BitLocker - Startup key gets ignored

[L3OUGH]

Hi all,

 

Having an issue with some laptops we have enabled BitLocker for. At first everything is honkeydorey - then a week or so passes and the end user will come back to us saying their startup key no longer works. Just out and out ignores the key. Now we have a 'master key' in the IT office that we keep a copy of all the keys on in-case someone psychically loses their key so we can still get into the system. The laptop ignores this key too. You can obviously get in if we enter the Recovery key that can be pulled from the computer account in AD - but that's no good as we need the end user to be able to use it and we can't be handing that out.

 

If I go in to the BIOS and reset it to defaults - reboot, the keys are then accepted and will work for a week or two without fail. the laptop has been brought back to me this with the same issue, end user and master key being ignored by the system...

 

It can't be the sticks as it ignores both the end users and my master and they are different sizes and makes and the master is fine with other laptops.

 

Checked the BIOS for things like USB power wake/sleep options to make sure the USBs aren't asleep etc.

Boot order is booting to OS drive as 1st priority

 

Anyone come across this before?? I'm struggling on what to try next!!

 

Thanks

Liam

[koryo]

Hi Liam

 

I haven't implemented Bitlocker myself yet - it's on my to-do list! - However you have said that resetting the BIOS helps, so have you checked to see if you are running the latest BIOS version for that workstation?

[L3OUGH]

Hi Liam

 

I haven't implemented Bitlocker myself yet - it's on my to-do list! - However you have said that resetting the BIOS helps, so have you checked to see if you are running the latest BIOS version for that workstation?

 

I'm updating to the latest version as we speak - I don't appear to be a massively behind looking at the revision numbers - but lets hope it fixes it as I'm all out of ideas now!

[LeMarchand]

I've been getting this of late, mainly on older machines. Will be interested to see if anyone has a foolproof cure, as what I've tried (suspending BL, disabling boot devices that aren't the main drive and then re-enabling BL) hasn't been 100% successful.

[L3OUGH]

I've been getting this of late, mainly on older machines. Will be interested to see if anyone has a foolproof cure, as what I've tried (suspending BL, disabling boot devices that aren't the main drive and then re-enabling BL) hasn't been 100% successful.

 

The affected laptop here is an older one too. The only thing I haven't tried and I'm reluctant to try as it will take hours is a total decrypt and re-encrypt. I also tried messing with the boot devices, removing everything other than the main drive like yourself nothing has offered a solid solution. I'm hoping the BIOS update I'm applying now will fix it!

[L3OUGH]

Just to let you know the BIOS update appears to have fixed it for now. Lets see if it comes back in this time next week!! Thanks guys

[koryo]

Just to let you know the BIOS update appears to have fixed it for now. Lets see if it comes back in this time next week!! Thanks guys

 

Fingers Crossed! Let us know either way - this seems like an interesting problem! ^_^

[LeMarchand]

Just to let you know the BIOS update appears to have fixed it for now. Lets see if it comes back in this time next week!! Thanks guys

 

I'll check tomorrow, but I have a recollection of looking at this and most of the machines I'm have problems with are too old to have more recent BIOS updates .