This tutorial will teach you how to recover deleted or lost files from a BitLocker encrypted Thunderbolt drive, mainly including the following aspects:
What is Thunderbolt? Thunderbolt is a hardware interface that allows external peripherals to connect to a computer. It was developed by Intel in collaboration with Apple, first released in 2011. Thunderbolt 1 and 2 use the same connector as Mini DisplayPort, while Thunderbolt 3 uses the USB-C connector. Their maximum transmission rates are 10 Gbps, 20 Gbps, and 40 Gbps, respectively.
What is BitLocker? BitLocker is a full-volume encryption feature built into Windows Vista and later operating systems. It is one of the most commonly used disk encryption methods on Windows, available only in the Professional, Enterprise, and Server editions. BitLocker uses the industry-standard AES encryption algorithm to encrypt disk sectors, ensuring the security of data on the drive.
Why Encrypt Thunderbolt Drives with BitLocker? Data security is the primary concern. Thunderbolt drives, being portable storage devices, carry a high risk of loss or theft. Encrypting the drive is the most effective way to prevent data leakage. In Windows, BitLocker—Microsoft's full-disk encryption solution—provides a secure and efficient way to protect your data on Thunderbolt drives.
Why deleted files can be recovered? When a file is deleted in Windows, its contents are not erased immediately. Instead, the file system simply marks the file as "deleted," which makes it invisible in Windows Explorer. In reality, the file's content remains on the hard drive—even if you have emptied the Recycle Bin. This is why deleted files can often be recovered. However, it is important to note that once a file is deleted, the sectors it occupied are marked as available for new data. If subsequent writes occur on those sectors, the original file content will be overwritten and permanently lost. Therefore, you should stop using the drive immediately after accidental deletion to maximize the chance of recovery.
When a file is accidentally deleted from a BitLocker-encrypted Thunderbolt drive, the most important step is to stop writing any new data to the drive immediately to prevent overwriting the lost files. A professional tool like Hasleo BitLocker Data Recovery can then help you recover deleted or lost files from BitLocker encrypted drives. This software is designed specifically for BitLocker-encrypted drives, including Thunderbolt drives. Below, we provide detailed step-by-step instructions.
1. Select the Thunderbolt drive where you lost your files, then click the "Scan" button to locate all BitLocker-encrypted partitions on the device.
2. A pop-up window will appear asking you to enter the BitLocker password or 48-digit BitLocker recovery key. If you don't want to enter the password or BitLocker recovery key here, just click the "Skip" button to skip it.
3. Hasleo Data Recovery will list all found BitLocker encrypted partitions on the target device. If you have entered the password or BitLocker recovery key in the previous step, the password status will show whether the password or BitLocker recovery key matches this partition.
4. Double-click the partition you want to recover data from. If you've already entered the password or BitLocker recovery key and the password or recovery key matches, Hasleo Data Recovery will start scanning lost files. Otherwise, a prompt will appear asking for your BitLocker password or 48-digit recovery key. After entering the correct credentials and clicking "OK", the scan will start.
When the scanning process gets finished, you can filter and preview found files by path and file types. When you locate the files you want, just select them and click on "Recover" button to save them to your hard drive or other storage device. If some files are not found, please click "Deep Scan" button to start the Deep Scan Recovery process, deep scan takes more time, but can find much more lost files.
Hasleo BitLocker Data Recovery is the best BitLocker data recovery software that helps you recover deleted or lost files from BitLocker-encrypted Thunderbolt drives.
Beyond Thunderbolt drives, Hasleo BitLocker Data Recovery also supports data recovery from BitLocker-encrypted USB drives and internal hard drives on your computer.
