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Can You Format a Locked Encrypted BitLocker Drive?

I just found an old hard drive of mine yesterday. I have tried to format it, but it's encrypted by Bitlocker. I don't have the password or restore key to unlock it, so what can I do to format an encrypted BitLocker drive that I can't unlock? If anyone knows the solution, please show me how. Any help would be appreciated!

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Oliver· Answered on Apr 19, 2024

Yes, you can format a locked encrypted BitLocker drive with EaseUS Partition Master.

If you want to format a drive that is protected by BitLocker and you have no password or restore key, the easiest and fastest way is to get help from a third-party tool. Here, I want to recommend a free and professional tool - EaseUS Partition Master Free, which has a powerful feature that can help you format an encrypted BitLocker drive even if you don't have the password.

Free Download

Windows 11/10/8/7100% Secure

Check below to learn how to format the drive without unlocking it:

Note: The format process will remove the data on that drive. If you want to back up those data before formatting but have trouble unlocking the drive, contact the EaseUS technical support team for help: [email protected]

Step 1. Launch EaseUS Partition Master. Choose the encrypted BitLocker drive partition and select "Format."

Step 2. Adjust the configuration for the partition on the new window and then click "OK".

Step 3. Confirm the warning message and then hit "Execute 1 Task(s)" > "Apply" to start formatting the partition.

If you are not a fan of third-party software, you can try running the clean command in DiskPart, which might be much more complex for Windows beginners. Inputting wrong command lines might cause unexpected errors, so think twice before you determine to try this method.

Step 1. Open the Start menu and search cmd. Then, run Command Prompt as administrator.

Step 2. Input diskpart and hit "Enter."

Step 3. Input the following commands and press "Enter" each time:

list disk
select disk X (Replace X with the target disk number)
list partition
select partition Y (Replace Y with the partition label of the locked encrypted BitLocker drive)
delete partition override
exit

Further reading: How to Format BitLocker Encryted Drive With or Without Password

Can You Format a Locked Encrypted BitLocker Drive?

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