Windows 10 has a neat feature called Device Encryption. When enabled, Device Encryption encrypts the data in all fixed drives (like your HDD) with 128-bit AES encryption and protects your system from any unauthorized access. For instance, an attacker cannot connect your hard disk to another system to access or modify the data. Though not as strong as BitLocker, Device Encryption is fast and easy to enable and configure. Let me show you how to enable device encryption on Windows 10.
System Requirements to Turn On Device Encryption
Along with Pro and Enterprise editions, you can enable device encryption on Windows 10 Home edition too.
Before you can enable device encryption, your system should meet mandatory hardware requirements. If the system does not meet even one of the below requirements, you cannot turn on device encryption.
- Your motherboard should have a TPM (Trusted Platform Module) chip. The TPM module should be enabled. If you are not sure, take a look at the motherboard manual. In case you are wondering, TPM is a hardware-backed tamper protection system. As such, it is required for device encryption. Click this link to know more.
- Windows 10 should be running on UEFI. Follow these steps to see if you are using UEFI or BIOS.
- Finally, your PC should support Connected Standby mode (learn more).
Once you are sure you meet all the above requirements, follow the below steps to enable device encryption. If still not clear, follow the verification steps to see if your computer supports device encryption.
Check If the Computer Supports Device Encryption
Just like you can check if you are running a 64-bit or 32-bit system, you can also check if your computer supports device encryption or not. To check it, we are going to use the built-in System Information tool.
1. Press Win + R to open the Run dialog box. In the empty field, type msinfo32 and click on the Ok button. This action will open the System Information tool.
2. In the System Information window, select “System Summary” on the left panel. On the right panel, find the Device Encryption option. If it says Meets Prerequisites, you can enable Device Encryption.
3. If it says Reasons for failed automatic device encryption then Device Encryption is not supported on your computer.
Steps to Enable Device Encryption
1. Open the PC Settings app by pressing the Win + I keyboard shortcut. You can also click on the All Settings button in the notification center.
2. In the Settings app, go to Update & Security and click on the Device Encryption option appearing on the left panel. If you don’t see the Device Encryption option, your computer is not supported.
3. On the right pane, click on the Turn On button and you are done.
There is nothing more to configure. As soon as you press the Turn On button, the Device Encryption will be enabled on your computer to encrypt and protect the data. To turn off or disable device encryption, click on the turn off button on the same page.
If you like this article, here’s how to lock folder on Windows.
We have purchased Windows 10 Pro to upgrade our current Windows 10 Home. We were e-mailed a digital license key/serial, but we have been unable to get the computer to acknowledge that we have Windows 10 Pro. On one site, we were told the code was incorrect, which it is not, and another time, the message said that Pro was running. We are needing to ensure that the computer is encrypted.