- 1 year ago
Programmatically prepare drive for BitLocker
To programmatically prepare a drive for BitLocker encryption on Windows, you can use the PowerShell cmdlets provided by the BitLocker Drive Encryption module. Here's an example of how you can achieve this:
Launch PowerShell: Open a PowerShell session with administrative privileges.
Import the BitLocker module: Execute the following command to import the BitLocker module:
powershellImport-Module BitLocker
Initialize the drive: Use the
Initialize-BitLocker
cmdlet to initialize the drive for BitLocker encryption. Specify the drive letter or the volume path of the drive you want to encrypt. For example:powershellInitialize-BitLocker -MountPoint "C:"
Enable BitLocker: After the drive is initialized, you can enable BitLocker using the
Enable-BitLocker
cmdlet. Provide the same drive letter or volume path used in the initialization step. For example:powershellEnable-BitLocker -MountPoint "C:" -EncryptionMethod "Aes256" -UsedSpaceOnly
In the above example, the
-EncryptionMethod
parameter is set to "Aes256" for AES-256 encryption, and-UsedSpaceOnly
is used to encrypt only the used space on the drive for faster encryption. Adjust these parameters as per your requirements.Set a BitLocker PIN or password (optional): If you want to set a PIN or password for the encrypted drive, you can use the
Add-BitLockerKeyProtector
cmdlet. For example, to set a numeric PIN:powershellAdd-BitLockerKeyProtector -MountPoint "C:" -Pin
Follow the prompts to specify the PIN or password.
By following these steps, you can programmatically prepare a drive for BitLocker encryption using PowerShell cmdlets. Keep in mind that the exact commands and parameters may vary depending on your specific Windows version and PowerShell version. It's recommended to refer to the BitLocker documentation or PowerShell help for more information on the available cmdlets and their usage.