looking for the recovery key

Question

looking for the recovery key

Rafael Rodriguez 0

Good morning, i'm trying to find the recovery key of my desktop from my laptop, what I have to do?

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2 answers

Your answer

Answer 1

From your laptop, open the Microsoft recovery-key page, sign in with the Microsoft account used on the desktop, and match the listed 48-digit key to the Recovery Key ID shown on the desktop.

Retrieve the key from your laptop

On the desktop’s BitLocker recovery screen, note the first eight digits of the Recovery Key ID. This identifies the correct key if the account contains several keys.
On your laptop, open https://account.microsoft.com/devices/recoverykey.
Sign in with the same Microsoft account that was used to set up the desktop.
Find the entry whose Key ID matches the ID displayed on the desktop.
Enter its corresponding 48-digit recovery key on the desktop. ^1^

If the desktop runs Windows 11 version 24H2, its recovery screen may show a hint identifying the associated Microsoft account. If another person originally configured the desktop or enabled BitLocker, the key may instead be in that person’s account. ^1^

If the key is not in that account

Check these locations:

Other Microsoft accounts that were previously used to set up the desktop.
Work or school account: open https://aka.ms/aadrecoverykey, sign in, select Devices, expand the desktop, and select View BitLocker Keys. If the organization controls access, contact its IT department.
A printed copy stored with the desktop’s paperwork.
A USB drive or text file where the key may have been saved. Read the file using the laptop if necessary. ^1^

If no key can be found

BitLocker cannot be bypassed, and Microsoft Support cannot retrieve, provide, or recreate a missing key. The remaining option is to reset or reinstall Windows, which removes the files on the encrypted desktop drive. Do not reset it until all possible accounts, printed records, USB drives, and organizational records have been checked. ^1^

References

Find your BitLocker recovery key | Microsoft Support

Answer 2

Is the desktop asking for bitlocker recovery key?

If so, have you looked here? https://account.microsoft.com/devices/recoverykey

If you set it up with school or work account, it is worth checking here as well https://aka.ms/aadrecoverykey sign in with your work/school email credential in that case.

Any chance your laptop was purchased used, or already set up for you? Or was it gifted? Or have you set it up with a different account at first? The key is stored with the very Microsoft account used to set up the computer for the first time, even if you had got rid of that account and set it up with a different account. So, if your computer was set up by anyone at the store you bought it from, it would be that person's account.

I assume you don't remember opting out of not saving it in Microsoft account, and saving it to a local file instead? That's another possibility.

If you can't find it at all, there's really no way to go around it. Bitlocker means business. If it can be bypassed, then it means the encryption is not working. Your only option is to do a clean install of Windows. In that case, you do lose your files. I am very sorry.