Hot Take Windows 11 Pro's On-By-Default Encryption Slows SSDs Up to 45%

[brambedkar59]

There are few things more frustrating than paying for high-speed PC components and then leaving performance on the table because software slows your system down. Unfortunately, a default setting in Windows 11 Pro, having its software BitLocker encryption enabled, robs as much as 45 percent of the speed from your SSD as it forces your processor to encrypt and decrypt everything. According to our tests, random writes and reads — which affect the overall performance of your PC — get hurt the most, but even large sequential transfers are affected

Tested: Windows 11 Pro's On-By-Default Encryption Slows SSDs Up to 45%

BitLocker software encryption slows performance. Here's how to fix it.

www.tomshardware.com

 

[blackice]

Another reason not to use pro at home?

 

[Oldie1950]

Another reason not to use pro at home?

I have disabled the encryption in my Win11 Pro version for a long time. I use the Pro version because it includes Windows Sandbox and Defender Application Guard.

 

[ForgottenSeer 100397]

I prefer to use a local account, and I don't have BitLocker turned on. However, while installing Windows 11 Pro on an SSD system, the installation process automatically turned on BitLocker. I realized this when I was configuring the Settings Panel. In Settings, I saw BitLocker ON, and it suggested signing in to a Microsoft account for full encryption. I turned off the partial encryption, which took some time but was successful.

 

[eXDj]

turn off

 

[TairikuOkami]

Another reason not to use pro at home?

Some users reported that BitLocker was enabled by default even on Home, then they complained because obviously they did not backup the key and thus lost files. I would not be surprised, since 11 defragmented SSD as well, twice, and did many other funny things. Still, I chose Home for this reason, because it does not contain "features" I would never use, but which could be abused.

 

[SeriousHoax]

Is it for pre-installed windows on newly bought branded PC's and laptops?
I have freshly installed Windows 11 Pro many times but it never enabled BitLocker on my system.

 

[ForgottenSeer 100397]

I have freshly installed Windows 11 Pro many times but it never enabled BitLocker on my system.

I had the same experience. When I did a fresh install of Windows 11 Pro 22H2, the installation automatically enabled BitLocker. In Settings, it mentioned that signing in to my Microsoft account would enable full encryption.

 

[ForgottenSeer 100397]

The enabling of BitLocker during the Win 11 Pro installation could depend on Hardware Security. My system didn't have BitLocker enabled (Standard hardware security not supported). Another system had BitLocker enabled (Enhanced hardware security supported).

 

[Oldie1950]

Some users reported that BitLocker was enabled by default even on Home, then they complained because obviously they did not backup the key and thus lost files. I would not be surprised, since 11 defragmented SSD as well, twice, and did many other funny things. Still, I chose Home for this reason, because it does not contain "features" I would never use, but which could be abused.

If I remember correctly, the Home version has encryption enabled for user data (documents, images, etc.) by default.

 

[Jonny Quest]

If Bitlocker is enabled, I believe you would need your key when going into safe mode or coming out of safe mode. That was a surprise to me the first time I went through that and had to look up my recovery key on another PC. So I keep mine turned off, just so I don't forget about it. Example below.

BitLocker not allowing me to reboot in Safe Mode - Windows 10 Support

BitLocker not allowing me to reboot in Safe Mode - posted in Windows 10 Support: Hello, I cant start Windows 10 in Safe Mode on my Dell laptop. There are tons of videos and websites that explain how to start Windows 10 in Safe Mode but none of these anticipate the BitLocker Drive Encryption...

www.bleepingcomputer.com

 

[Freki123]

MS is always good for some fun with using people as guinea pigs without clear consent
For me the article read that Rufus and/or using a local account may prevent bitlocker default usage. That's also the way I installed my win 11 pro a few weeks ago no bitlocker here.

 

[brambedkar59]

Some users reported that BitLocker was enabled by default even on Home, then they complained because obviously they did not backup the key and thus lost files. I would not be surprised, since 11 defragmented SSD as well, twice, and did many other funny things. Still, I chose Home for this reason, because it does not contain "features" I would never use, but which could be abused.

I thought requirements for automatic encryption was MS account, TPM and secure boot. So key should have been backed up in Onedrive.

 

[brambedkar59]

Is it for pre-installed windows on newly bought branded PC's and laptops?
I have freshly installed Windows 11 Pro many times but it never enabled BitLocker on my system.
View attachment 279244

Device encryption is available and turned on by default on devices that support Modern Standby and running any Windows 11 edition.

Turn On or Off Device Encryption in Windows 11 Tutorial

This tutorial will show you how to turn on or off device encryption on a Windows 11 PC. Device encryption (aka: BitLocker automatic device encryption) helps protect your data on the OS drive, and it's available on a wide range of Windows devices. If you turn on device encryption, the OS drive...

www.elevenforum.com

 

[oldschool]

This is the link to check your hardware and standby availability.

Check if Modern Standby is Supported in Windows 11 Tutorial

This tutorial will show you how to check if the Modern Standby (S0 Low Power Idle) sleep state is supported by your Windows 10 or Windows 11 PC. In Windows 10 and Windows 11, there are two power models for PCs: S3 and Modern Standby (S0 Low Power Idle). The S3 power model is an older standard...

www.elevenforum.com

Luckily, mine doesn't support this.

 

[CyberTech]

Interesting!

 

[roger_m]

11 defragmented SSD as well, twice,

Windows defrags SSDs monthly.

The real and complete story - Does Windows defragment your SSD?

There has been a LOT of confusion around Windows, SSDs (hard drives), and ...

www.hanselman.com

 

[TairikuOkami]

Windows defrags SSDs monthly.

I was referring to the fact that 11 was actually defragmenting SSDs, thus destroying them and after they fixed it, they really did not, so they had to fix it again, maybe. I keep it disabled, just in case.

 

[ForgottenSeer 100397]

I partitioned my SSD into C for the system and D for personal data. When I checked the Win 11 Pro Defrag app, it showed that Windows had not trimmed the system partition for 4 days, while it had not optimized the data partition for 82 days. The Defrag app enables itself for all disks with default settings. The data partition only contains Hasleo backup images and a folder with some MS Office files. Why didn't Windows trim the D partition yet?

 

[brambedkar59]

Why didn't Windows trim the D partition yet?

You don't need trim unless you are deleting/modifying files. Here is a good read about how TRIM works.