How to erase BitLocker encrypted drive on Windows

If your device is using BitLocker and you lost the password and recovery key, then these are the steps that you need to follow to format encrypted drive.

Avatar for Mauro Huculak
@Pureinfotech
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Delete Encrypted drive running Windows 10 with Gparted
Delete Encrypted drive running Windows 10 with Gparted

On Windows 11 (or 10), you can enable BitLocker (or Device Encryption) to protect your files using data encryption to prevent unauthorized access.

If you must erase a drive using encryption with BitLocker, you can use GParted, a Linux-based tool to manage partitions that allows you to delete and format any drive regardless of whether it’s using encryption.

In this guide, I will teach you the steps to wipe a drive when you can’t turn off encryption that has a Windows 10 or Windows 11 installation.

Warning: These instructions will delete everything on the selected drive. If you have important data, make sure to back it up before proceeding. Also, GParted and tuxboot are third-party utilities. As such, use them at your own risk.

Wipe out a drive encrypted with BitLocker using GParted

If you still can’t erase the BitLocker encrypted drive, you will have to download and create a bootable GParted USB.

Create a GParted bootable USB

To create a GParted bootable media, connect a USB flash drive with at least 2GB of space to a different device and use these steps:

  1. Download tuxboot from SourceForge.

    Quick note: Although the tool hasn’t been updated in quite some time, it still works to create bootable media on Windows 11 or 10.

  2. Double-click the tuxboot-x.x.x.exe file.

  3. Click the Yes button to bypass the “unknown publisher” warning.

  4. Select the On-Line Distribution option.

  5. Choose the gparted-live-stable option.

  6. Select the USB Drive option in the “Type” setting.

  7. Choose the USB flash drive form the “Drive” setting.

    Tuxbox tool creating a GParted bootable drive
    Tuxbox tool creating a GParted bootable drive

  8. Click the OK button.

Once you complete the steps, tuxboot will create a USB bootable media with GParted, which you can use to boot your computer and wipe out the encrypted drive in question.

Format drive with BitLocker with GParted

To use GParted to delete a drive using BitLocker, connect the USB flash drive with GParted to your device, and then use these steps:

Quick tip: You’ll need to change your device BIOS settings to start using the bootable media. This process usually requires pressing one of the function keys (F1, F2, F3, F10, or F12), the ESC, or the Delete key. For more specific instructions, check your PC manufacturer’s support website.

  1. Start your computer with the GParted USB drive. 

  2. Select the GParted Live (Default settings) option and press Enter.

    Start GParted
    Start GParted

  3. Select the “Don’t touch keymap” option and press Enter.

    GParted keymap settings
    GParted keymap settings

  4. Select your language and press Enter.

  5. Select 0 and press Enter.

    Start GParted with graphical UI
    Start GParted with graphical UI

  6. Use the drop-down menu in the top-right corner to select the drive to delete.

    Selec the BitLocker drive in GParted
    Selec the BitLocker drive in GParted

  7. Select the BitLocker encrypted partition and click the Delete button.

    Delete BitLocker partition using GParted
    Delete BitLocker partition using GParted

  8. Select the remaining partitions and click the Delete button again.

  9. Click the Apply button.

    Commit GParted changes to disk
    Commit GParted changes to disk

  10. Click the Apply button again to confirm and commit the changes.

    Confirm GParted settings
    Confirm GParted settings
  11. (Optional) Repeat steps 7 through 10 and delete the remaining partitions to wipe out the entire drive and make it ready for a new Windows installation.

After completing the steps, the Linux-based tool will wipe everything on the drive you selected, whether it’s encrypted or not.

About the author
Avatar for Mauro Huculak

Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 15 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 21 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].