Are there any issues with the clean installation of Windows 11 and activation?
Are there any issues with the clean installation of Windows 11 and activation?
Usually TPM is employed to safeguard the encryption/decryption key kept on the device. Removing the drive prevents access without the TPM data. If TPM details are lost—such as during updates—without the recovery key, the drive becomes permanently inaccessible. For encrypted drives, it's ESSENTIAL you possess the recovery key (either from the MS account, which isn't yours, or a backup elsewhere).
You can obtain a recovery key if you hadn’t created one before, or if you had the chance to do so. I’m quite meticulous about these details. If Windows is automatically providing a recovery key on new systems by default, why isn’t it mentioned during installation? Is this feature mainly applied to laptops or prebuilt desktops?
In my case with the laptop, it probably isn’t necessary to worry about it. However, if I sell it and the buyer wants to transfer the drive to another system, do they expect me to provide the encryption key again? Could this affect me?
I also recently performed a fresh Windows installation without any keys being requested.
This individual's blog might relate to your case, meaning your device is secured but the encryption details remain visible on the storage, which you can verify via “Privacy & security” > “Device encryption.”
You can remove the protection by employing an external partition manager to erase the encrypted partitions.
Remove BitLocker completely.
Most average users don’t need it.
Unless your PC holds sensitive business or government information (or you’re engaging in illegal activities).
https://support.lenovo.com/ee/en/so...ur...windows-11
[Windows 11] Disabling Device Encryption & Standard BitLocker | Official Support | ASUS Global
Even though the instructions mention a key in plain text without specifying its exact location, it isn't displayed in the privacy & security section or the device encryption settings. The guidance advises signing in with a Microsoft account to complete the encryption process. I can disable device encryption, but understanding how this works is still unclear. I don’t have that option on my current laptop; there’s a separate setting where I can turn off encryption. However, I’m trying to grasp the mechanism behind it.
If the laptop were kept or used on another system, would I be prevented from accessing the files because device encryption remains active without a valid Microsoft account? I understand that if I was using this device or a new one, I should disable encryption or sign in with a Microsoft account to obtain a key. This makes me wonder if I’m misunderstanding the process entirely.