Bitlocker is built into Windows Professional and Enterprise, if you're using Windows Home you will need to upgrade to use Bitlocker. It's strongley recommended your computer has a TPM chip too, so we'd recommend checking this first.


To check if you have a TPM (Trusted Platform Module) chip...

  1. On your keyboard press the Windows key + X
  2. From the menu which pops up select 'Device Manager'
  3. In the Device Manager window expand 'Security Devices'
  4. One of the devices should say 'Trusted Platform Module' as pictured, you need version 1.2 or later.


To enable Bitlocker follow these steps..

  1. Open the Windows Settings (Press the Windows + X then choose 'Settings'
  2. In the search bar search for Bitlocker and choose 'Manage Bitlocker'
  3. Choose 'Turn on Bitlocker' and follow the instructions - it's really important you save your recovery key somewhere other than the computer you're enabling bitlocker on, without this key you will not be able to unencrypt your hard-drive!