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  1. Member
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    I want to replace the small NVME boot drive in my new Windows 11 laptop with a larger NVME drive. Unfortunately, it turns out that the laptop's current boot drive is BitLocker encrypted.

    The larger drive is attached to the laptop via a USB 3.1/3.2 Gen 2 enclosure. I bought EaseUS Disk Copy Pro to copy the small boot drive but so far I can't create a bootable copy. ...and I don't know what should be done about the BitLocker encryption when copying the drive.

    Has anybody else successfully done this? Is there a good guide someplace? Do I need different software?
    Ignore list: hello_hello, tried, TechLord, Snoopy329
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    EaseUS should be able to clone, keyword "clone" (not copy) the small boot drive, if EaseUS doesn't clone you could use the freeware Clonezilla, then you might want to look at mini tool partition wizard and expand the remaining free space on the new larger drive or, create an additional partition. Cloning avoids having to worry about BitLocker.
    It's not important the problem be solved, only that the blame for the mistake is assigned correctly
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    Originally Posted by sum_guy View Post
    EaseUS should be able to clone, keyword "clone" (not copy) the small boot drive, if EaseUS doesn't clone you could use the freeware Clonezilla, then you might want to look at mini tool partition wizard and expand the remaining free space on the new larger drive or, create an additional partition. Cloning avoids having to worry about BitLocker.
    Thank you for your advice.

    EaseUS appears to be able to create bootable media on a USB-attached drive but not a bootable system drive. No matter what I tried, EaseUS wouldn't create a bootable clone of the system drive, although it could replicate the partitions and their contents.

    I used Clonezilla a long, long time ago. I will try it again. If Clonezilla doesn't work, then perhaps the USB enclosure is the problem. It's a WD NVMe drive so I initially tried Acronis True Image for WD, which couldn't detect and identify the NVMe drive to verify eligibility to use the software.
    Last edited by usually_quiet; 9th Dec 2021 at 17:26.
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  4. I'm a Super Moderator johns0's Avatar
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    Does windows give you an option to decrypt the drive?
    I think,therefore i am a hamster.
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    Originally Posted by johns0 View Post
    Does windows give you an option to decrypt the drive?
    I tried a couple of different ways to locate the option but didn't find it. Control Panel\System and Security\Device Encryption only gives me the option to back up/print the encryption key. Right-clicking on Drive C:in File Explorer >"This PC" doesn't provide any help either.

    I'm seeing contradictory information regarding encryption. The C: drive's encryption icon is a blue-and-gray open padlock but Disk Management says the partition containing Drive C: is BitLocker Encrypted
    Last edited by usually_quiet; 9th Dec 2021 at 19:28.
    Ignore list: hello_hello, tried, TechLord, Snoopy329
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  6. I'm a Super Moderator johns0's Avatar
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    The only other way to remove decryption is to format your drive.
    I think,therefore i am a hamster.
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    It did help. Thanks. The small NVMe boot drive that came with my laptop is encrypted but not locked.

    Code:
    C:\windows\system32>manage-bde -status
    BitLocker Drive Encryption: Configuration Tool version 10.0.22000
    Copyright (C) 2013 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
    
    Disk volumes that can be protected with
    BitLocker Drive Encryption:
    Volume C: [Windows]
    [OS Volume]
    
        Size:                 237.63 GB
        BitLocker Version:    2.0
        Conversion Status:    Used Space Only Encrypted
        Percentage Encrypted: 100.0%
        Encryption Method:    XTS-AES 128
        Protection Status:    Protection On
        Lock Status:          Unlocked
        Identification Field: Unknown
        Key Protectors:
            TPM
            Numerical Password

    Originally Posted by johns0 View Post
    The only other way to remove decryption is to format your drive.
    I don't think I'll go that far...

    I guess having a new toy to play with got me a little over excited. Since I have to open up the laptop to replace the drive, I should probably wait until after the return window on the laptop passes. Hewlett Packard installed a bunch of trial software and proprietary apps. I'm not sure any of it is worth keeping but maybe I should use the extra time to find out. If none of it is worth saving then I could just replace the original small NVMe drive and do a fresh install of Windows 11 on the larger NVMe drive.

    I retrieved the product key for Windows 11 and saved the decryption key just in case I seriously messed something up then used diskpart to clear the large replacement NVMe drive and return it to an uninitialized state to be ready for the next go round.

    Thanks to all for your help.
    Ignore list: hello_hello, tried, TechLord, Snoopy329
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    I found a service manual for the HP model that I bought (HP Pavilion Laptop 15t-eg100).

    My new laptop is going to be significantly harder to get into than the old HP laptop that I use. The old laptop even had a convenient hatch to access the battery which customers could easily replace, and I did need to do that. According to HP, the new laptop is supposed to be professionally serviced if the battery ever needs to be replaced. Maybe I'll need to get a portable USB drive for extra storage and use the NVMe drive in one of my desktops that has a place to install a second NVMe drive.
    Ignore list: hello_hello, tried, TechLord, Snoopy329
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    I know what you mean, the degree of difficulty taking a laptop apart now has become significantly higher. My Macbook Air and my Dell XPS 13 both look daunting, the Dell had to have the card reader replaced, fortunately it was still in warranty and Dell did a 2 day turn around on the repair. I have all the tools to take it apart but, I really don't want to mess with it. It's got a 256mb nVME drive and I too thought about upgrading but, chickened out and went with an external drive and cloud storage.
    It's not important the problem be solved, only that the blame for the mistake is assigned correctly
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