How to Lock Your Hard Drive on Windows OS?


What is a Hard Drive?

A hard disc drive (HDD) is a non-volatile data storage device that is commonly abbreviated as a hard drive, HD, or HDD. It is commonly mounted inside a computer, directly connected to the motherboard's disc controller. It is made up of many or one platter that are sealed in an airtight container.

Data is written to the platters by a magnetic head that moves quickly over them as they spin.

What is the Purpose of a Hard Disc in a Computer?

An operating system is required for people to interact with and operate a computer. The operating system translates keystrokes and mouse movements, allowing applications like an Internet browser, word processor, and video games to run.

A hard drive is required to install a computer operating system. The storage device serves as the medium for installing and storing the operating system.

You'll also need a hard disc to install any applications or other items you wish to retain on your computer. When you download files to your computer, they are kept on your hard drive or another storage media indefinitely until you transfer or remove them.

Is It Feasible to Work on a Computer Without a Hard Drive?

Without a hard disc, a computer may turn on and POST. Depending on how the BIOS is designed, other bootable devices in the boot sequence are also examined for the required boot files. You can boot from a bootable USB flash drive in a computer without a hard drive if the USB device is mentioned in your BIOS boot sequence.

Method 1 − Use File Explorer on Windows 10 to Create a Password for Your Hard Disc

  • Step 1 − Right-click a hard disc in This PC and select Turn on BitLocker from the context menu.

  • Step 2 − Select Use a Password to open the disc in the BitLocker Drive Encryption box, input a password, reenter the password, and then tap Next. A password can be 8 to 256 characters long and comprise uppercase/lowercase letters, digits, spaces, and symbols.

  • Step 3 − Choose between saving the BitLocker recovery key to your Microsoft account, saving it to a file, or printing it. If "Save to a file" is chosen, for example, in the Save BitLocker recovery key as window, click Save and then Yes to confirm saving.

  • Step 4 − To continue, tap Next.

  • Step 5 − Select the disc space to encrypt. Encrypt just used disc space (faster and better for new PCs and drives) or Encrypt full drive (slower but better for PCs and drives that are currently in use), then click Next. If you choose the first option, BitLocker will encrypt new data as you add it.

  • Step 6 − Make a hit Begin encrypting, and wait for the procedure to complete.

After restarting the computer, the setting will take effect.

Method 2 − Use a Third-Party Utility to Set the Hard Disc Password in Windows 10

  • Step 1 − On your Windows 10 PC, download and install this program. Then go ahead and launch it.

  • Step 2 − On the interface, right-click the hard drive you want to password protect and choose Turn on BitLocker.

  • Step 3 − Enter and confirm a password, then save the recovery key as an a.txt file by click the save to file button. Uncheck the option next to Encrypt utilized space only if you wish to encrypt the whole drive. Encrypting the entire drive takes a bit longer, and you won't be able to safeguard freshly added data if you simply encrypt the utilized space.

  • Step 4 − Next, select a location to save the new recovery key file and press the Save button.

  • Step 5 − To encrypt, click the Encrypt button. Wait for a popup to appear, indicating that the encryption was successful.

  • Step 6 − Select Lock Disk from the context menu when right-clicking the hard drive. Finally, BitLocker password protection ensures that no one may access the hard drive unless the password is entered.

Updated on: 11-Apr-2022

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