BitLocker is one of the simplest ways to encrypt an external drive on Windows, as long as you're using it with Windows devices. It's just one of many security features in Windows 11.

To configure the use of passwords for BitLocker removable drives in Windows 11/10 using Group Policy Editor, follow these steps: Search for gpedit in the Taskbar search box.

Learn how to enforce BitLocker drive encryption for REMOVABLE or FIXED data drives. Enable Full Encryption or encrypt Used space only using GPEDIT or REGEDIT.

Luckily, Windows users can easily hedge their bets against such disasters by using the free BitLocker to Go utility to quickly encrypt portable drives.

USB drives, external HDDs, and memory cards—remains the go-to for transferring and backing up data. But these devices are also among the easies ...

So if you forgot BitLocker password and lost BitLocker recovery key, data recovery software (Including M3 BitLocker Recovery) doesn’t and won’t break into your BitLocker-encrypted drive.

Wait for BitLocker to initialize the drive and set a password for the drive. Next, specify where you want to save the recovery key, which you can use in case you forget the password.

Here's how to use Windows's built-in BitLocker feature to encrypt your entire hard drive.

The BitLocker security feature is available on Windows 11 Pro, Enterprise, and Education editions. However, on Windows 11 Home, you can use "device encryption," a limited version of BitLocker.