Asking for Bitlocker recovery key on login

[pj04]

So I was playing with BIOS settings for reformatting my laptop and reinstalling Windows using bootable USB drive. I didn't succeed and I probably did something stupid. Now I'm not able to login into my laptop. It's asking me for bitlocker recovery key on both disabled and enabled settings of secure boot.

On "Enabled" setting, it says "Bitlocker needs your recovery key to unlock your drive because Secure Boot policy has unexpectedly changed."

On "Disabled" setting, it says "Bitlocker needs your recovery key to unlock your drive because Secure Boot has been disabled. Either Secure Boot must be re-enabled, or Bitlocker must be suspended for Windows to start normally."

I don't have a recovery key. I don't remember setting one. I even searched for it in my Microsoft account. My device (ASUS X205TA) is listed but the recovery key is not.

Note that I don't have any useful data in the laptop, so I'd be fine with reinstalling windows even if I loose all the data. I just want to be able to use my laptop again.

 

[Saltgrass]

All I can do is give you this link. Go through the options to see if that helps. The message may give you a 5 digit code which can be used to identify the correct key, assuming you show one on some site. A key may be listed as name Windows used to install the OS and not the one you changed it to.

https://windows.microsoft.com/recoverykey

If none of the options work, I will assume you still not show a recovery key. Let us if you are able to obtain any info for the process.

 

[pj04]

Thank you for your reply. I was not able to find recovery key using any of the options mentioned on the link.

Is it possible to wipe the drive and reinstall Windows/Ubuntu given that I am not able to use my PC as bitlocker has locked me out? If yes, then I would really appreciate any help and guidance.

 

[Saltgrass]

The link states if you can't find a recovery key you will need to reset back to factory settings.

Do you have a Win 10 recovery drive? Do you have Win 10 install media?

What you can or cannot do with a reset can depend on the system's original configuration. If it came with Win 10 installed, you should be able to do a factory reset..

If you use Win 10 install media you may be able to run a reset or do a clean Win 10 install.

There may be other options of which I am unaware, such as resetting the TPM but not having some type of access to you system may limit those options.

Just for our info, how did you try to reinstall Windows and did you see any messages about resetting the TPM?