Lost access to your encrypted volume? Most of the time this isn’t a problem with the data on the disk. The issue is that the disk has stopped releasing its key after an update, a hardware change, a misplaced recovery code or the first signs of the disk’s own demise. Provide the credential that belongs to the volume (a Microsoft account, a saved password or the 48-digit recovery code) and we will create a clone, rebuild anything the volume requires and recover your data from beyond the encryption lock.
This message usually indicates that the data stored on the disk is still intact, so do not format the disk, reinstall Windows, clear the TPM or try anything else that could remove the encryption keys forever. The first step is to locate the 48-digit recovery code (Microsoft stores it as part of your account information, many workstations store it in Azure AD or their domain, and you may have printed it or copied it to a USB device). Once you have located the code, bring it to us together with the disk. If the disk is also failing, put it aside and allow us to create the clone before it deteriorates. Once a key or password is in hand, the chances of a clean recovery are very good.
The majority of drives that cannot be decrypted fall into three categories: lost or missing keys, volume damage or failing hardware; rarely are the files themselves the problem. As long as you can prove ownership and provide a valid credential, these are the issues we resolve most frequently.
Whatever scheme was used to lock a drive, we can generally find our way in behind it, provided you can verify ownership and supply the password, recovery credential or key. None of the encryption is broken or weakened during the process; your files simply appear from behind it.
Across Windows, macOS and Linux — from single laptops and desktops through to servers and NAS boxes — plus hardware self-encrypting disks and any password-locked USB or portable drive.
The process takes place in a set order: clone the locked disk first, then open it and recover the data, using your key or password if you have one, or a key the system left behind if you don’t. The source drive is read once and never written to.
Describe the drive, the type of encryption on it, and which codes or logins you can still access.
If the key has gone missing, we show you where to look for it: a Microsoft account, a company Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) or domain, an old printout, a saved document or a file on a USB device.
All sectors of the original disk are copied and every subsequent operation runs on this copy. This means the original disk remains unaltered, which matters all the more if it is about to fail.
If there is damage to the headers within the BitLocker or container structures, we repair those headers so the volume can be opened.
Once your code, password or login has been entered, we release the volume and read the data directly off the clone.
Without your code, password or login, we can sometimes recover a key the system stored in a hibernation file, a memory dump or an escrow copy. However, if a strong key has been lost for good and cannot be found any other way, it cannot be forced, by us or by anyone else.
After recovery, each file is opened and tested to ensure it can be opened and used as expected. We also check that none of your files were missed during the recovery process.
Once the data has been recovered, everything is returned to you decrypted on new media, or by secure transfer.
Our services cover BitLocker, FileVault, VeraCrypt and other encryption on any type of media, from laptops and desktops to NAS devices, servers and USB drives. We always work from a read-only clone, and always with a key or password that belongs to you.
Tell us what happened and we will get back to you, usually within one working day.
We will be in touch shortly. For anything urgent, call 01483 901310.
Before we touch your drive, a free diagnosis is carried out and you receive a written quote, with no surprises and no hard sell.
A few encrypted jobs recovered recently. Identities have been removed from each case, and ownership was verified every time. Full write-ups: a BitLocker laptop with the key long gone.
The code was sitting in the owner’s Microsoft account. Once we had it, we cloned the SSD and released the volume, with nothing missing.
We cloned the dying disk as a read-only image, repaired the BitLocker structures and then used the code to unlock it. Everything came back in one piece.
A printed copy of the code saved the day. We repaired the volume header, unlocked the flash drive and extracted every file from it.
Send us your device for a free diagnostic and give us as much information as you can about what happened. One of our engineers will review it and confirm your exact quote in writing before any work is carried out.
The first step to getting your data back is sending the device to us. Pack it safely, put your contact details inside the package and send it in. Once we have completed the free diagnostic, we will confirm the exact cost in writing before any work starts.
Sending it by post? We’d recommend a tracked, insured service. Dropping it in? No problem: Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm. Please package the device as described above first.
Would you like more information first? Complete the form with further details about your issue, and one of our engineers will review it and send you a tailored quote.
We’ll be in touch shortly. For anything urgent, call 01483 901310.
These are the questions we get asked most frequently about recovering BitLocker and other encrypted drives.
Yes, generally speaking, provided you can prove that the drive belongs to you and can supply the code, password or Microsoft account associated with it. We clone the drive, repair any damage to the volume if needed, and then release it with your credentials. A failing disk does not stop us recovering your data.
Don’t panic and reinstall or reformat. The 48-digit code usually still exists somewhere: in your Microsoft account under this particular device, stored in your company’s Azure AD or domain, printed off, saved in a file or kept on a USB stick. Gather whatever you can find and leave the rest to us.
Occasionally. When fragments of a key remain in memory (RAM), in a hibernation file or in a temporary copy, we may be able to recover enough to rebuild it. However, where no remnants exist and no credential can be found anywhere, the encryption holds, and that limit applies to every lab, not just ours.
This happens every day. First we create a read-only copy of the failing drive, then we repair the encrypted volume on that copy, and only then do we decrypt it using the key you provide. Because we’re reading off a copy instead of the failing drive itself, there is far less chance that what remains on the drive will disappear once we start working.
Yes. In addition to BitLocker and BitLocker To Go, we also support Apple’s FileVault, VeraCrypt and TrueCrypt volumes, LUKS and dm-crypt volumes on Linux, hardware self-encrypting drives, and password-protected USB flash drives and external hard drives, always with your own password or key.
Typically, an update, a new motherboard or Trusted Platform Module (TPM), or a reset of the motherboard’s BIOS makes BitLocker fall back on the recovery code it stored when you first switched encryption on. Your data has not moved; it is only the code that BitLocker wants. Once you have it, you can be back in within minutes.
Always. All such work is carried out confidentially and under lock and key, and an NDA is completely acceptable and common practice for us. Your files never leave our control, and they are erased from our equipment as soon as they have been returned to you.
A single-disk system is £800 + VAT. On the key-recovery side, we take half up front for the labour, with the second half paid only if the recovery succeeds. If the drive itself turns out to be physically failing, we agree any higher figure in writing before we begin.
Drop it off at our Guildford Business Park office between 9am and 5:30pm, Monday to Friday, or send it to us fully insured. Please include your details and the recovery code if you have it, and we will log it and begin once the free diagnostic is complete.
You receive a free diagnostic, a quick check to confirm who owns the drive, and then your encrypted drive opened and handed back to you decrypted, even if the disk is failing. Get in touch and we will take it from there.