BitLocker not saving key to AD: We have the solution

by Madalina Dinita
Madalina Dinita
Madalina Dinita
Windows & Software Expert
Madalina has been a Windows fan ever since she got her hands on her first Windows XP computer. She is interested in all things technology, especially emerging technologies... read more
Updated on
Affiliate Disclosure
BitLocker not saving key to AD
XINSTALL BY CLICKING THE DOWNLOAD FILE
To fix various PC problems, we recommend DriverFix:
This software will keep your drivers up and running, thus keeping you safe from common computer errors and hardware failure. Check all your drivers now in 3 easy steps:

  1. Download DriverFix (verified download file).
  2. Click Start Scan to find all problematic drivers.
  3. Click Update Drivers to get new versions and avoid system malfunctionings.
  • DriverFix has been downloaded by 0 readers this month.

BitLocker is a built-in full disk encryption feature available on Windows 7, 8.1 and Windows 10. This tool allows users to protect data by encrypting the whole disk or only individual sectors.

When usig BitLocker, it’s extremely important to save the recovery information on Active Directory. To do this, you need to enable a policy called “Store BitLocker recovery information in Active Directory Domain Services”.

However, sometimes BitLocker fails to save the key to AD. This is a very annoying situation since it leaves the respective machines with the drive locked and users don’t have access to recovery passwords.

To avoid such situations, follow the instructions listed below to make sure that BitLocker saves your recovery keys to AD.

How to backup BitLocker recovery key to AD

1. Make sure the Group Policy setting to save the key to AD is enabled

  1.  Navigate to this registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\FVE
  2. To allow backup of recovery information, make sure that the values listed below are available:
    1. OSActiveDirectoryBackup should be set to 1
    2. FDVActiveDirectoryBackup should be set to 1
    3. RDVActiveDirectoryBackup should be set to 1.

Also, make sure that the client is a member of the OU and the BitLocker group policies apply to the respective OU.

2. Get the ID for the numerical password protector

To do this, you need to open an elevated Command Prompt, enter the following command and hit Enter: manage-bde -protectors -get c:

In the example above, the C: drive is used. Of course, you need to replace the C: with the letter of the drive that you use.

Once you hit Enter, a list will appear in CMD and there you will find an ID and password for the Numerical Password protector.

3. Backup recovery information to AD

To enable backup recovery information to AD, enter this CMD command: manage-bde -protectors -adbackup c: -id {…}

Replace the dots in the brackets with the ID of Numerical Password protector that you obtained at step 1.

The recovery information for the volume in the active directory should now be visible.

We hope this helps. Also, if you found other solutions to enable BitLocker key saving to AD or fix BitLocker key backup issues, use the comments below to let us know.

RELATED STORIES TO CHECK OUT:

This article covers:Topics: