How to Turn of or temporarily suspend BitLocker in Window 8

To turn off or temporarily suspend BitLocker

You can temporarily suspend BitLocker—for example, if you need to install new software that BitLocker might otherwise block—and then resume it when you're ready. Or you can turn off BitLocker entirely, which decrypts the drive and removes all BitLocker protection.

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   Open BitLocker Drive Encryption by swiping in from the right edge of the screen, tapping Search (or if you're using a mouse, pointing to the upper-right corner of the screen, moving the mouse pointer down, and then clicking Search), entering BitLocker in the search box, tapping or clicking Settings, and then tapping or clicking BitLocker Drive Encryption.

   
   
   
   


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   Do one of the following:

   
   
   
   
   
   
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     To temporarily suspend BitLocker, tap or click Suspend protection.  You might be asked for an admin password or to confirm your choice. Once you've done that, tap or click Yes.

     
     
     
     
   
   
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     To turn off BitLocker and decrypt the drive, tap or click the Turn off BitLocker link.  You might be asked for an admin password or to confirm your choice. Once you've done that, tap or click the Turn off BitLocker button.

     
     
     
     
   
   
   
   

What happens if I add more files to an encrypted drive?

New files are automatically encrypted when you add them to a drive that uses BitLocker. However, if you copy these files to another drive or a different PC, they're automatically decrypted.

Where can I use BitLocker?

BitLocker can encrypt the drive Windows is installed on (the operating system drive) as well as fixed data drives (such asinternal hard drives). You can also use BitLocker To Go to help protect all files stored on a removable data drive (such as an external hard drive or USB flash drive).