What's the Difference between HDD Password and BitLocker? Pros & Cons

There are various ways for you to protect and encrypt the data in your drive, which make it hard to select the best one. If you are hesitate to choose HDD password or BitLocker to secure your drive data, here you can know about the difference between HDD password and BitLocker as well as the pros and cons before making a choice.

• Part 1: What's HDD password
• Part 2: What's BitLocker
• Part 3: Difference between HDD password and BitLocker
• Part 4: Which one is Better, HDD password or BitLocker

Part 1: What's HDD Password

HDD passwords (also known as ATA passwords) is a drive security form that can lock a drive with a password to restrict the unauthorized access to your drive. It is part of the ATA specification, which supports user/master password and high/maximum security levels. Both user password and master password can unlock your drive in high security level, but only user password can unlock your drive in maximum security level. In addition, master password can be used to erase all data in the drive leaving you an unlocked and empty drive once the user password is lost.

You may be interested to deeply understand about HDD password.

Part 2: What's BitLocker

Microsoft BitLocker is a software encryption method that can convert the information in drive into secret code using algorithm to hide the information's meaning and prevent it from prying eyes. It uses AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) encryption algorithm with a 128-bit or 256-bit key, which can encrypt both system and data drives. After enabling BitLocker, you have to authenticate yourself with the password to access the drive. In addition, a BitLocker recovery key is available in case the password is forgotten.

Part 3: Difference between HDD Password and BitLocker

1. Difference between HDD Password and BitLocker on Availability

Question: Do all Windows Computers have HDD password/ BitLocker?

HDD password is a built-in feature that can be set in BIOS, but it is not supported by all Computer brands. To check if the HDD password is available in your Computer, you need to enter BIOS Setup Utility screen to find the HDD password option. If the option doesn't exist, you are unable to lock your hard drive using HDD password.

As for BitLocker, it is a native Windows function supported by professional editions of Windows including Windows Vista/Windows 7 Ultimate and Enterprise editions, Windows 8/8.1 Pro and Enterprise editions, Windows 10/11 Pro, Enterprise, and Education editions, Windows Server 2008 and later. While BitLocker isn't available on Windows 10/11 Home edition.

Here you can find out what Windows operating you are running.

2. Difference between HDD Password and BitLocker on Protection

Question: Can you encrypt an entire hard drive of data with HDD/BitLocker?

HDD password can lock the whole disk with a password but it does not encrypt the data in it. If you want to access the data in the drive or create new partition in the disk, you need to unlock the drive first. With the HDD password, your hard drive will still be locked even when it is removed to another Computer.

Coming to BitLocker, it offers full-disk encryption(FDE), which allows you to encrypt system partition or other data partition on your drive. Also, it enables you to encrypt used disk only or entire drive. With BitLocker, your data in drive will be still encrypted even when it is erased and then recovered.

3. Difference between HDD Password and BitLocker on Use

Question: How to enable HDD password or Bitlocker?

To enable HDD password, different brands of Computer may have different entries in BIOS. In ThinkPad, restart your Computer and hold F1/ F2 button to enter BIOS Setup Utility screen. Then enter Security > Password > Hard Disk Password. Then you can set User Password or User + Master Password. After setting, press F10 button to save the HDD password setting and your Computer will automatically reboot. Then you will be asked to enter the password you have set by motherboard.

To enable BitLocker encryption, press Win + W and right-click the drive you want to encrypt. Then choose Turn on Bitlocker. Next, choose Use a password/a smart card to unlock the drive and choose a safe place to keep Bitlocker recovery password. Then select Encrypt used disk space only/Encrypt Entire disk and click Start encrypting. Usually the encryption takes about 30m ~ 3h, which depends on disk volume you encrypt.
Note: To check BitLocker encryption status of your drive, open command prompt as Administrator and execute manage-bde -status Command.

4. Difference between HDD Password and BitLocker on Affects

Question: Does HDD password/bitlocker affect disk performance?

Does HDD password decrease disk performance? After deeply understanding HDD password,  either on SSD or HDD, HDD password reduces the read and write speed less than 1%, which is not so obvious and can be ignored.

Does BitLocker drive affect disk performance? On SDD, BitLocker encryption algorithms reduce the write speed less than 1% and reduce the read speed less than 5%. On HDD, BitLocker encryption algorithms has no obvious affects on read performance, but reduce the write speed about 50% -62%.

5. Difference between HDD Password and BitLocker on Security

Question: Can you bypass a HDD password/bitLocker?

Since the HDD password is stored in HDD firmware and won’t be backed up to another place. Compared with Operating System password and BIOS password, it is more secure to protect the files in the hard drive. As mentioned by many manufacturers' websites (such as Dell, Asus, HP, Huawei, Samsung, Lenovo,etc.) , there is no way to recover the HDD password if it is forgotten or lost. However, the HDD password on some HDD models can be removed by a third-party software.

Generally, you need to enter the password you set to access the BitLocker encrypted drive. However, you will be asked to enter a BitLocker Recovery Key when Windows detects a possible unauthorized access such as making changes on motherboard hardware. It is impossible to bypass the recovery key if you want to access the data in the encrypted drive without a password. Once the password and recovery password are lost, you have to unlock the encrypted drive by resetting device, which means fully format the drive and erase all of the data in it.

Learn safely back up BitLocker recovery key

Part 4: Which one is Better, HDD password or BitLocker?

HDD password

Pros:

1. fast to set

2. No obvious loss in disk performance

3. doesn't need extra software to enable

Cons:

1. need to enter BIOS to check if the HDD password option is available

2. can not selectively lock the files and partitions

3. unable to create any new partitions in the disk without password

4. no easy way to unlock the drive once the password is forgotten

BitLocker

Pros:

1. easy to set

2. Compatible with basically all storage devices

3. offers full-disk encryption (system & data partition)

4. various encryption option

5. can be unlocked by resetting device (the encrypted data will be erased)

Cons:

1. cost relatively long time to encrypt or decrypt

2. obvious loss in write performance on HDD

3. no way to decrypt the data in drive if the password and recovery key are lost

The Bottom Line

That’s all about difference between HDD password and BitLocker, and both of them have their pros and cons. Generally speaking, HDD password has less affects on your Computer performance, while BitLocker is more secure on data encryption.