Windows
USB drives were corrupted and would not encrypt with BitLocker
A set of USB drives would not stay encrypted with BitLocker because the drives themselves were corrupted. The issue was confirmed by encrypting a different USB drive successfully.
Killed once by someone from XL.net, on 2025-12-23.
Affects
Apps
- BitLocker
Hardware
- USB drive
What you see
- BitLocker encryption on the USB drive would not hold.
- The affected USB drives were reported as corrupted and unable to be encrypted.
Why it happens
Likely Likely the original USB drives were defective or corrupted.
When it shows up
BitLocker fails on one USB drive but a different USB drive encrypts normally on the same Windows computer.
You are in this case if:
- The failing USB drive is reported as corrupted.
- A different USB drive can be encrypted successfully with BitLocker.
1 fix below
The steps that killed it
The steps are behind a quick check
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Someone from XL.net killed this on a Windows computer on 2025-12-23. It is written up from that one repair, so it cites no outside page.