BitLocker support in a virtual machine

Products

• VMware Desktop Hypervisor
• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

BitLocker Drive Encryption is a data protection feature included with:
 

• Ultimate and Enterprise editions of Windows Vista and Windows 7.
• Pro and Enterprise editions of Windows 8 and Windows 8.1.
• Pro, Enterprise and Education editions of Windows 10.
• Windows Server 2008 and later.

It is designed to protect data by providing encryption for entire volumes.

This article describes VMware's support statement on BitLocker in a virtual machine.

Resolution

Microsoft does not support the use of BitLocker on the bootable partition of a virtual hard disk. But BitLocker is supported on non-bootable partitions of a virtual hard disk, if you are running Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows Server 2012 or Windows Server 2012 R2. For more information, see BitLocker Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ).

VMware support VMs that have valid BitLocker configuration. BitLocker is treated same as any other guest OS feature. However, support of the BitLocker feature is provided by Microsoft.

Note: The information and link in this article were correct as of January 16, 2017.

Additional Information

Refer to Microsoft BitLocker Drive Encryption for additional information and requirements.