New laptop has bitlocker - where is recovery key

Thanks

Hazel123 said:

Sorry? I don’t understand that.

This is what it shows in settings

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View attachment 87598

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My mistake - key can be exported.

It’s updated as far as 22H2 but thinks there are no more windows updates. It’s a 2021 laptop that is new - as in clearance stock. Hope it isn’t one that won’t upgrade beyond 22H2!

Hazel123 said:

It’s updated as far as 22H2 but thinks there are no more windows updates

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If it does not meet all MS requirements for Windows 11 then it will not detect Version updates.
You''ll need to do those yourself by downloading an ISO file or, when provided, an EP that raises it to the next Version.
KB5027397 Enablement Package for Windows 11 version 23H2 Feature Update
There is no particular reason not to expect it to detect CUs & all other updates after you raise it to 23H2 yourself.

Hazel123 said:

Hope it isn’t one that won’t upgrade beyond 22H2!

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Well, such things do happen.
Along with several other members, I was unable to update my Dell Inspiron 9300 beyond Windows 10 version 1709.


All the best,
Denis

Hazel123 said:

It’s updated as far as 22H2 but thinks there are no more windows updates. It’s a 2021 laptop that is new - as in clearance stock. Hope it isn’t one that won’t upgrade beyond 22H2!

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Your laptop is clearly W11 compatible.

Try this:

Go to folder C:\windows\software distribution

and delete everything you can (some files may not be deleted), then select Windows Update. This usually kick starts updates.

Thanks. I used Windows Installation Assistant and upgraded it and touch wood all seems fine I noticed the manufacturer support site only gives options for drivers for 22H1 or 22H2 so maybe that's why it didn't upgrade. If there are any issues I have an initial install image I can revert back to.

I had issues after it upgraded from 21H2 to 22H2 with the graphics driver software and rolled the driver back then the latest one came up for install from HP support assistant and that solved that. So if there are any issues with 23H2 I suspect it’ll be related to the graphics driver as HP only have drivers for 22H2. But hopefully that driver will be ok.

I have a Dell Inspiron 15R 5537 and an HP ENVY 17 TS [both from 2014] that were fully up-to-date with Win10 Version 22H2 that I did the Unsupported upgrade to Win11, got them up to Version 23H2 and both got through Patch Tuesday without issues.

So it seems device encryption can be an issue later. I decided to reinstall from my first image. Device encryption was turned on in my image. Once on the desktop and in settings, it is turned on but there is an exclamation mark above it saying you need to connect to the internet to continue encrypting this device. So I connected to the internet for ages and it just stuck like that. So I installed from my second image which had device encryption turned off. Now if I want to turn it on it says you have to be signed in with a Microsoft account, but I set up with a local account. Now I don't want it turned on right now but if I ever want to sell it on in a factory setting state how would you get it turned on again, because resetting the device with it turned on, turns it off again.

I suspect device encryption is a way of Microsoft keeping tabs on your computer and ensuring you need a microsoft account.

Forget that, resetting it turns it on again. I'm actually sending the laptop back hence resetting it.

Hazel123 said:

I'm actually sending the laptop back hence resetting it.

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Any new laptop will be the same way with device encryption.
Off-topic, I avoid consumer HP products like the plague.

Why HP particularly? My problem is I don't like any new laptops My other older laptop is an hp pavilion and has a reasonably good keyboard, so I thought this one might as well - but it was much thinner. The mouse pad was terrible - long travel stiff clicks - and the usb slots were so tight it was ridiculous.

Hazel123 said:

My other older laptop is an hp pavilion and has a reasonably good keyboard, so I thought this one might as well - but it was much thinner. The mouse pad was terrible - long travel stiff clicks

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They don't make them like they used to. As for touch pads, I never recommend using them on any laptop, mice are better.

Hazel123 said:

Why HP particularly?

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I hate all consumer-marketed computers. I have always pushed business models.
Now with 10 losing support in 2025, Business computers are too expensive for my average clients so I have been going with what I have seen (so far) as the most reliable and the easiest to uninstall the OEM software.

What do you recommend your clients get now then? Because I think all the consumer ones are awful now. I thought my four year old one was thin but they're even thinner now. I did look at the hp probook g9 14" but that looks quite thin as well.

I'm not sure it's worth me getting a new one - the idea of that was to get something long lasting but I doubt they'd be long lasting. Not much choice in used ones either as most after 8th generation are thin as well. I think I might just stick with the current one and think again when it dies, but I do like having a second one, just in case.

