The system cannot find the file specified error while enabling Bitlocker

Apr 17, 2019

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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22 Comments

  1. Jon on 29.07.2019 at 10:31

    Thank you!!!!

  2. Stephen Joseph D. Cambal on 28.08.2019 at 11:57

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

  3. Nikolay Minchev on 18.09.2019 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 13.01.2020 at 21:49

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

  5. Rechie on 28.02.2020 at 15:10

    thank you very much! this one resolves the issue!

  6. ahmet on 06.03.2020 at 15:40

    thank you bro, you save my life!!

  7. Andy Cippico on 09.03.2020 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 18.03.2020 at 17:25

    Thanks for the quick fix. It helped ….

  9. Shane on 31.03.2020 at 16:56

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

  10. Jon Rixon on 21.04.2020 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 17.06.2020 at 18:18

    That worked

  12. kima on 19.06.2020 at 15:16

    MERCI beaucoup

  13. fr on 06.07.2020 at 19:51

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

  14. Anonymous on 10.08.2020 at 14:39

    Super simple / easy to follow / fixed the problem!!

    Many thanks!

  15. Kasun on 14.09.2020 at 08:30

    Thanks its great

  16. Thanks on 14.09.2020 at 17:30

    You are the best man. I’ve been looking on a lot of forums, microsoft articles etc and nothing worked, only this! Life saver!

  17. Anonymous on 27.10.2020 at 22:34

    Wow, that was awesome, Ive been working on this for over a week. Very nice fix. Thank you!

  18. Anonymous on 24.12.2020 at 19:01

    Great, thank you, that solved the problem!

  19. Martin on 24.12.2020 at 20:45

    Finally a working solution! After hours searching in vain. Thank you, coffee sent.

  20. Vishal Saruk on 18.01.2021 at 08:18

    Thank u very much..it works..

  21. Sergio on 14.05.2021 at 09:39

    Thank you very much, sincerely!!! 2:39am and finally got it working thanx to you.

  22. Arjen on 10.09.2021 at 08:56

    It worked, thanks!

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