How to Back Up a BitLocker Encrypted Drive in Windows 2024

Introduction

BitLocker encryption enables users to protect their data with a key or fingerprint across various devices. When users enable BitLocker on USB flash drives or SD cards on their computers, Microsoft Windows encrypts the files and folders stored on these devices, ensuring that only authorized users can access the data.

Of course, BitLocker brings safety to data. But is it absolutely stress-free to encrypt data with BitLocker? The answer is no! That's why we need to backup BitLocker encrypted drive. But before doing so, users need to know something.

What Should I Do Before Backing Up a BitLocker Encrypted Drive?

Backing up a BitLocker encrypted drive can be a challenging task, so before proceeding, you should:

Determine where you want to store the backup drive. Make sure the backup destination has enough capacity.

But if you want to achieve an automatic backup or one-click backup, you may need a professional backup tool, Todo Backup Home.

As a stress-free backup software, it enables users to easily perform backups and restorations. Particularly, tools like this can be greatly beneficial if you're not proficient in computer operations. But is it truly that helpful? What capabilities does it offer? Keep reading to find out.

What can Todo Backup tools do? Can they help backup BitLocker encrypted drives?

Can tools like Todo Backup assist in backing up a BitLocker encrypted drive? The answer is affirmative! It equips with key algorithms to bypass BitLocker encryption, making the backup process for encrypted drives more convenient. Let's explore its specific features.

• Supports differential backup, full backup, and incremental backup.
• Offers system, disk, and Cloud backups.
• Includes advanced options.
• Enables you to create a system clone with a single click.

Todo Backup is a safe, reliable, and time-efficient solution. It enables you to effortlessly backup your files, folders, partitions, or even perform a hard drive backup to another hard drive. But can it assist with backing up a BitLocker Encrypted Drive? Absolutely! Let's explore how to utilize Todo Backup for this purpose.

How to Backup BitLocker Encrypted Drive [Step-by-Step Guide]

As mentioned earlier, BitLocker also risks data loss if you forget passwords. Hence, it is essential to back up the BitLocker-encrypted drive. Now, let me guide you on how to do that, and I will present two methods to assist you in backing up a BitLocker Encrypted Drive.

Method 1: Backup BitLocker Encrypted Drive with Todo Backup Tool

As a time-saving backup utility, tools can make backing up BitLocker encrypted drives a breeze. Let's see just how effortless it is.

Step 1. Begin by selecting the backup content.

Step 2. There are four backup categories: File, Disk, OS, and Mail. Click on Disk.

Step 3. You can choose to back up the entire disk or a specific partition. Select what you need and click OK.

Step 4.  Choose the location where you want to save the backup.

Step 5. For disk/partition backup, you can opt to save the backup to a local drive or to a NAS.

Step 6. Once the backup process is done, your task will be listed on the left. Right-click on any task to manage your backup, for example, to recover it, create an incremental backup, and more.

Well, you have nothing to worry about when using Todo Backup. Just download and give it a try. You'll see how easy it is to backup your data with it.

Aside from utilizing backup software tools, users can also employ Windows boot-in backup software to accomplish a backup task. I will explain this further in the upcoming paragraph.

Method 2: Back Up BitLocker Encrypted Drive with File History

Before using File History to back up, you should know that it only supports backing up certain types of files. Unlike tools like Todo Backup that can backup hard drive, File History does not allow you to back up partitions or entire drives. Additionally, if you wish to use File History to back up a BitLocker encrypted drive, you must first decrypt it using the methods outlined in the following section. After that, follow these steps:

First, access the Settings from the Start menu and follow these steps:

Step 1. Select Update and Security > Backup > Backup Using File History.

Step 2. Select a backup destination for your backup files. You can then click "More Options" to proceed with additional settings.

Step 3. If you've chosen a backup location, turn on the "Automatically backup my files" option. Windows will then begin backing up your files to the selected location.

Backing up or cloning an encrypted drive can be a bit tricky, but thankfully, you can count on tools like Todo Backup to take care of these backup tasks for you. Additionally, if you're having trouble decrypting a drive encrypted with BitLocker, I'll show you two easy ways to disable BitLocker next.

