Encrypt External Drives (Windows 7)

The following instructions will outline how to setup encryption for your external hard drive using BitLocker for Windows 7.

The Service Desk cannot retrieve passwords for you. If you lose the bitlocker password, your information is lost.

As soon as you insert your USB into your computer, right-click on it and select the Turn on BitLocker... command from the menu.

BitLocker To Go will begin initializing your USB drive, as shown below. The process will not affect your data, so you don't have to worry about any data that is already on the drive.

Once the initialization process is complete, BitLocker will  prompt you to set up a password that you will use to unlock the drive, as shown below.

After you set up a password, BitLocker will prompt you to  store a recovery key. You can use the recovery key to unlock your drive in the event  that you forget the password.

When you create the password and save your recovery key, you'll be prompted to begin the encryption process.

During the encryption process, you'll see a standard  progress monitor that will keep you updated on the progress. The amount of time  that it will take to complete the process will depend on the size of the drive. There is a Pause button that will allow you to temporarily halt the process  should you need to perform another task.

After the process is complete, you will see a confirmation  pop up.