Table of contents
What will the BitLocker deployment look like?
Once the policy is deployed to endpoints and your device checks in to Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager, you will see the Microsoft Bitlocker Administration and Monitoring popup. It may take up to one hour after your device has checked in for this to occur.
NOTE: If you select Postpone you will be notified every hour until you start the encryption process.
- Click Start to start the disk encryption process on your workstation.
- Once the Encryption Wizard starts you will see a progression bar. Click Close and the encryption process will proceed in the background.
- You will be notified that the Encryption Wizard will continue. Click OK. You can continue to work as normal.
NOTE: Hard disk utilization will go up during the encryption process but you should not notice any performance issues. CPU and memory utilization should not be affected. - Upon successful completion, you will see the following dialogue. Click Close. Your hard drive is now encrypted.
How long will the encryption process take?
Although BitLocker encryption occurs in the background while you continue to work with the system remaining usable, encryption times vary depending on the type of drive that is being encrypted, the size of the drive, and the speed of the drive. In our testing, the process has taken anywhere from 20 minutes to three hours.
Can I use my machine normally while it is being encrypted?
During the encryption process, your computer’s performance may be affected. On a newer machine, you should be able to perform basic tasks (e.g. web browsing, word processing); on an older machine, the machine may become significantly slower. You may want to schedule encryption for a time when
If the computer is turned off or goes into hibernation, the BitLocker encryption process will resume where it stopped the next time Windows starts. BitLocker resuming encryption or decryption is true even if the power is suddenly unavailable.