What is the difference between disabling, suspending, and decrypting when I turn off BitLocker?
Decrypt completely removes BitLocker protection and fully decrypts the drive. Disable and Suspend refer to the same process. Disable was used in Windows Vista, and Suspend is used in Windows 7. The term was changed to more accurately describe the process. When BitLocker is suspended, BitLocker keeps the data encrypted but encrypts the BitLocker volume master key with a clear key. The clear key is a cryptographic key stored unencrypted and unprotected on the disk drive. By storing this key unencrypted, the Suspend option allows for changes or upgrades to the computer without the time and cost of decrypting and re-encrypting the entire drive. After the changes are made and BitLocker is again enabled, BitLocker will reseal the encryption key to the new values of the measured components that changed as a part of the upgrade, and the clear key is erased. This option is only available for operating system drives.
