Bitlocker
Retrieving your Key

Bitlocker is the built-in encryption for the Windows operating system. When the computer is working correctly then the Username and Password that one logs in with will decrypt the data. When the computer fails then the backup Recovery Key is what is needed. There are a few places that this can be stored. Windows does not allow you to turn on Bitlocker without selecting one of the options below, so if it was intentionally turned on then you should have one of these options. If you don't know how it was turned on then either option 1 or 4 would be the places to look.

1) If this is a business computer then check with your system administrator as the Recovery Key may be stored on the company's servers.

2) You printed out a paper that had the Recovery Key listed on it.

3) You saved the Recovery Key to a USB drive.

4) If you were using Windows 10, you had the option to save the Recovery Key to your Microsoft Account.

REtrieving Key from Your MicroSoft Account

Sign in to your Microsoft account on another device to find your recovery key. https://account.microsoft.com/devices/recoverykey

Once logged into your account you will see the Key(s) that are stored and the computer(s) they are for. If there is no stored key then it will just say there are no Bitlocker Keys saved there.

A Bitlocker Recovery Key is 48 characters long.