Unfortunately, this can't be done via the Control Panel it has to be enabled through Group Policy or the Local Group Policy Editor (type gpedit.msc at Start Search). If not, the encryption key also can be stored on a USB stick.īut USB stick support has to be enabled before being used. This works, however, only if the computer has a TPM (Trusted Platform Module). Basically, you only have to turn on BitLocker, and the Drive Preparation Tool does the rest. BitLocker can be found under System and Security in the Control Panel.
It greatly simplifies the encryption of a system drive.
Microsoft acknowledged that this was too difficult for end users, and too time consuming for administrators, and released the BitLocker Drive Preparation Tool, which is part of the Ultimate Extras and is also available for Windows Vista Enterprise.īitLocker drive preperation is now integrated into Windows 7. Users had to shrink the system partition to make space for the BitLocker partition. BitLocker for Vista was too complicated to set up once the operating system is installed.
