The system cannot find the file specified error while enabling Bitlocker

Apr 17, 2019 | BitLocker | 13 comments

After buying a new harddrive, disabling bitlocker on the old one, moving the data to the new one and booting the system I wanted to re-enable Bitlocker. But all I got after running

manage-bde -on c: -rp

was this:

ERROR: An error occurred (code 0x80070002):
The system cannot find the file specified.

NOTE: If the -on switch has failed to add key protectors or start encryption,
you may need to call “manage-bde -off” before attempting -on again.

This error can happen if the file C:\Windows\System32\Recovery\ReAgent.xml is corrupt or cannot be read in any way.

When I tried to open it with a text editor I got the same error. Renaming (deleting) the file solves the problem. The file will be recreated on the next restart or when enabling bitlocker.


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13 Comments

  1. Jon on July 29, 2019 at 10:31

    Thank you!!!!

  2. Stephen Joseph D. Cambal on August 28, 2019 at 11:57

    Thank you so much for this wonderful article. Sir/Ma’am.

  3. Nikolay Minchev on September 18, 2019 at 16:56

    Thank you Sir/Ma’am. After change from MGT to EFI Boot i got the same error , deleting that XML fix the issue for me.

  4. Dave on January 13, 2020 at 21:49

    Deleting the REAgent.xml file did the trick. Thanks much.

  5. Rechie on February 28, 2020 at 15:10

    thank you very much! this one resolves the issue!

  6. ahmet on March 6, 2020 at 15:40

    thank you bro, you save my life!!

  7. Andy Cippico on March 9, 2020 at 16:47

    Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!
    I wasted 4 hours until I saw this article. It fixed my Bitlocker problem immediately.

  8. ArunNair on March 18, 2020 at 17:25

    Thanks for the quick fix. It helped ….

  9. Shane on March 31, 2020 at 16:56

    Deleting the XML file worked for me, thank you so much!!

  10. Jon Rixon on April 21, 2020 at 18:11

    I just spent over 3 hours trying to sort this out until I found your answer – after cloning and trying to re-encrypt the disk, I got this error. It would be useful if Microsoft documented this as a troubleshooting step somewhere, or even mentioned the file in the error message!

    Many thanks.

  11. Bill on June 17, 2020 at 18:18

    That worked

  12. kima on June 19, 2020 at 15:16

    MERCI beaucoup

  13. fr on July 6, 2020 at 19:51

    deleting that file and restarting my computer made windows refuse to start…
    I’m screwed

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