Hello Richard,
The BitLocker password is a completely
separate password. It does not have any relationship to the
Microsoft password. The problem is that the BitLocker dialog
runs at power-on before most of your operating system is
loaded. This is why it has no accessibility. In the past,
Microsoft has said that there would have to be a new industry
standard to account for the changes needed to make BitLocker
accessible.
Hi Louis
Thanks for your below. So, I understand
from your below that the BitLocker dialogue appears only upon
a “cold” power-on action, not a “warm” restart. That is good
news for me since I rarely turn-off my PC. One more thing
about your below, when you say that you have to enter your
“BitLocker” password is that the same as your standard Windows
sign-in password entered normally from the Windows sign-in
screen? Of course, here I am not speaking of the “64 digit
recovery password” needed when you fail at a logon after three
attempts.
Thanks!
Richard
Hello Richard,
I used to get the
BitLocker dialog after an actual cold start by pressing the
power button.
As I remember, you
were given three chances to get your BitLocker password
correct. After your third attempt, another dialog appeared
asking you to enter a 64-digit recovery password which was
given you when BitLocker was originally installed. Please
note that this dialog is also completely inaccessible.
If that is not
successful, you have to purchase a new hard drive.
Hi Louis!
Interesting. When
you say “power on,” does that mean 1) from a restart a.k.a.
“soft boot” or 2) an actual cold start by pressing the power
button a.k.a. “hard boot” - or both?
Thanks,
Richard
Hello Richard,
I last used
bitLocker in 2015. At that time, bitLocker would ask the
sighted for a power on password. This dialog was completely
inaccessible to the blind. After about 30 seconds, I would
enter my bitLocker power-on password and hope that the dialog
box was open. (Note if the computer was doing updates, then
this strategy would fail.) If I entered an incorrect password,
the resulting error dialog was also in accessible. After
waiting ten minutes or so, if the computer had not reached the
Microsoft account login keyword, I would reboot the machine
and try again. Usually I would find a kind sighted person to
help me turn on my computer. I had to get a sighted person to
turn on my computer about 50% of the time. Microsoft said
that they could not make the Bit Locker dialog accessible
because Bit Locker runs early in the power-on cycle.
Note, using
bitLocker was my employer’s requirement.
BitLocker
encrypts your hard drive and is probably a good idea.
I would be
interested if there has been any bitLocker progress since
2015.
Hi!
I have a PC
running Windows 10 Pro 64-bit and NVDA 2020.4. Soon, I will
turn-on BitLocker. Will doing so trigger any accessibility
issues?
Thanks,
Richard
