Win8 system confidential file VHD+BitLocker storage method

Windows does have some difficulty encrypting a single folder without using third-party software, but since Windows Vista, BitLocker has been added to protect the disk. After upgrading to Windows 8, you can hang directly on the virtual disk. Combining the above two factors, we can take a different approach and use VHD + BitLocker to save important private files to ensure data security.

VHD is not like a common file, it can be created directly in the right-click menu, and needs to be assisted by disk management or third-party software. The specific creation process has been introduced in this log and we will not go into details.

Next, double-click on the created virtual disk file to mount and continue the next BitLocker encryption process.

Right-click on the mounted virtual disk and select “Enable BitLocker>:

After waiting for the BitLocker program to initialize the drive, we can set the encrypted password. Here we encrypt the drive with a password unlock. Check the corresponding option and set the password and click “Next”:

Next, back up the recovery key as needed to prevent the password from being forgotten.

Unlike a password, a recovery key is a string of 48-bit random numbers. Different encrypted drives have different identifiers to distinguish them. If you lose this backup, you can perform a backup of the recovery key under the corresponding drive in Control Panel - System and Security - BitLocker Drive Encryption.

Once you have backed up your key, you can start encrypting your drive. This process takes a while.

The drive is unlocked when encryption is complete.

When the virtual disk is mounted again, you will see "Cannot mount in file" error message:

At the same time, the message unlocking the drive will pop up in the upper right corner of the screen. :

After clicking the message and entering the password, you can mount the virtual file with the wrong error. Click “More Options” You can use the reply key to unlock the disk:

If you need to encrypt the decrypted drive, you need to enter “manage-bde –lock X:" (where X is the virtual disk drive letter) at the command prompt run by the administrator. You can save it as a batch by using it frequently. Files, run as an administrator when you use:

Or unmount/offline the disk, restart the computer to re-encrypt the drive.

Right-click on the virtual disk file and select “Eject” to unmount the virtual disk, similar to the "disconnect VHD" in disk management, both of which are similar Remove the disk at the physical level.

And disk management in the "offline", corresponding to the "online", is a management result of the administrator on the disk.

Whether offline or detached, you will need to re-enter your password when the disk is linked again.