DataBox: Issue with Passkey Containing a Semicolon — Unlock Rejection

Question

DataBox: Issue with Passkey Containing a Semicolon — Unlock Rejection

Jewett, Nicholas 0

Problem description

I'm experiencing an issue with unlocking a Data Box Disk. The portal-generated passkey appears to contain a semicolon, and when I use it with the DataBoxDiskUnlock.exe tool, it gets split into multiple fragments, causing the unlock process to fail. I expected the passkey to be accepted as a single string but encountered errors indicating invalid arguments.

Environment

Azure Data Box Disk, Windows client, used with DataBoxDiskUnlock.exe from both cmd.exe and PowerShell.

What I've already tried

I retrieved the passkey from the Azure portal and verified its format. I compared it against the tool's usage instructions, checked for leading or trailing whitespace, and hex-dumped the passkey to ensure accuracy. I tested different parameter forms and executed the tool from both cmd.exe and PowerShell, quoting the passkey. I also downloaded and compared the version info of the toolset. Despite these efforts, the passkey containing a semicolon is split into fragments, leading to errors.

Current status

Currently, the passkey is being split at the semicolon by the unlock utility, resulting in invalid argument errors. I am seeking guidance on how to correctly input a passkey containing a semicolon or workaround options, as the current behavior seems to treat the semicolon as a separator rather than a literal character.

Alex Burlachenko 26,700 Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2026-10-21T14:04:44.33+00:00

Hi Jewett, Nicholas & thx for join me at Q&A platform,

u've already tested both PowerShell and cmd.exe, tried quoting the passkey, and even verified its contents with a hex dump, I wouldn't spend much more time experimenting with shell escaping. There's a detail in the Data Box Disk Unlock tool that might explain exactly what you're seeing.

Some versions of DataBoxDiskUnlock.exe use /PassKeys: and explicitly treat semicolons as separators between multiple passkeys. That's important bc if the executable itself splits the parameter value at ;, wrapping the argument in quotes won't fix it. The shell may be passing the complete string correctly, but the utility could still be interpreting it as multiple keys.

The newer documented syntax uses the singular /Passkey: parameter instead. I'd check what ur actual executable supports:

.\DataBoxDiskUnlock.exe /Help

If it supports /Passkey:, try passing the entire parameter as a single argument:

.\DataBoxDiskUnlock.exe '/Passkey:ABC;DEF'

Replace ABC;DEF with the actual passkey, and don't share the real value here. This syntax ensures PowerShell treats the semicolon as part of the argument. However, it won't help if the utility subsequently splits that argument internally.

If /Help shows only /PassKeys: with the semicolon-separated format, that would be a strong indication that the issue is in the tool's argument parsing rather than ur command syntax. I'd download the current Windows Data Box Disk toolset from the official Azure download location and verify whether its parser supports the singular parameter.

If the latest tool still rejects a portal-generated passkey containing a semicolon, I'd treat this as a potential incompatibility between passkey generation and the unlock utility and open an Azure Data Box support case. Ask Microsoft to confirm whether semicolons are valid in generated passkeys and whether a corrected unlock tool or supported passkey replacement is available.

Include the Data Box order ID, unlock utility version, exact error message, and a redacted example showing where the semicolon occurs. Don't modify the passkey, manually bypass the encryption, or format the disk.

One question: when u run /Help, does ur executable show /PassKeys: (plural) or /Passkey: (singular)? That would be the most useful detail to confirm next

rgds,

Alex

p.s. if my answer is help - pls mark it as an answer
Jewett, Nicholas 0 Reputation points

2026-10-21T14:32:00.18+00:00

It does indeed show passkey:

Passing it as a single argument also does not work.

Your answer

Jewett, Nicholas 0 Reputation points

2026-10-21T14:32:00.18+00:00

It does indeed show passkey:

Passing it as a single argument also does not work.