Determining if a drive is encrypted with Bitlocker on a Windows system

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If you need to determine if a drive in a Microsoft Windows system or connected to it via USB is BitLocker encrypted, you can use the manage-bde utility. To use the program, open a command prompt window with administrator privileges and then issue the command manage-bde -status to see the status of all drives. To see just the status of one drive, e.g., C:, you could use manage-bde -status C:.

C:\Windows\System32>manage-bde -status c:
BitLocker Drive Encryption: Configuration Tool version 10.0.26100
Copyright (C) 2013 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Volume C: [Windows]
[OS Volume]

    Size:                 14826.87 GB
    BitLocker Version:    None
    Conversion Status:    Fully Decrypted
    Percentage Encrypted: 0.0%
    Encryption Method:    None
    Protection Status:    Protection Off
    Lock Status:          Unlocked
    Identification Field: None
    Key Protectors:       None Found


C:\Windows\System32>

The options for the manage-bde -status are shown below.

C:\Windows\System32>manage-bde -status /?
BitLocker Drive Encryption: Configuration Tool version 10.0.26100
Copyright (C) 2013 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

manage-bde -status [Volume]
                [{-ProtectionAsErrorLevel|-p}]
                [{-ComputerName|-cn} ComputerName]
                [{-?|/?}] [{-Help|-h}]

Description:
    Provides information about BitLocker-capable volumes.

Parameter List:
    Volume      A drive letter followed by a colon, a volume GUID path or
                a mounted volume. Example: "C:",
                \\?\Volume{26a21bda-a627-11d7-9931-806e6f6e6963}\ or
                "C:\MountVolume".
    -ProtectionAsErrorLevel or -p
                Used in developing batch files.
    -ComputerName or -cn
                Runs on another computer. Examples: "ComputerX", "127.0.0.1"
    -? or /?    Displays brief help. Example: "-ParameterSet -?"
    -Help or -h Displays complete help. Example: "-ParameterSet -h"

Examples:
    manage-bde -status
    manage-bde -status e:
    manage-bde -status e: -ProtectionAsErrorLevel

C:\Windows\System32>

Other options for the manage-bde utility are shown below.

C:\Windows\System32>manage-bde /?
BitLocker Drive Encryption: Configuration Tool version 10.0.26100
Copyright (C) 2013 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

manage-bde[.exe] -parameter [arguments]

Description:
    Configures BitLocker Drive Encryption on disk volumes.

Parameter List:
    -status     Provides information about BitLocker-capable volumes.
    -on         Encrypts the volume and turns BitLocker protection on.
    -off        Decrypts the volume and turns BitLocker protection off.
    -pause      Pauses encryption, decryption, or free space wipe.
    -resume     Resumes encryption, decryption, or free space wipe.
    -lock       Prevents access to BitLocker-encrypted data.
    -unlock     Allows access to BitLocker-encrypted data.
    -autounlock Manages automatic unlocking of data volumes.
    -protectors Manages protection methods for the encryption key.
    -SetIdentifier or -si
                Configures the identification field for a volume.
    -ForceRecovery or -fr
                Forces a BitLocker-protected OS to recover on restarts.
    -changepassword
                Modifies password for a data volume.
    -changepin  Modifies PIN for a volume.
    -changekey  Modifies startup key for a volume.
    -KeyPackage or -kp
                Generates a key package for a volume.
    -upgrade    Upgrades the BitLocker version.
    -WipeFreeSpace or -w
                Wipes the free space on the volume.
    -ComputerName or -cn
                Runs on another computer. Examples: "ComputerX", "127.0.0.1"
    -? or /?    Displays brief help. Example: "-ParameterSet -?"
    -Help or -h Displays complete help. Example: "-ParameterSet -h"

Examples:
    manage-bde -status
    manage-bde -on C: -RecoveryPassword -RecoveryKey F:\
    manage-bde -unlock E: -RecoveryKey F:\84E151C1...7A62067A512.bek

C:\Windows\System32>