Manually Prepare Drive for Windows Vista BitLocker

IMPORTANT: The following procedure involves modifying boot sectors and partition tables. This content is provided strictly for educational purposes to demonstrate technical capabilities within legacy Windows environments. It is not intended for production systems without a comprehensive recovery plan. The author assumes no liability for data loss or hardware incompatibility. Always backup your data before attempting partition modifications.

BitLocker Drive Encryption is a powerful security feature that typically relies on a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) chip. However, in scenarios involving legacy hardware without a TPM (such as the Sony TR1 notebook used in this case study), administrators can configure BitLocker to utilize a USB startup key.

Prerequisites and Context

BitLocker requires a split-load configuration: an encrypted Operating System partition and an unencrypted active system partition (minimum 1.5GB) to store boot files. While Windows Vista Ultimate includes a "BitLocker Drive Preparation Tool" to automate this process via Windows Update, users of Windows Vista Business must perform these steps manually. This guide outlines the manual methodology using native Windows tools.

Required Tools:

• Disk Management: diskmgmt.msc (GUI)
• BCD Editor: BCDEdit.exe (Command Line)
• Boot Sector Tool: BootSect.exe (Command Line)

Part 1: Partition Resizing via Disk Management

1. Ensure the drive is fully optimized to prevent data fragmentation. Run the following command in an elevated prompt if necessary:
   defrag /c /w /f
2. Launch the Disk Management console by typing diskmgmt.msc in the Start Search box.
3. Right-click the system partition (C:) and select Shrink Volume. Free up at least 1.5 GB of space.
4. Create a new Primary Partition in the unallocated space. Format it as NTFS and assign it the drive letter S:.
5. Right-click the new S: partition and select Mark Partition as Active.

Part 2: Boot Configuration Data (BCD) Modification

1. File Migration: Copy the BOOTMGR file and the BOOT folder from the root of C: to the root of S:.
   Note: You may receive a warning that files currently in use cannot be copied. Ensure at least BOOTMGR is copied; the BCD store will be handled in step 4.
2. Open the Command Prompt as an Administrator (Ctrl+Shift+Enter).
3. Point the boot manager to the new partition by executing:
   bcdedit /set {bootmgr} device partition=S:
4. Export the current BCD configuration to the new partition to resolve the file copy lock issue mentioned in step 1:
   bcdedit /export "S:\BOOT\BCD"

Part 3: Boot Sector Update

1. Update the master boot code on the new partition to be compatible with BOOTMGR by running:
   bootsect /nt60 s:
2. The partition structure is now prepared for BitLocker.

Troubleshooting & Observations

During testing, an error regarding BCD accessibility may occur. If bcdedit throws an error after these changes, the following command typically restores functionality by re-importing the configuration:

bcdedit /import "S:\BOOT\BCD"

Technical Considerations:

• Active Partition Warning: This process changes the active primary partition. This may affect third-party bootloaders or dual-boot configurations.
• Hardware Verification: Before encryption begins, BitLocker will reboot to verify the system's integrity.
• BIOS Compatibility: For non-TPM implementations, the system BIOS must support reading USB devices in the pre-boot environment. In this specific case study with the Sony TR1, the implementation ultimately failed because the legacy BIOS could not enumerate the USB key at boot time. It is highly recommended to verify USB pre-boot support before deploying this solution.

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