Vista - BitLocker non-TPM: USB key not detected

I have enabled bitlocker encryption on my T42 whithout TPM support. I have
put the encryption key on a USB key when I enabled BitLocker as instructed.
The drive is fuly encrpyted now, but when I restart the machine it can not
detect the USB containing the key even though I have it plugged in and the
BIOS can even see it. The exception is that when I use a bootable CD which
allows me to select "Boot form C:\" it does recognize that the USB key is
there and boots up fine. Without the bootable CD I have to type in the
recovery password to boot up.

Any insight on this problem? Thank you.

We have seen a problem like this before, and it's a function of the BIOS.
You could try checking to see if there are any later versions of the BIOS to
see if the problem goes away.

For RC1, BitLocker has been modified to test the hardware before encrypting
to catch BIOS quirks.
-
Jamie Hunter [MS]

"Tim T." <TimT@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:5D0CA199-2F95-468E-A56C-30E65C13ED67@microsoft.com...
>I have enabled bitlocker encryption on my T42 whithout TPM support. I have
> put the encryption key on a USB key when I enabled BitLocker as
> instructed.
> The drive is fuly encrpyted now, but when I restart the machine it can not
> detect the USB containing the key even though I have it plugged in and the
> BIOS can even see it. The exception is that when I use a bootable CD which
> allows me to select "Boot form C:\" it does recognize that the USB key is
> there and boots up fine. Without the bootable CD I have to type in the
> recovery password to boot up.
>
> Any insight on this problem? Thank you.

I updated the BIOS to the latest version and there is no difference in the
behavior of BitLocker.

"Jamie Hunter [MS]" wrote:

> We have seen a problem like this before, and it's a function of the BIOS.
> You could try checking to see if there are any later versions of the BIOS to
> see if the problem goes away.
>
> For RC1, BitLocker has been modified to test the hardware before encrypting
> to catch BIOS quirks.
> -
> Jamie Hunter [MS]
>
> "Tim T." <TimT@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:5D0CA199-2F95-468E-A56C-30E65C13ED67@microsoft.com...
> >I have enabled bitlocker encryption on my T42 whithout TPM support. I have
> > put the encryption key on a USB key when I enabled BitLocker as
> > instructed.
> > The drive is fuly encrpyted now, but when I restart the machine it can not
> > detect the USB containing the key even though I have it plugged in and the
> > BIOS can even see it. The exception is that when I use a bootable CD which
> > allows me to select "Boot form C:\" it does recognize that the USB key is
> > there and boots up fine. Without the bootable CD I have to type in the
> > recovery password to boot up.
> >
> > Any insight on this problem? Thank you.
>

The only next approach is to contact the Laptop manufacturer and request a
BIOS that supports BitLocker. Sadly, this is an area that is completely
outside of our control.
-
Jamie Hunter [MS]

"Tim T." <TimT@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:E95ACE45-D757-40C9-88B8-3E1663C53229@microsoft.com...
>I updated the BIOS to the latest version and there is no difference in the
> behavior of BitLocker.
>
> "Jamie Hunter [MS]" wrote:
>
>> We have seen a problem like this before, and it's a function of the BIOS.
>> You could try checking to see if there are any later versions of the BIOS
>> to
>> see if the problem goes away.
>>
>> For RC1, BitLocker has been modified to test the hardware before
>> encrypting
>> to catch BIOS quirks.
>> -
>> Jamie Hunter [MS]
>>
>> "Tim T." <TimT@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:5D0CA199-2F95-468E-A56C-30E65C13ED67@microsoft.com...
>> >I have enabled bitlocker encryption on my T42 whithout TPM support. I
>> >have
>> > put the encryption key on a USB key when I enabled BitLocker as
>> > instructed.
>> > The drive is fuly encrpyted now, but when I restart the machine it can
>> > not
>> > detect the USB containing the key even though I have it plugged in and
>> > the
>> > BIOS can even see it. The exception is that when I use a bootable CD
>> > which
>> > allows me to select "Boot form C:\" it does recognize that the USB key
>> > is
>> > there and boots up fine. Without the bootable CD I have to type in the
>> > recovery password to boot up.
>> >
>> > Any insight on this problem? Thank you.
>>