on the selected partition." We noticed that many users were stuck when they reinstalled Windows on a BitLocker-locked laptop:

Re-install Windows on BitLocker locked laptop.
byu/pogasll insysadmin

Can I reinstall Windows 11 on a BitLocker-encrypted hard disk? Of course you can! Even if the partition is BitLocker-encrypted, you can reinstall Windows 10/11 on it. If this article was helpful to you, please share it with more users.

How to Reinstall Windows on BitLocker Encrypted Drive

How to reinstall Windows on a BitLocker encrypted partition with or without the recovery key and password? This part covers both of the two situations. Select one based on your situation.

• Case 1. Reinstall Windows on BitLocker Encrypted Drive Without Recovery Key
• Case 2. Reinstall Windows on BitLocker Encrypted Drive With Recovery Key

Here, we will discuss both of the cases in detail; please read on.

Case 1. Reinstall Windows on BitLocker Encrypted Drive Without Recovery Key

To reinstall Windows on a BitLocker-encrypted drive without a recovery key, you can completely wipe the BitLocker partition and then reinstall Windows.

 

Method 1. Use EaseUS Partition Master

Using third-party disk wipe software is the easiest way to wipe a BitLocker encrypted partition. EaseUS Partition Master allows you to wipe the BitLocker partition with simple clicks. Without typing any command lines, you can remove BitLocker.

Here is how:

We've set two options for you to wipe data. Choose the one you need.

Option 1.  Wipe Partition

• Right-click the partition you want to erase data from, and choose "Wipe".
• In the new window, set the time for which you want to wipe your partition, then click "OK".
• Click the "Execute 1 Task(s)" button in the lower right corner, check the changes, then click "Apply".

Option 2. Wipe Disk

• Select the HDD/SSD. And right-click to choose "Wipe Disk".
• Set the number of times to wipe data. (You can set to 10 at most.) Then Click "OK".
• Click "Execute 1 Task(s)" and then click "Apply".

You have unlocked the BitLocker without password and recovery key. Now, you can continue reinstalling Windows.

Method 2. Use Windows Installation Media

You can also choose to use CMD to erase the BitLocker encrypted partition during the installation process. However, this is relatively difficult for beginners, so make sure you are typing in the correct commands.

Step 1. Create a Windows Installation USB

Use the Windows Media Creation Tool to create a bootable USB for Windows 10/11. Microsoft offers a full guide on how to do it.

Step 2. Boot from the USB

Insert the USB, restart the PC, and press the BIOS key (usually F2, Delete, or a manufacturer-specific key) to enter BIOS/UEFI. Set the USB as the first boot device. 

Step 3. Open Command Prompt

Restart your PC. During the startup, press Shift and F10 at the same time to launch the Command Prompt. Then, type the following commands in order and press Enter after each command, which will help you remove BitLocker.

• diskpart
• list disk
• select disk x (Replace X with the number of the correct disk where the BitLocker encrypted partition is)
• clean
• exit

🚩Alternative option: If you want to format the BitLocker partition only and keep other partitions, run the following command lines:

• diskpart
• list disk
• select disk 1 (Replace 1 with the encrypted disk)
• list partition
• select partition 1 (Replace 1 with the number of the BitLocker partition)
• delete partition override

Step 4. Continue Reinstalling Windows

• Reboot from the Windows installation media again. Then in the Windows Setup menu, click Next > Install Now, select I don't have a product key, and accept the license agreement.
• Select Customize: Windows Only (Advanced), select the partition where you want to install Windows 11/10, and click Next. Then follow the on-screen instructions to complete the Windows installation.

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Case 2. Reinstall Windows on BitLocker Encrypted Drive With Recovery Key

If you have a BitLocker recovery key or password, things will be much easier. You just need to disable BitLocker first before you install Windows. This part of the tutorial helps to keep the other partitions on your hard disk when reinstalling Windows operating system on the BitLocker encrypted partition, so there won't be any data loss.

Stage 1. Disable BitLocker

EaseUS Partition Master is a reliable Windows disk manager which allows you to manage BitLocker with flexibility. Also, if you do not remember the BitLocker recovery key, it can retrieve it for you.

Here is how to disable BitLocker with EaseUS Partition Master:

Step 1. Open EaseUS Partition Master and right-click on the BitLocker-encrypted drive.

Step 2. Select "BitLocker Manager," and you will see a new window that allows you to perform BitLocker-relevant ops.

Step 3. Click on "Turn Off" for your target drive and wait patiently till it's done.

Stage 2. Reinstall Windows 

After disabling BitLocker on the encrypted partition, you can continue to reinstall Windows. You can click the link to learn the instructions from Microsoft.

Stage 3. Turn on BitLocker

For your data security, you can re-encrypt your drive even after reinstalling Windows 10/11, follow the guide below to enable BitLocker encryption for the drive.

Step 1. Open File Explorer, then right-click the drive you want to encrypt and select Open BitLocker.

Step 2. Select how you want to unlock this drive and click Next. Then select a way to back up your BitLocker recovery key and click Next. (It is very important that you keep your recovery key safe.)

Step 3. Set the size of the drive to be encrypted and the encryption mode to be used. For these settings, you can leave the defaults in place. Then click Start Encryption to confirm the operation and wait for the process to complete. Finally, restart the computer to make the operation take effect.

Conclusion

How to reinstall Windows 10/11 on BitLocker drive? It depends on whether you remember the BitLocker recovery key or not. This article shares different ways to reinstall Windows on a BitLocker encrypted drive with or without a recovery key. Before trying each method, it is recommended that you backup your data to avoid data loss. Hope it can help.