

After the OS is installed, proceed to the Enable BitLocker section. No special steps are needed for this function follow the normal OS installation process described by Microsoft. BitLocker versions in the Windows 8.x and 10 Enterprise and Professional editions support hardware encryption on SEDs. The most straightforward method of implementing hardware encryption is to perform a clean, new installation of the operating system. Windows 8 and Windows 10 drives will come configured as a Basic disk with GPT partition layout, which is required to use hardware encryption. Basic Disk: Dynamic disks are not supported by BitLocker.This partition is used for authentication purposes and is required for encryption to work. This secondary unencrypted partition need to be at least 1.5GB in size.


We recommend putting the system in UEFI-only mode before installing the Crucial SED. Any “compatibility” or “legacy” boot mode must be disabled. UEFI Mode: The host computer must always boot from UEFI.Contact your system manufacture if need help verifying your system’s Opal compliance. The Opal 2.0 standard is not backwards compatible Crucial SEDs are not compatible with Opal 1.0. Opal 2.0 support: The system needs to support Opal 2.0 security standards.Secure Boot: In the system BIOS setting Secure Boot must be enabled, most Windows 8.1 and greater systems will come with this automatically enabled. Please contact your system manufacturer for assistance enabling this.Please contact the manufacturer of your host computer if you are not sure this requirement is met.

This enables security protocol commands to be sent to and from the SED. UEFI 2.3.1 or greater: The host computer should be at a minimum of UEFI 2.3.1 and should have the EFI_STORAGE_SECURITY_COMMAND_PROTOCOL defined.Please contact your system manufacturer if you need help identifying your TPM availability. In addition, you must use a Microsoft®-provided TPM driver (Please note, BitLocker can also work without a TPM, but it will need a USB flash drive to set the password instead). TPM Module: BitLocker supports only TPM version 1.2 and 2.0 (or newer).
