This is a simple issue I ran into when first encrypting drives with BitLocker. The problem is related to a step in the encryption process where you’ll need to save the encryption key to a secure location. It’s likely that you’ll need to save to a specific server in your environment, but the mapped drive will not be visible when the mini File Explorer dialog box pops up.
Simply right click “This PC” and select “Map network drive…”. Next, enter the UNC (Universal Naming Convention) of the folder you wish to map.
If you’ve never done this, it would be the server name as it exists on your domain followed by the folder/share. The format would look something like this: \\my-fileserver\bitlocker-keys
It’s not necessary for the mapped drive to be persistent so you can deselect “Reconnect at sign-in” in the dialog box.
You’ll be able to navigate to the relevant folder and name/save your key afterwards.
I’ve always loved video games, technology, and learning – this is a space where I’ll post thoughts, translated notes and research, and anything that’s caught my interest in these spheres. I’m mostly playing on Xbox and PC these days. Professionally, I’ve been working in IT since 2023 and during that time I’ve worked with OS400, endpoint support and monitoring, Microsoft 365, and typical on-premises infrastructure.