Encrypt Drives with BitLocker To Go

BitLocker To Go is a feature of Microsoft Windows that enables you to encrypt removable storage devices (for example, external hard drives or USB memory sticks) with your smart card.

Protect the Data Drive with Your Smart Card

  1. Connect the drive to the computer.

  2. From the Start menu, click Computer to display the available drives on your computer.

  3. Right-click on the drive you want to protect, and then select Turn on BitLocker to start the BitLocker setup wizard.

  4. In the Choose how you want to unlock this drive page, click Use my smart card to unlock the drive.

  5. Insert your smart card into the smart card reader, and click Next.

  6. In the Save the recovery key page, select either Save the key to a file to save your recovery key to a network drive or other location or select Print the recovery key to print the 48-digit recovery password, and then click Next.

  7. In the Are you ready to encrypt this drive page, confirm that you want to use a smart card to encrypt the drive, and click Start Encrypting.

    When the drive is ready for encryption, the Encryption in Progress status bar is displayed.

  8. When you are notified that encryption is complete, click Close.

Note: Your administrator might have configured additional BitLocker policies that could slightly alter these steps.

Access the Protected Drive

  1. Connect the drive to the computer.

  2. Insert your smart card to unlock the drive when prompted.

  3. Enter your PIN code when prompted.