BitLocker Recovery Key

[J_Boom]

I purchased a new OMEN from HP four years ago and I'm having trouble finding my BitLocker recovery key for the Microsoft Windows OS that came installed on the laptop.  How would HP have conveyed that information to me?  Would it have been printed on a document, or emailed, or stored on an account somewhere?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

- Joe

[resistencia]

Hi @J_Boom 

If none of the methods explained in the following link solve the problem, you will need to reinstall Windows from zero, first deleting the disk partitions.

HP PCs - Using BitLocker and finding the recovery key (Windows 11, 10) | HP® Support

[J_Boom]

Thank you for the response.  However, this does not address my question: I am specifically interested in how HP conveys the recovery key to the end user, when Windows came already loaded onto the laptop.

[resistencia]

Forget that option. HP will never store that data.

HP PCs - BitLocker encryption is enabled by default (Windows 10) | HP® Support

[J_Boom]

You buy a laptop and pay to have Windows installed on it.  Who has the recovery key? How does the end user come by said key? Is the key printed on a piece of paper in the laptop packaging?  Is it on a CD in the laptop packaging?  Does the end user receive it digitally from Microsoft when they start the computer?

I can't find my key and I don't recall how I got it to begin with, so I'm struggling to know what/where to look for it.  It's not in my Microsoft account, so assuming it was conveyed to me by HP somehow, I'm trying to figure out what media it would have been on so I can search for it. 

[resistencia]

If it is not anywhere indicated by the link I have provided, then you do not have it. When you turn on your computer for the first time, it asks you for your login details. If you select a Microsoft account, the key is saved there. If you use a local account, then you must go to Bitlocker, deactivate it, and reactivate it to get a new key.

Otherwise, you have no other options.

I repeat, HP does not save the password, so you can forget about that option, only provide them via the link above, and if you don't have them, you will have to reinstall Windows.