Samsung 9 Series Laptop Bitlocker

I just bought a Samsung 9 Series (the version with the TPM) and had a bit of an annoying time setting up BitLocker on it.

Here is what ended up working (after upgrading to Windows 7 Ultimate):

0. In BIOS enable the TPM and put it into a Cleared state.

1. For some reason the my OS partition was split into two (not including the hidden "SYSTEM" parition here, or the recovery partition) the second of which had a "TEMP" in its volume name. That got deleted and merged into the primary. I think this may have had something to do with the Microsoft Signature stuff it had setup on it.

2. I used diskpart to kill the recovery partition:

Admin cmd:
> diskpart
> select disk 0

In my case there were 3 partition:
Partition 1 ~ 100MB *this is the "SYSTEM" partition
Partition 2 ~ 100GB *this is the "OS" partition
Partition 3 ~ 20GB *this is the "RECOVERY" partition

> select partition 3
> delete partition override

"override" is required, since this is a protected recovery partition. Make sure you have a USB key with the Windows install media or an external USB CD drive, since you will not be able to recover the computer after this.

> exit

3. After the recovery partition is deleted, it is possible to extend the main partition to the ~120GB it deserves.

4. Restart the machine, and go into Windows Recovery from the boot menu (hit F8 while booting). This was particularly annoying because the SSD makes the window of opportunity to toggle the boot menu very short.

5. There, open up the command prompt, and run:

> bootrec /FixMbr
> bootrec /FixBoot

6. Dump the old BCD

> bcdedit /export C:\BCD_Backup
> c:
> cd boot
> attrib bcd -s -h -r
> ren c:\boot\bcd bcd.backup
> bootrec /RebuildBcd

Make sure to hit [y] for the D:\Windows install (since C: right now is the hidden "SYSTEM" parition).

Restart, and at that point you should be able to set up BitLocker.

That seemed like a lot more effort than it should have taken. Posting this to preserve it in case I need to do it again, and for anyone else trying to find out how to do this.

 

Whoa, so here is something I just discovered - enabling Bitlocker seems to have (for the second machine of two) put the machine in a state where the right-side USB port and the built-in WebCam do not work.

The machine claims that the hardware is reporting a problem, so Windows is stopping it.

Edit: Decrypting the hard-drive and disabling BitLocker restores both camera and RHS USB port. Really have to wonder just how in the hell Samsung set it up to make this happen.

 

I ran into the same issue with the webcam and right-side USB port after the disk was encrypted. I don't have a solution, but I did find a workaround. If you go into device manager (Start, right-click computer, choose Manage, then choose Device Manager), right-click and disable both entries of Intel(R) 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller (under Universal Serial Bus controllers). Then, right-click and enable both of them. All of the devices will be back up and running. This should last through Sleep and Hibernate but not through a Restart or Shutdown.

I chatted with a Samsung tech person, and he said he would forward this information to the appropriate team. Hopefully, a driver or firmware update can fix the issue.

Ben

 

I had the exact same problem. This is what I did to fix it.

-To fix the initial Bitlocker issue, I simply ran the command “bootrec /fixmbr” from Window 7’s repair console.
-To fix the right side USB, webcam, and Bluetooth when the drive was encrypted, I installed the latest BIOS revision from Samsung’s website. Please note that the version on the website is dated January of 2011. This threw me off since the laptop was manufactured only a few months ago.

 

I had this problem too. I followed GerodT instruction but I had to do one more step. Here is what I did:
-To fix the initial Bitlocker issue, I simply ran the command “bootrec /fixmbr” from Window 7’s repair console.
-Enabled bitlocker
-To fix the right side USB, webcam, and Bluetooth when the drive was encrypted, I installed the latest BIOS
-suspended and resumed bitlocker.

I think the short enable bitlocker on Samsung Series 9 with TPM is to do the following:
-Installed the latest BIOS
-Run the command “bootrec /fixmbr” from Window 7’s repair console.
- Enable TPM from the bios
-Enable bitlocker on C: drive

 

Hi, I cant find the TCM option in the BIOS!
Where do I look?

The Samsung update is telling me there are no updates and I have not updated the BIOSBIOS?. Does this mean I have the latest BIOS or where can I get the latest?