BitLocker keeps your drive unreadable to anyone without the key — which is exactly the problem when you're locked out of your own data. It's important to be clear: BitLocker's encryption can't be cracked, so recovery depends on having your recovery key or password. With that, we can recover your data from a drive that's failing, corrupted or won't boot — the encryption stops being the obstacle.
$ bdr triage /dev/sdb → Device: Dell laptop SSD (512 GB) → Status: BITLOCKER LOCKED — volume will not mount → Owner: verified · recovery key supplied $ bdr engineer-working → Read-only image: taken · source preserved → BitLocker metadata: repaired → Unlock: recovery key accepted $ bdr verify → ✓ documents — 38,400 files → ✓ Outlook data — 1 PST restored → ✓ data recovered — drive decrypted
There is no breaking BitLocker — so the first job is hunting down the 48-digit recovery key. Check your Microsoft account online, any printouts or saved key files, and ask IT if it’s a work machine. No key and no password means no decryption, for us or anyone. With either one, the majority of BitLocker recoveries succeed.
Being locked out of a BitLocker drive can mean several different things — and most of them are recoverable, as long as you have the key. These are the situations we see most.
We recover BitLocker-encrypted data from every kind of drive and make — internal, external, and the drives inside laptops, PCs and Surface devices.
BitLocker-encrypted internal and external drives · SSDs and hard drives · USB sticks · and the drives inside laptops, PCs and Surface devices.
With BitLocker, the key does the unlocking and we do everything else. Once you provide your recovery key or password, we recover your data from the drive — repairing failing hardware or rebuilding corruption first, then decrypting from a safe image.
We confirm it's a BitLocker lock-out rather than plain drive failure, check the drive's health, and tell you what we'll need from you — then quote in writing.
Recovery needs your 48-digit key or password. If you're not sure where it is, we help you work out where it may be stored.
The encrypted drive is imaged under write-protection and every operation happens on the image — your original stays byte-for-byte untouched.
If the drive is failing or corrupted, we recover the hardware or rebuild the structures first, so the encrypted data can be read cleanly.
With your key we unlock the volume from the image and decrypt your data — the point where your files become readable again.
Recovered files are checked to confirm they open and are intact before anything is returned to you.
Your decrypted data comes back on fresh media, or via our free download service for up to 75GB.
From a healthy drive you're simply locked out of to a failing or corrupted encrypted disk, we recover BitLocker data — but always with your recovery key or password, because without it the encryption can't be undone.
Describe what went wrong and an engineer will be in touch — normally before the next working day is out.
We will get back to you soon. If it is urgent, call 028 9002 0144.
A free diagnostic first, then a fixed written quote before any work begins. BitLocker recovery needs your recovery key or password; with it, a logical recovery of an encrypted drive starts from £800 + VAT, and a physically failing drive is quoted after the free diagnostic.
A representative selection of BitLocker recoveries across different drives — device types and outcomes shown, customer details kept private. Every one relied on the customer's own recovery key.
The drive was healthy — a firmware update had triggered the prompt. The customer found their key in their Microsoft account, and we recovered everything.
We stabilised the drive and imaged it, then used the customer's key to unlock and decrypt the data from the copy.
The OS was damaged but the drive was fine. With the recovery key from the customer's IT team, we imaged and decrypted the data in full.
Reviews from clients whose BitLocker or encrypted drives we recovered.
No invented reviews here. We're collecting verified, named reviews from our Belfast customers and will publish them here as they come in. In the meantime you're welcome to call and talk an issue through with an engineer on 028 9002 0144.
Post or drop in your device for a free diagnostic, with a note on what happened — an engineer reviews it and confirms your exact quote in writing before any work begins.
First step: get the device onto our Belfast bench. Wrap it well, tuck your contact details in the box, and post it over — the diagnostic costs nothing, and you’ll have a firm written price to approve before we touch a single sector.
Posting it? A tracked, insured service is best. Dropping it off instead? You’re welcome Monday–Friday, 9am–5:30pm — please still pack the device as above.
Not ready to send anything yet? Use the form to describe the fault in your own words and one of the engineers will come back with a quote tailored to your situation.
We will get back to you soon. If it is urgent, call 028 9002 0144.
The questions we're asked most about BitLocker recovery.
No — and we won't pretend otherwise. BitLocker uses strong encryption that can't be cracked, so recovery needs your 48-digit recovery key or your password. With that, we can do a great deal; without it, the data genuinely can't be decrypted.
Most often in your Microsoft account (account.microsoft.com/devices, under BitLocker recovery keys), or on a printout or a saved file from when BitLocker was switched on. On a work device, your IT department usually holds it. We can talk you through where to look.
Yes, and this is a big part of what we do. We recover or repair the failing drive first, image it, and then use your key to unlock and decrypt the data from the copy. The encryption doesn't make the hardware side any harder — it just means we need your key at the end.
Honestly, usually not. Without the password or the recovery key there's no way to decrypt the data — that's the whole point of BitLocker. It's always worth exhausting every place the key might be stored first, and we'll help you do that.
The hardware and file-system work is the same; the difference is the key. We recover the drive exactly as we would any other, then apply your recovery key to decrypt the result — so the one thing we can't supply is the key itself.
Where you hold the key or password and the drive is healthy, logical recovery of an encrypted drive starts from £800 + VAT — free diagnostic first, no fix, no fee on most jobs. Encrypted drives with physical faults are priced individually once diagnosed, and every figure is confirmed in writing.
Drop it in at our Belfast office Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm, or post it fully insured, with your contact details inside. Have your recovery key ready — you don't need to send it with the drive; we'll arrange to receive it securely once the recovery is underway.
The encryption can't be broken — but with your recovery key, we can recover your data from a drive that's failing, corrupted or won't boot. Find your key and send it in. Free diagnostic, no fix no fee on most jobs.