BitLocker Stuck Decrypting or Encrypting, How to Fix

Does BitLocker linger to protect or unlock your drive? The reason is it might be stuck! If you have noticed a message while trying to update the BIOS or other firmware that "MS Windows BitLocker drive decryption/encryption is in progress," there must be a problem. Although BitLocker encryption or decryption is mainly hassle-free, it might get stuck at a specific percentage for hours without any progress. Several Windows users are often troubled by the "BitLocker Stuck Decrypting" issue on their PCs.

So, how long does BitLocker take to decrypt or encrypt a drive? For encryption, time depends on the HDD's performance speed and the amount of data. Therefore, encrypting 500MB of data takes a minute, translating to approximately 17 hours for 500GB and 67 hours for 2TB. Time depends on the disk performance and data size for decryption, like encryption. But how do we fix the "BitLocker stuck Decrypting or encrypting process?" Let's find out the answer in 6 different methods! 

Method 1: Pause and Resume the Process to Fix BitLocker Stuck on Decrypting

During encryption or decryption of a BitLocker drive, BitLocker mainly allows you to pause & resume the procedure. Pausing is vital before eliminating an external disk to prevent damage and data loss. Below are the steps to consider:

Step 1. Hit "Pause" in the BitLocker Drive Encryption dialog box. All you need to do is access it in the Taskbar's system tray in case it isn't on the screen.

Step 2. Hit "Resume."

Method 2: Disable Unnecessary Programs to Fix BitLocker Stuck Decrypting or Encrypting

You may try shutting down every inessential feature and program in Task Manager while decrypting a drive, which liberates your system resources and helps fix the BitLocker drive decryption not working error. The steps are the following:

Step 1. Launch "Task Manager" after pressing "Ctrl + Shift + ESC" and hit "More Details."

Step 2. Right-click on the inessential programs in the "Processes" tab and opt for "End Task." Now, repeat the steps to disable every program.

Method 3: Use Manage-Bde to Solve BitLocker Stuck When Decrypt or Encrypt

Are you having issues with BitLocker decryption via the Control Panel? If so, try to unlock the drive with a password via Command Prompt, which might benefit you! Go through the steps below:

Step 1. Launch the "Run" box after hitting the "Windows + R" keys.

Step 2. Type "cmd," and hit "Ctrl + Shift + Enter" to operate Command Prompt as Administrator.

Step 3. Hit "Yes" to confirm.

Step 4. Now, replace "C" with the correct drive letter you want to unlock: manage-bde -unlock C: -rp. Hit the "Enter" key.

Step 5. Lastly, use the following command to switch off BitLocker encryption on drive C: manage-bde -protectors -disable C:

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Method 4: Turn BitLocker Encryption off and on to Solve BitLocker Stuck at Decrypting

Terminating background processes and applications in Task Manager won't be beneficial if they don't interrupt with BitLocker. Hence, the most essential step is to disable BitLocker protection and check if it fixes the issue. Here's how you may disable BitLocker encryption or decryption:

Step 1. Head to "Start" > "Control Panel" > "System & Security" > "BitLocker Drive Encryption."

Step 2. Broaden the drive currently decrypting or encrypting. Hit "turn off BitLocker" and corroborate your preference in the dialog box.

Step 3. Reboot your PC.

Method 5: Use Diskpart to Fix BitLocker Stuck on Decrypting or Encrypting

Diskpart is a command-line utility that helps perform different tasks, including creating, deleting, and formatting partitions, volumes, or the whole disk. This is how you can use Diskpart to fix BitLocker stuck on decrypting or encrypting:

Step 1. Navigate to "Start" > "Command Prompt," and run the program as administrator.

Step 2. Type diskpart and press the "Enter" button.

Step 3. Run the command: list disk once the utility launches.

Step 4. You will notice every volume on your PC. Opt for a BitLocker-encrypted drive by running the below-mentioned command using the corresponding number: select disk < number >. Omit the < and > operands.

Step 5. Run the command to check every storage component: list partition

Step 6. Opt for the one you want to delete by typing the command using the appropriate number: select partition < number >.

Step 7. The last command includes eliminating the safeguarded volume: delete partition override.

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Method 6: Check the Hard Drive to Solve BitLocker Gets Stuck on Decrypting or Encrypting

BitLocker decryption or encryption not working error might ensue on an erroneous hard drive. In that case, it's recommended that a hard drive scan be conducted to verify if there are poor sectors or file system errors on the drive. The steps are the following:

Step 1. Launch the "Command Prompts" window again.

Step 2. Type this command: chkdsk D: /f /r and hit "Enter" to check the drive for errors. All you need to do is substitute "D:" with the drive letter, which you intend to verify.

Pro Tips: Recover Data From the Decrypted BitLocker Drive

The frozen BitLocker encryption or decryption may damage your BitLocker drive, making the data preserved on it unreachable to you. Consider employing EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard to retrieve files if it happens to you.

It can restore every data type, including audio, videos, images, and documents from internal & external drives after BitLocker encryption is stuck, not responding, frozen, failed, paused, or interrupted. This professional data recovery tool is one of the leading tools for restoring 1000+ file types from 2000+ storage devices with a 99.7% success rate.

You can download and install this tool to recover files lost during the BitLocker error on your external hard drive if you have endured data loss during the BitLocker stuck error.

Final Words

Discovering that BitLocker is stuck decrypting on Windows PC is indeed challenging. But with the correct methods above, you may quickly eliminate the panic. You can crosscheck the hard drive, use diskpart, turn BitLocker protection off and on, and more to fix the issue. You need to understand that trying the fixes above may cause a loss of data, which is why installing the EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard is essential.

FAQs

Below are the best FAQs to understand the topic better:

1. How do I stop decrypting BitLocker?

If you're wondering how to turn off BitLocker and turn it back on before you stop using it for encryption or decryption, the steps to accomplish this are as follows: "Start" > "Control Panel" > "System & Security" > "BitLocker Drive Encryption." 

2. Can I turn my PC off while BitLocker decrypts?

If the PC is disabled or shut down suddenly, the BitLocker encryption or decryption procedure will be stopped until your PC turns on.

3. How do you resume BitLocker encryption paused?

You can resume the BitLocker encryption process with this command: manage-bde -resume X: