BitLocker Recovery

This is just a quickly thrown together entry to get some documentation out there.


The BitLocker Recovery tool is a hardware based utility used to prevent computer theft. Apparently research has shown that if a computer is stolen, it often experiences some sort of physical shock in the process. So the BitLocker Recovery Tool is basically a 'jostle' sensor, when tripped, it locks the computer. It can only be turned back on by use of a recovery key obtained from Active Directory. 

Unfortunately, we get a lot of false positives on these sensors.

Confirm that the user is associated with Purdue.

First and foremost, get them a recovery key over the phone, see KB 1140849

Second, if the sensor is getting tripped repeatedly, you may need to hard power cycle the machine.  This can be accomplished by

1. Shut the machine down (desktop or laptop)
2. For desktops
   1. Remove the power cable.
   2. Press and hold the power button for 15 seconds
   3. Plug the power cable back in and start the machine up again
3. For laptops
   1. Remove the laptop from the dock
   2. Remove the power cable from the dock
   3. Reconnect power to the dock
   4. Redock the laptop and start the machine up again

NOTE:  If the computer doesn't accept the BitLocker key or is repeatedly asking for the BitLocker key, even after following the steps above, the ticket should be escalated to CSDS Support.