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Imaging vs. Bitlocker etc.

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Hello,

It got me thinking when I saw that Acronis can't effectively image Bitlocker files in Windows 7.

I was under the impression that a true image of the hard drive was formed, sector by sector.

If that were the case, then any encrypted files would not be a problem.

Why is it that encrypted files pose a problem?

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Hello Michael,

Thank you for using Acronis Products

Acronis True Image may fail to back up or restore partitions or files encrypted by specialized software.

The following situations can occur:

  • Acronis True Image may fail to access an encrypted partition from Windows and thus will not back it up.
  • Acronis True Image may back up an encrypted partition from Windows, but restoring such a partition will make it unencrypted. If an encrypted system partition is backed up and then restored, then the machine will become unbootable after the restore. This is only true when working in Windows.
  • Some files may be missing in the backup.

Acronis True Image can always create a raw (sector-by-sector) backup of an encrypted partition when booted from Acronis Bootable Rescue Media.

If the encryption key is based on the hard drive or some hardware serial numbers, a sector-by-sector copy may not work as expected. The best solution will then be to create the backup in Windows. Then, when restoring it, do it as you would do it normally. The only difference is that after the restore you will need to rebuild the MBR using the following Acronis ISO image: