How To Turn On BitLocker In Windows 8 Step by Step

You can use BitLocker Drive Encryption to help protect your files on an entire drive. BitLocker can help block hackers from accessing the system files they rely on to discover your password, or from accessing your drive by physically removing it from your PC and installing it in a different one. You can still sign in to Windows and use your files as you normally would.

When mentioning computer data protection, you may first think about setting an administrator password to your computer. Other than this idea, have you ever thought of encrypting the hard drives in your computer? The built-in BitLocker Drive Encryption function can help you in this case. As for how to use BitLocker to guarantee the safety of hard disk data, this article will introduce how to turn on BitLocker on Windows 8 for you.

To turn on BitLocker

Warning

• 
  When you turn on BitLocker for the first time, make sure you create a recovery key. Otherwise, you could permanently lose access to your files. For more info, see If I lose my recovery information, will the BitLocker-protected data be unrecoverable?
  
  
  
  If you use a screen reader app, you won’t be able to hear BitLocker screens that appear before the Welcome screen, such as the BitLocker PIN entry screen or the BitLocker recovery screen.
  
  

1. 
   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.
   
   


2. 
   Tap or click Turn on BitLocker.  You might be asked for an admin password or to confirm your choice.
   
   
   
   The BitLocker Drive Encryption setup dialog box opens.
   
   


3. 
   Follow the instructions.
   
   

    Or If you are facing any problem or error Follow the screenshot instructions step by step which are given below.

Step by Step instruction:-

You may be hesitated when knowing that there are 10 steps to turn on BitLocker on Windows 8 computer to encrypt a hard disk drive. However, you can see that the steps are illustrated as clear as possible in this article. Therefore, it is easy for you to follow them to turn on Windows 8 BitLocker so as to protect your hard drive data.

Step 1: Open Control Panel.

Step 2: Choose System and Security.

Step 3: Tap BitLocker Drive Encryption on the right list.

Step 4: Click Turn on BitLocker beside the hard drive you want to create a password to it.

Note: If the following prompt box shows up, it means that you fail to start BitLocker. To solve the problem, go to set the "Allow BitLocker without a compatible TPM" option in the "Require additional authentication at startup" policy. You can refer to the processes below.

1. Simultaneously press Windows key and R key (Windows key+R) to open the Run command.

BTW, Windows key is the key located between Ctrl key and Alt key on the lower left corner of a keyboard.

2. Input gpedit.msc in the empty box and click OK.

3. Find Require additional authentication at startup according to the procedure below and open it by double clicking it.

Local Computer Policy/ Computer Configuration/ Administrative Templates/ Windows Components/ Bit Locker Drive Encryption/ Operating System Drives/ Require additional authentication at startup

4. Select Enabled on the left. After that, Allow BitLocker without a compatible TPM option will be chosen automatically. Then, click OK to save the setting and close the Local Group Policy Editor.

5. Click Turn on BitLocker again and wait for the BitLocker to check the computer configuration.

6. Click Next in the following screen.

7. Tap Next to move on.

8. Click Next to wait for the program to prepare a drive for BitLocker.

9. Click Next when the progress of preparing drive is finished.

10. Tap Restart now to finish encryption preparation.

Step 5: Choose Enter a password or Insert a USB flash drive to unlock the drive at startup.

1. If Insert a USB flash drive is chosen, you should insert a use drive to your computer, select it and then clickSave in the screen below.

2. If Enter a password is selected, enter a password, reenter it and click Next to go on.

Step 6: Select a way from Save to your Microsoft account, Save to a USB flash drive, Save to a file andPrint the recovery key to save the recovery key.

Step 7: Click Start Encrypting to encrypt the hard disk drive.

Step 8: Tap Close when the drive encryption process is finished.