Bitlocker is a nice tool from Microsoft which allows you to Encrypt the hard disc, however enabling it isn't as simple as pressing a switch or simply adding a step to your task sequence, you will really have to spend some time reading about BitLocker before you decide what strategy you take with regards to deploying it in the Enterprise.
BitLocker has some requirements and one of those is that the TPM (Trusted Platform Module) is set to ON and that it is Activated prior to Enabling BitLocker, in order to do this on Dell Systems we use the Dell CCTK (Client Configuration Tool Kit).
You will need to decide if you are going to handle the TPM specific parts while in Windows or while in WinPE. I'd strongly recommend you test both scenarios in your test environment with real hardware (obviously, you'll want TPM ready Dell hardware).
Dell also provides a page here which explains how to enable the TPM using the CCTK while in Windows (in the running OS), however what if you want to enable the TPM in WinPE ? to do that you've got the option of using batch files provided in the CCTK, these batch files require the Windows AIK installed and they create an ISO and new boot WIM for you to import into SCCM.
Nice, except maybe you don't want to regenerate your boot.wim as it already has all your Extrafiles added and it's customised with your HTA scripts etc. Also, maybe you don't want the CCTK in your boot.wim images because you are a multi-vendor site with more than just Dell hardware.
No problem, simply use the task sequence provided below and I'll guide you through how it all works, this task sequence doesn't care if your boot image is X86 or X64, it will determine that via WMI calls by checking for the presence of the SysWOW64 folder. What I'm providing here is a solution for you to Deploy Windows 7 Enterprise X64 on Dell hardware with Bitlocker Enabled so that when you login to the finished deployment, BitLocker is busy encrypting your drive.
Note: This task sequence is for enabling BitLocker in Bare Metal (New Computer) scenarios, I will cover enabling BitLocker in a Refresh scenario in a later post.
Step 1. Download the CCTK.
The CCTK is available for download here. Once you've download it, install the MSI. We need the CCTK in order to communicate with the TPM chip in our Dell computers in Windows PE (using the HAPI drivers contained in the CCTK).
Step 2. Create The CCTK packages
We need to Create two new ConfigMgr Packages for X86 and X64 CCTK.
Copy %ProgramFiles%\Dell\CCTK\* to a location that will be used for Configuration Manager. You will have two subfolders, x86, and x86_64
Create two ConfigMgr Packages, using the source directory for x86, and x86_64. Send these packages to your Distribution Points
Step 3. Download BitLocker Scripts.
In order to Enable Bitlocker in this example task sequence, we use a script, Microsoft has kindly provided us with the scripts we need right here
Step 4. Create the BitLockers Scripts package
Create a new package containing the bitlocker scripts you downloaded above and distribute it to your DP's.
Step 5. Download the windows-noob sample BitLocker task sequence.
into Configmgr and resolve the missing packages by pointing to the following packages where necessary:-
Operating System Image (Windows 7 X64)
Configuration Manager Client Package
CCTK X86 Package
CCTK X64 Package
Bitlocker Scripts
So how does it all work then ?
The task sequence is broken down into Two main groups for TPM, one to deal with enabling TPM functions when using an X86 boot image, the other for X64 boot images
As we haven't injected the HAPI drivers into WinPE (remember, we didn't want to have to generate new boot images, we wanted to keep our current process mostly untouched) we must manually inject them before each step (unless theres more than one step before the next Restart)
this is done via an xcopy command which copies the CCTK architecture files to x:\
and then we inject the HAPI drivers in the next step
Next we set the Bios Password (you can change the password to something else if you wish)
and then we Enable the TPM chip
after a restart of the computer (to let the bios make the changes) we have to redo the xcopy/enable HAPI drivers before the next step, Activating the TPM chip
after another restart and CCTK xcopy/enable HAPI group and we then remove the bios password set earlier
Once the steps above are done Windows will install as normal and then set windows settings etc, before finally getting to the Configure and Enable BitLocker group, this happens within Windows.
This group is responsible for preparing the disc partition for BitLocker using bdehdcfg.exe
and finally after another restart, we Enable BitLocker using the Enablebitlocker vbs script from Microsoft.
That's it ! Windows will then end up at the familiar login screen but you may notice the HDD LED is very busy, this is because BitLocker is busy Encrypting the drive,
How can I verify BitLocker is working ?
simply open explorer and you'll see a new icon for C:
and you can open a command prompt and type manage-bde -status
after a few hours when the encryption process is done you'll see as follows (screenshot from another system where BitLocker has finished encrypting the drive)
you can also verify what is logged in the c:\windows\temp\bitlocker.txt file, here's a sample attached here
We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.
Bitlocker is a nice tool from Microsoft which allows you to Encrypt the hard disc, however enabling it isn't as simple as pressing a switch or simply adding a step to your task sequence, you will really have to spend some time reading about BitLocker before you decide what strategy you take with regards to deploying it in the Enterprise.
