Win10 UPDATE corruption; Cannot reinstall due to Bitlocker(have key)


  1. Posts : 3
    10 pro
       #1

    Win10 UPDATE corruption; Cannot reinstall due to Bitlocker(have key)


    My Laptop updated Win10Pro 64 bit yesterday (Jan 2019) and on reboot, never passed the login screen, without the login box being available. After several attempts to Repair, I wanted to do a complete reinstall. Bitlocker is running and I have the key. There is nothing important on the machine.

    The laptop now will boot to the Windows blue repair screens, but no options are successful, meaning they go through the motions, but say unsuccessful.

    Again, there is nothing of import on the machine so I'd like to do a complete install. I boot from a Windows 10 iso DVD and get as far as the screen where the install drive is picked. When i choose the correct partition (D0, P4, 296GB), I get a popup that says I must first disable Bitlocker in the control panel, which if I could do, I would not have the issue in the first place!

    Is there a way to format the disk from the DVD and then reinstall Windows? I cannot turn off the Bitlocker in the CP as suggested without a successful boot. I do have the key and on a routine attempt to start the computer, the key works but I am shunted to a Repair Windows program, none of which work.

    So, how to fresh install on a Bitlocker drive, with the key and all appropriate serial numbers. Data retention is not material.

    Thanks!
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 18,424
    Windows 11 Pro
       #2

    At the first screen after booting from the DVD, press Shift + F10 to open a command prompt. Then:

    diskpart
    select disk 0
    clean <- NOTE: This will entirely erase the hard drive/SSD!
    exit
    exit

    Then go to the custom install option and highlight the unallocated space on the disk to install to.

    If diskpart won't let you erase the drive because it is locked/encrypted, see here:
    How to Decrypt BitLocker-Encrypted Drive from Command Line | Password Recovery

    Look about 1/2 way down the above webpage for the command line options.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 3
    10 pro
    Thread Starter
       #3

    Solved


    Since I did not have to worry about the data, I booted to a Kali Linux CD and formatted only the drive partition with the corrupted Windows. This removed the issue of BitLocker. I didn't use the Windows iso to format, as I assumed it would format the entire drive. Once the drive was formatted, I was able to reinstall Windows 10 from an iso disk. I assume the Windows software number must be on one of the other 3 partitions, as the install already knew it.

    The only slight curveball was that Linux formatted the disk as GPT instead of MBR. Rather than try to change it over, I just changed the BIOS to UEFI without Legacy BIOS and it all worked.

    Thanks for the suggestions.
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 18,424
    Windows 11 Pro
       #4

    Since you did not delete the partitions on the drive as is recommended for a clean install, you now likely have extra unneeded partitions on the drive taking up space.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 3
    10 pro
    Thread Starter
       #5

    NAVY:

    There are still the 2 partitions, all required by Windows, plus the data partition, just as before. I didn't delete the 2 small partitions because I didn't know if they contained the Windows Key. Apparently, they did, as the C:\ partition was formatted.

    Current drive structure looks the same as original:

    0 Recovery 300mb
    1 EFI System 100 mb
    C:\ the data drive 297 GB

    Thanks for your comments!
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 18,424
    Windows 11 Pro
       #6

    All looks good! Glad everything worked out!
      My Computer


 

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