Windows – BitLocker does not recognize USB drive

bitlockerusb-flash-drivewindowswindows 10

I can't get BitLocker to recognize a USB flash drive.
It previously had BitLocker enabled, it was removed via formatting and now I want to re-enable it.

Problem is the option no longer shows up in the right-click context menu.
Nor does the BitLocker management app seem to recognize it as a flash drive.

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I formatted the drive a few times. Used NTFS and exFat to no avail.

Best Answer

Using "Disk Management" I deleted the partition from the USB stick and then created a simple volume, using all the disk space, which was then Formatted (not a quick format ) with NTFS.

I removed the drive from the server (2019 Essentials) ensured the Bitlocker Drive Encryption Service was started ( Run > Services.msc). Placed the drive back in the server and encryption was possible via the context (right click) menu. I think this is caused by the partition on the new USB drive being set to "active" and/or there being unused space on the USB stick.

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