Hazel123 said:

I think I might just stick with the current one and think again when it dies

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All maker's goal is thin and light with and long battery life no matter business or consumer.

The thick and heavy gaming laptops are more sturdy and come with a larger price tag.
There are custom laptop makers out there but they are priced even higher than a consumer gaming laptop.

If you want sturdy non-gaming, Then a Panasonic Toughbook is a choice but very pricey. I know no one who could afford one though.

A lot of the gaming laptops are pretty thin now as well! Shame there isn’t something in between a thin laptop and a tough book. I also prefer 14” screens.

I turned off Bitlocker because I was asked for the key, even to start in Safe Mode and it became a nuisance. This was when the laptop wouldn't boot or had some problems. I can always get the key via my MS account but it needed another computer or phone.

I've been reading a bit more about it (can't remember where now) and they seem to be treating device encryption and bitlocker as synonymous - if you try to install an image where device encryption is turned on, it gives you a message, when the image has installed, that you'll need your bitlocker key. It still boots to the desktop though. If you install an image where device encryption was turned off, when you get to the desktop there is a warning above the turned off device encryption that says you need to sign in with a microsoft account to turn it on. While that can be ignored it's still an annoying warning to have there permanently.

If it's turned on and you do a reset then it warns you it'll be turned off. Then after the reset it's turned on again but there's a warning asking you to connect to the internet to finish setting it up. Which sits there until you do something. Most people would be connecting to the internet anyway I guess.

If it's turned off and you do a reset, it turns it on again - and a warning again.

I am thinking about the future of my computer use. I could get an older laptop again (not particularly to avoid the encryption thing but to get one that is more upgradeable and not too thin) - but then what in a few years when that packs up? It seems to me there aren't any laptops as such any more - just "devices".

I'd probably be better getting a desktop but I prefer to have something I can use in different rooms at various times. And don't have space for another desktop set up (the boy has one). There is a gap in the market for people who want a laptop for home use, rather than to carry around with them, and don't want a desktop. Not enough choice.

A bit of a synopsis of how we got to where we are so quickly! The writer says laptops are still here, but they're not exactly the laptops we know as laptops. What I would like to have seen is 10" netbooks with more powerful processors and touch screens. They were light but also chunky and wiht decent keyboards.

Hazel123 said:

Why HP particularly?

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Hazel,

I know it wasn't me you asked but I bought an HP laptop last year and returned it.
It's keyboard had markings in grey against a grey background and its backlight function did not always come on without manual intervention.
But I remain impressed by HP tech support. Sales passed me on to them because I had questions Sales could not answer [about S0 Modern standby, S0ix] and we had a good chat about it [they were even honest about their documentation not actually containing definite statements on the matter].

Dell Sales, on the other hand, refused to pass me on to any technical staff even though Dell Sales could not answer me either. I had had problems getting spare parts, and even just info about them, from Dell for my current main computer and not passing me on to get sales questions answered was the final straw as far as I was concerned.

I finally had a look online at a Lenovo I'd had on my shortlist. It had an old fashioned keyboard [i.e. white letters on a black background]. It did not pass all my requirements but I was very keen to get a modern Windows 11 laptop for testing-learning and it was on sale so I just thought sod it & bought it.
- Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 16 16ABR8 [£550 at the time] and I've been very pleasantly surprised by it.
- I had originally dismissed it because, like all or most Lenovos, it has its RAM soldered in place so I could never increase/replace it. I really don't like that idea even though I've never had RAM die on me.
- I use the computer to understand discussions in ElevenForum. My previous Windows 11 test computer was so slow, being over a decade old, that I found I was not bothering with interesting threads because it was such a pain to use it.
- My Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 16 16ABR8 will eventually replace my main computer when it dies and it will also replace my travel computer because it is fairly light [4 lbs 9oz, 2Kg = less than a bag of spuds].
- On the downside, their very attentive & responsive tech support sprouted a load of rubbish when they phoned me in response to my fault report about 2% a day battery charge loss when the computer was turned off.

LaptopMag publish annual reviews of computer makers' consumer support [online info & drivers as well as fault-related support] and I accept the top makers as forming my long-list when I'm looking for a new computer.
- I check the long-list by looking up drivers for a current model or two in their support site. I want it to be easy to check for and download updated drivers for any computer I buy [a test HP, Dell & Lenovo all pass]
- I also have a look at Which magazine's recommendations but they are not as clever as they claim to be.


All the best,
Denis