Microsoft says there is an issue with a recent update that is causing computers to boot into BitLocker recovery. The company has officially confirmed the problem following several user reports in recent days.
The issue stems from the broken Secure Boot DBX (KB5012170), which users were unable to install because of a recent bug.
In a post on the Windows Health Dashboard, Microsoft says the Secure Boot DBX security update is causing PCs to boot into BitLocker and asking users to input recovery keys. The update was part of the August 2022 Patch Tuesday release.
Workaround
In the meantime when Microsoft is working on a fix, the company has provided the following workarounds for the problem:
- For users who already installed KB5012170 and are seeing the BitLocker recovery prompts must enter their BitLocker recovery keys. There is official guidance on this in the documentation from Microsoft.
- Users who haven’t installed KB5012170 or restarted their systems after applying the update can temporarily suspend BitLocker to avoid the issue:
- “Run Command Prompt as Administrator and enter the Manage-bde -protectors -disable %systemdrive% -rebootcount 2 command.
- Install KB5012170.
- Restart your computer two times.
- BitLocker should be back running after the second restart. You can verify its status using the Manage-bde -protectors -Enable %systemdrive% command.”
It is worth noting the bug does not affect all PCs. Microsoft says the bug is unique to Windows 11 and does not appear on Windows 10.
Tip of the day: When using your Windows 10 laptop or convertible with a mobile hotspot you might want to limit the Internet bandwidth your PC uses. In our tutorial we are showing you how to set up a metered connection in Windows 11 or Windows 10 and how to turn it off again, if needed.
