How to lock BitLocker encrypted drive without restarting in Windows 10?

Posted by Tim to BitLocker for Windows Home on October 28th, 2020

By default, there is no "Lock drive" option to lock the BitLocker encrypted drive in Windows 10. To lock it, you have to restart your Windows 10. Is there any way to lock BitLocker encrypted drive without restarting Windows 10?

The answer is Yes.

Methods to lock BitLocker encrypted drive without restarting in Windows 10

Following are three ways to lock BitLocker encrypted drive without restarting in Windows 10:

Option 1: Lock BitLocker encrypted drive with M3 BitLocker Loader for Windows

M3 BitLocker Loader for Windows is a disk encryption tool to create an encrypted container which is compatible with BitLocker so that the drive are protected by BitLocker on Windows 10/8/7 Home.

M3 BitLocker Loader for Windows also provides a "Lock drive" to lock BitLocker encrypted drive without restarting your Windows 10 computer.

Tutorial to lock BitLocker encrypted drive with M3 BitLocker Loader for Windows:

Step 1: Download and install M3 BitLocker Loader for Windows on your Windows 10 computer.

Step 2: Launch the M3 BitLocker Loader for Windows.

Step 3: Click "Lock drive" beside the BitLocker encrypted drive you want to lock.

Lock drive with M3 BitLocker Loader for Windows

Option 2: Lock Bitlocker encrypted drive with CMD

Step 1: Type cmd in search bar of Windows Taskbar.

Step 2: Right click cmd.exe from the search results and then choose "Run as administrator" from the menu to allow Administrator privilege.

Command prompt

Step 3: Type the command: manage-bde -lock X: and then press Enter.

Replace X with the drive letter of your BitLocker encrypted drive.

manage-bde -lock

If you want to open BitLocker encrypted drive on your Mac, you can use M3 BitLocker Loader for Mac on that Mac.

Option 3: Lock Bitlocker drive with the added lock option

Step 1: Press the Win & R keys together to open the "Run" box.

Step 2: Type regedit and press enter. It will open the Registry Editor. Once it opens, go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shell.

Step 3: Right click on "Shell", choose "New" -> "Key" and left click on "Key". Name it runas and press enter.

Step 4: In "runas", double-click on the "Default" option and name it Lock Drive under "Value data". Click OK to save.

Step 5: Right click on "Runas", choose "New" -> "Key" and left click on "Key". Name it command and hit enter.

Step 6: In "command", double click on "Default" and in the "Value data" box, type in: c:\windows\System32\manage-bde.exe X: -lock (X is the drive letter of your BitLocker encrypted drive). Click OK to save.

Step 7: Close the Regedit Editor. Right click on this BitLocker encrypted drive in File Explorer, you will find there is a "Lock Drive" option in the right-click menu. You can lock the BitLocker encrypted drive by this added lock drive option.