Bonus Tip: How to Disable BitLocker Encrypted Drive? In case you need to disable BitLocker encryption on your drive, here's what you do: 1. **Open BitLocker Drive Encryption**: Hit the Windows Start button, type "BitLocker" in the search box, and pick "Manage BitLocker" from the results. 2. **Choose the Encrypted Drive**: In the BitLocker Drive Encryption window, select the drive you want to turn off encryption for. 3. **Turn Off BitLocker**: Click on "Turn Off BitLocker". A warning will pop up, letting you know that disabling BitLocker will remove encryption and expose your data. 4. **Save the Recovery Key**: Make sure you've saved your BitLocker recovery key somewhere secure before continuing. You can save it to a file, print it out, or jot it down. 5. **Disable Encryption**: Confirm by clicking "Turn Off BitLocker" in the warning. The process will start, and it might take a while depending on the drive's size. 6. **Confirmation**: Once encryption is off, you'll get a notification. The drive won't be encrypted anymore, and you can use it without BitLocker's protection. Keep in mind that disabling BitLocker lessens the security of your data, so it's best to keep encryption on if you can.

Sometimes, it's unnecessary to use BitLocker if you're just working from home or have a poor memory. Here are two methods to disable BitLocker for you.

Method 1: Disable BitLocker via Windows Control Panel

Step 1. Locate the Control Panel.

Step 2. Click BitLocker Drive Encryption.

Step 3. Locate the target partition and click "Turn off BitLocker".

Additionally, there's another method to disable BitLocker. Now, let's explore how to turn off BitLocker through Settings.

Method 2: Disable BitLocker via Settings.

Before disabling BitLocker, you need to locate the settings first. To turn off BitLocker, follow these steps:

Step 1. Click on "System."

Step 2. Click "About" at the bottom on the left, and then "BitLocker settings".

Step 3. Find the target partition and click "Turn off BitLocker".

Users can easily turn off BitLocker or start BitLocker in these ways. This entire article elaborates on how to back up a BitLocker Encrypted Drive. We recommend using Todo Backup as it is reliable and user-friendly. Hence, if you are encountering backup issues, download it and give it a try.

Frequently Asked Questions About Backing Up BitLocker Encrypted Drive

Additionally, if you encounter other issues while backing up a BitLocker-encrypted drive, you might find solutions in this section.

< strong > Can I copy a BitLocker encrypted drive? < / strong > Yes, you can copy a BitLocker encrypted drive, but there are a few things to consider: 1. **Backup Key**: Ensure you have the BitLocker recovery key or the password, as you'll need it to access the encrypted data during the copying process. 2. **Cloning Tools**: You can use disk cloning software like Clonezilla, Acronis True Image, or Windows built-in tools (such as Disk Management or Disk Copy) to create an exact replica of the encrypted drive. These tools should preserve the encryption when copying. 3. **Destination Drive**: Make sure the destination drive is large enough to hold the entire contents of the encrypted drive. 4. **Encryption State**: If you're cloning the drive to another drive and plan to use it with the same system, you don't need to re-encrypt the copied data. However, if you intend to use the cloned drive on a different system, you might need to re-enable BitLocker on the new drive and update the encryption keys. 5. **Data Integrity**: After the clone is complete, verify that the data has been copied correctly and that you can access it using the BitLocker recovery key or password. Remember that if you're only copying individual files, you can do so by mounting the BitLocker-encrypted drive in Windows, entering the decryption key, and then copying the files manually. The encryption will remain intact on the copied files.

Yes, of course, you can. Todo Backup is a good backup and cloning software that can help you easily copy a BitLocker encrypted drive.

How can I recover data from a formatted BitLocker encrypted drive?

Before you can recover data, you'll need to decrypt your drive first, and then follow these steps:

Step 1. Select the drive where you lost your data and click "Scan".

Step 2. Use "Filter" or "Search" to locate your formatted files after the scan is complete.

Step 3. Select all the files you wish to recover, click "Recover," and choose a secure location to save them.

Is it possible to recover data from a BitLocker encrypted drive without the key?

No. BitLocker Drive Encryption is a form of full-disk encryption. Therefore, even if you format or delete the drive, the data on it remains encrypted and requires a password to be decrypted.