BitLocker has some requirements and one of those is that the TPM (Trusted Platform Module) is set to ON and that it is Activated prior to Enabling BitLocker, in order to do this on Dell Systems we use the Dell CCTK (Client Configuration Tool Kit).
You will need to decide if you are going to handle the TPM specific parts while in Windows or while in WinPE. I'd strongly recommend you test both scenarios in your test environment with real hardware (obviously, you'll want TPM ready Dell hardware).
Dell also provides a page here which explains how to enable the TPM using the CCTK while in Windows (in the running OS), however what if you want to enable the TPM in WinPE ? to do that you've got the option of using batch files provided in the CCTK, these batch files require the Windows AIK installed and they create an ISO and new boot WIM for you to import into SCCM.
Nice, except maybe you don't want to regenerate your boot.wim as it already has all your Extrafiles added and it's customised with your HTA scripts etc. Also, maybe you don't want the CCTK in your boot.wim images because you are a multi-vendor site with more than just Dell hardware.
No problem, simply use the task sequence provided below and I'll guide you through how it all works, this task sequence doesn't care if your boot image is X86 or X64, it will determine that via WMI calls by checking for the presence of the SysWOW64 folder. What I'm providing here is a solution for you to Deploy Windows 7 Enterprise X64 on Dell hardware with Bitlocker Enabled so that when you login to the finished deployment, BitLocker is busy encrypting your drive.
Note: This task sequence is for enabling BitLocker in Bare Metal (New Computer) scenarios, I will cover enabling BitLocker in a Refresh scenario in a later post.
Step 1. Download the CCTK.
The CCTK is available for download here. Once you've download it, install the MSI. We need the CCTK in order to communicate with the TPM chip in our Dell computers in Windows PE (using the HAPI drivers contained in the CCTK).
Step 2. Create The CCTK packages
We need to Create two new ConfigMgr Packages for X86 and X64 CCTK.
Step 3. Download BitLocker Scripts.
In order to Enable Bitlocker in this example task sequence, we use a script, Microsoft has kindly provided us with the scripts we need right here
Step 4. Create the BitLockers Scripts package
Create a new package containing the bitlocker scripts you downloaded above and distribute it to your DP's.
Step 5. Download the windows-noob sample BitLocker task sequence.
Import this task sequence:
Deploy Windows 7 Ent X64 - BITLOCKER in WinPE.xml
into Configmgr and resolve the missing packages by pointing to the following packages where necessary:-
So how does it all work then ?
The task sequence is broken down into Two main groups for TPM, one to deal with enabling TPM functions when using an X86 boot image, the other for X64 boot images
As we haven't injected the HAPI drivers into WinPE (remember, we didn't want to have to generate new boot images, we wanted to keep our current process mostly untouched) we must manually inject them before each step (unless theres more than one step before the next Restart)
this is done via an xcopy command which copies the CCTK architecture files to x:\
and then we inject the HAPI drivers in the next step
Next we set the Bios Password (you can change the password to something else if you wish)
and then we Enable the TPM chip
after a restart of the computer (to let the bios make the changes) we have to redo the xcopy/enable HAPI drivers before the next step, Activating the TPM chip
after another restart and CCTK xcopy/enable HAPI group and we then remove the bios password set earlier
Once the steps above are done Windows will install as normal and then set windows settings etc, before finally getting to the Configure and Enable BitLocker group, this happens within Windows.
This group is responsible for preparing the disc partition for BitLocker using bdehdcfg.exe
and finally after another restart, we Enable BitLocker using the Enablebitlocker vbs script from Microsoft.
That's it ! Windows will then end up at the familiar login screen but you may notice the HDD LED is very busy, this is because BitLocker is busy Encrypting the drive,
How can I verify BitLocker is working ?
simply open explorer and you'll see a new icon for C:
and you can open a command prompt and type manage-bde -status
after a few hours when the encryption process is done you'll see as follows (screenshot from another system where BitLocker has finished encrypting the drive)
you can also verify what is logged in the c:\windows\temp\bitlocker.txt file, here's a sample attached here
bitlocker.txt
have fun and please let me know how you get on with this,
cheers !
niall.
Related Reading:-
Is the TPM Chip Enabled or Disabled in the Bios on my Dell system ? - http://myitforum.com...ell-system.aspx
How can I determine if there's a TPM chip on my Dell system needed for BitLocker ? http://myitforum.com...-bitlocker.aspx
BitLocker Hardware Requirements - http://windows.micro...rive-Encryption
Microsoft Scripts to Enable Bitlocker - http://go.microsoft..../?LinkID=151997
BitLocker Info - a List of Resources - http://myitforum.com...-resources.aspx
How can I determine if the drive is Encrypted (Protected) or not during a BitLocker task sequence in WinPE ? - http://www.windows-n...uence-in-winpe/
How can I determine if there's a TPM chip on my Lenovo system needed for BitLocker ? - http://www.windows-n...-for-bitlocker/
Share this post
Link to post
Share on other sites