I used the ' wbadmin start backup' command in a batch file to backup to a local filesystem location, then copy that backup to the encrypted external drive with I came up with a workaround using truecrypt (which can auto-mount the drive). Unfortunately, Server 2008 and not 2008 R2. Unless you're one of those who's paranoid about a potential back door in BitLocker. But you'll need a copy of Windowsħ or Server 2008 R2 to read the backups, anyway, so I don't know that it would gain you that much. So I imagine the problem is in the TrueCrypt drivers somewhere. Server backup is somewhat finicky about its storage devices, even the unencrypted ones. I agree that, being open source, TrueCrypt would be a better solution. See Abhinav Mathur's reply in this topic: It is also apparently possible to do a bare metal restore from your Windows installation DVD and a BitLocker-encrypted backup drive. It would be nice if Microsoft fixed these problems. We use a batch file with dir commands on all possible backup volumes, and schedule it to run a few minutesĪlso, each time you change the backup schedule, you have to repeat step 2 (but not, thankfully, step 3) in Jeff's method. To work around this problem, you must access the backup drive through the filesystem (Windows Explorer, dir command, etc.) before the backup runs. This will happen even if the drive is set for automatic unlocking. The backup destination is not accessible because it is locked with BitLocker encryption.' We've been using the method Jeff describes, and have run into a few problems:Īfter the drive is disconnected/reconnected or the machine reboots, the scheduled backup will fail with the message 'The operation failed. But be warned, encryption is slow (on the order of 10 minutes per GB) and resource-intensive. Of course, if you have Windows Server 2008 R2, you can just encrypt all your drives there.

Paul Thurrott pointed out that you could get the Windows 7 Enterprise 90-day trial (), install it on a spare PC, encrypt all your removable drives with BitLocker To Go, and never have to purchaseĮnterprise or Ultimate. So you can use Windows 7 to read the encrypted drives. The good news is that Bitlocker To Go drives, once encrypted, can be used on any computer running Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7 (including Windows 7 Pro, Home, and even Starter). Windows Server 2008 does not support BitLocker To Go, which is necessary to bitlocker encrypt removable drives, so if that is what you have, BitLocker would not be an option. I assume you are using Windows Server 2008 R2 (Windows 7 Server) and not Windows Server 2008 (Windows Vista Server).

Truecrypt download windows vista