HP Laptop PC 17-by4000 Crashed and Requests BitLocker Recovery Key

[Cinu]

My HP Laptop PC 17-by4000 (18B36AV) running Windows 11 recently crashed, and now it’s prompting for a BitLocker recovery key, displaying a recovery key ID. I don’t recall ever setting up BitLocker on this laptop. I’ve checked all my Microsoft accounts, but the laptop isn’t registered, and I can’t locate the recovery key. I have a USB that boots into Linux, and while I can see the drives, they are encrypted. How can I recover the data on my laptop without the recovery key? I’d prefer to avoid data loss if possible. Any advice or tools to help resolve this would be appreciated.

[Max3Aj]

@Cinu, Welcome to HP Support Community. 

Thank you for posting your query, I will be glad to help you. 

If your HP Laptop PC 17-by4000 is prompting for a BitLocker recovery key, and you don't have access to the key, here’s a detailed guide on why this happened, what your options are, and what you can do to try recovering your data:

Why Did BitLocker Trigger?

BitLocker can automatically enable on some Windows 11 systems under these conditions:

• The device meets modern hardware security standards (TPM, Secure Boot).
• You signed in with a Microsoft account.
• A firmware/BIOS update, crash, or hardware change occurred (e.g., enabling/disabling Secure Boot, SATA mode changes, or Windows reinstall), which made BitLocker think the system was compromised.

Once triggered, BitLocker locks the drive until the recovery key is provided.

Steps to Try Recovering the BitLocker Key

Microsoft Account
Visit: https://account.microsoft.com/devices/recoverykey
Sign in with any Microsoft accounts you may have used on the device.
 

Work or School Account
If this was a work or school laptop, the key might be stored in your organization's Azure AD account. Contact your IT department.

Printed or Saved Copy
You might have saved or printed the key during setup. Check:

• USB drives
• Printed documents
• Cloud storage (OneDrive, Google Drive, etc.)

Another Device
If you used a Microsoft account on another device, the key might be accessible from there.

I hope this helps. 

Take care and have a good day. 

Please click “Accepted Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution. Select "Yes" on the bottom left to say “Thanks” for helping! 

Max3Aj

HP Support