General tasks

Activating Drive Encryption for standard hard drives

Standard hard drives are encrypted using software encryption. Follow these steps to activate Drive Encryption:

1.Launch HP ProtectTools Administrative Console. For more information, see Opening HP ProtectTools Administrative Console on page 15.

2.In the left panel, click Setup Wizard.

3.Select the Drive Encryption check box, and then click Next.

4.To back up the encryption key, connect an external device for recording this key. This key must be used to access the data if other methods fail.

5.Under Back up Drive Encryption keys, select the check box for the storage device where the encryption key will be saved.

6.Click Next.

NOTE: You are prompted to restart the computer. After restart, the Drive Encryption pre-boot screen is displayed, requiring authentication before Windows will start.

Drive Encryption has been activated. Encryption of the selected drive partition(s) might take a number of hours, depending on the number and size of the partition(s).

See the HP ProtectTools Security Manager software Help for more information.

Activating Drive Encryption for self-encrypting drives

Self-encrypting drives meeting Trusted Computing Group's OPAL specification for self-encrypting drive management can be encrypted using either software encryption or hardware encryption. Follow these steps to activate Drive Encryption for self-encrypting drives:

NOTE: Hardware encryption is available only if ALL drives in your computer are self-encrypting drives meeting Trusted Computing Group's OPAL specification for self-encrypting drive management. In this case, the Use hardware drive encryption option is available, and either hardware or software encryption can be used.

If there is a mix of self-encrypting drives and standard hard drives, then the Use hardware drive encryption option is not available, and only software encryption can be used. For more information, see Activating Drive Encryption for standard hard drives on page 39.

▲Use the HP ProtectTools Security Manager Setup Wizard to activate Drive Encryption.

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Software encryption

1.Launch HP ProtectTools Administrative Console. For more information, see Opening HP ProtectTools Administrative Console on page 15.

2.In the left panel, click Setup Wizard.

3.Select the Drive Encryption check box, and then click Next.

NOTE: If the Use hardware drive encryption option is available at the bottom of the screen, clear the check box.

General tasks 39