How to Enable BitLocker Encryption on System Volumes

To enable BitLocker on a system volume, follow these steps:

1. Perform a full backup of the computer. Then, run a check of the integrity of the BitLocker partition using ChkDsk.
2. Open Control Panel. Click System And Security. Under BitLocker Drive Encryption, click Protect Your Computer By Encrypting Data On Your Disk.
3. On the BitLocker Drive Encryption page, click Turn On BitLocker.
   If your partitions are properly configured and your computer has a TPM (or the TPM requirement has been disabled), you can enable BitLocker.
4. If available (the choice can be blocked by a Group Policy setting), in the Set BitLocker Startup Preferences dialog box, select your authentication choice.
5. If you choose to use a USB key, the Save Your Startup Key dialog box appears. Select the startup key and then click Save.
6. Choose the destination to save your recovery password. The recovery password is a small text file containing brief instructions, a drive label and password ID, and the 48-digit recovery password. The choices are to store it on a USB drive, save it to a local or remote folder, or print the password. Be sure to save the password and the recovery key on separate devices. You can repeat this step to save the password to multiple locations. Keep the recovery passwords safe-anyone with access to the recovery password can bypass BitLocker security. Click Next.
   Note It is strongly recommended that you save your recovery password to more than one location or device to ensure that you can recover it in the event that the BitLocker drive becomes locked. Keep the recovery keys safe and separate from the protected computer. Additionally, ensure that BitLocker-protected volumes are regularly backed up.
7. Select the Run BitLocker System Check check box and click Continue if you are ready to begin encryption. Click Restart Now. Upon rebooting, BitLocker will ensure that the computer is fully compatible and ready to be encrypted. BitLocker displays a special screen confirming that the key material was loaded. Now that this is confirmed, BitLocker will begin encrypting the drive after Windows starts, and BitLocker will be enabled. If you do not select the Run BitLocker System Check check box, click Start Encrypting.

Encryption occurs in the background; the user can work on the computer (although free disk space and processor time will be partially consumed by BitLocker). If BitLocker encounters a disk-related problem, it will pause encryption and schedule a ChkDsk to run the next time you restart your computer. After the problem is fixed, encryption will continue.

A notification message is displayed in the system tray during encryption. An administrator can click the BitLocker system tray icon and then choose to pause the encryption process if the computer's performance is impacted, although the computer will not be protected until encryption is completed.