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Craig
Asked: 2020-06-22 04:10:35 +0800 CST

BitLocker on Hyper-V Server 2019 - Failed - The system cannot find the file specified

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To start with, I want to be clear that this is on "Hyper-V Server 2019" (free headless hypervisor) and not "Windows Server 2019" with the Hyper-V role installed.

I've been banging my head against the wall on this one a while and tried just about every tutorial option I can. It's far too much to explain every one of the options I've tried. The short version is that no matter what I do to enable BitLocker in some manner or another I end up with an error about not being able to find a file like what is shown in brief here...

PS C:\Windows\System32\> Enable-BitLocker -MountPoint "C:" -EncryptionMethod XtsAes256 -UsedSpaceOnly -RecoveryKeyPath "E:\" -RecoveryKeyProtector
Add-TpmProtectorInternal : The system cannot find the file specified. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x80070002)
At C:\Windows\system32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\Modules\BitLocker\BitLocker.psm1:2095 char:31

I get the same error message if it's with a password, recovery key, TPM... makes no difference. I get a similar, but not as verbose of an error, when I use Manage-BDE.exe to attempt enabling BitLocker.

I've reformatted a few times. I've tried before and after domain join. Before/After feature add-ons. I've tried clearing the TPM on several occasions. I've tried having Secure Boot enabled/disabled in the BIOS. I've enabled/disabled/destroyed/rebuilt the Windows recovery partition as well as the ReAgent.xml file.

I'm basically out of options and looking for anything I can get for help. What I ultimately want it to do is boot from just the TPM and have the option for recovery password and optionally a recovery key.

Basic System Overview:

  • Supermicro X10SRW-F
  • E5-2690 v3
  • 2 x 248GB Enterprise Samsung SSDs in Mirror (RAID 1) in BIOS (via Intel VROC)
  • TPM 2.0
  • UEFI Boot only (not dual or Legacy boot)
  • Hyper-V Server 2019
  • Roles: Hyper-V Role
  • Features:
    • .NET 4.7
    • BitLocker
    • RSAT for BitLocker and Hyper-V
    • Standard for everything else (nothing above stock)
  • Add-On: Installed Application Features on Demand to get Explorer, Powershell_ISE and a few other tools.

Many thanks in advance for your help.

hyper-v windows-server-core bitlocker tpm hyper-v-server-2019

1 Answers

  1. Best Answer

    Have a look at this link:

    troubleshoot bitlocker in Windows Server 2019 Core

    It helped me solve it. It seems that Server Core App Compatibility produces the problem, after removing it you can proceed with bitlocker and later re-enable Server Core App Compatibility. There's also updated info from MS, with which you can avoid removing and re-enabling (I haven't tested the later).

    Only difference in that you use the free of charge HyperV server, but you can give it a try.

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