BitLocker is a full disk encryption feature included with Windows that provides protection for your data by encrypting entire volumes. There are times when you might need to pause and then resume BitLocker encryption, such as when performing system maintenance or updates. PowerShell provides a convenient way to manage BitLocker, including resuming encryption using the Resume-BitLocker cmdlet.

Understanding Resume-BitLocker

The Resume-BitLocker cmdlet in PowerShell is used to resume BitLocker encryption on a volume that has been paused. Pausing and resuming BitLocker is useful when you need to perform operations that might be affected by encryption processes, such as disk defragmentation or certain updates.

Prerequisites

Before using Resume-BitLocker, ensure that:

• You have administrative privileges on the system.


• BitLocker is already enabled on the target volume.


• The volume is currently paused.

Examples

Below are practical examples of how to use Resume-BitLocker in PowerShell scripts.

Example 1: Resume BitLocker on a Specific Drive

To resume BitLocker encryption on drive C:, you can use the following PowerShell command:

Resume-BitLocker -MountPoint "C:"

This command will resume encryption on the specified drive, assuming it was previously paused.

Example 2: Resume BitLocker on All Paused Drives

If you want to resume BitLocker encryption on all drives that have been paused, you can use a script like this:

Get-BitLockerVolume | Where-Object {$_.VolumeStatus -eq "Paused"} | ForEach-Object {Resume-BitLocker -MountPoint $_.MountPoint}

This script retrieves all BitLocker volumes, filters them to find those with a status of "Paused", and then resumes encryption on each.

Example 3: Check BitLocker Status Before Resuming

It's often useful to check the status of BitLocker on a volume before resuming. Here's how you can do that:

$volume = Get-BitLockerVolume -MountPoint "C:"

if ($volume.VolumeStatus -eq "Paused") {

    Resume-BitLocker -MountPoint "C:"

    Write-Host "BitLocker encryption resumed on drive C:."

} else {

    Write-Host "Drive C: is not paused."

}

This script checks the status of BitLocker on drive C: and resumes encryption only if it is paused.

Conclusion

Using Resume-BitLocker in PowerShell scripts provides a powerful way to manage BitLocker encryption states, especially in automated maintenance tasks or scripts. By incorporating these examples into your scripts, you can ensure that your data remains protected while allowing necessary system operations to proceed without interruption.