What does HRESULT 0x80310051 (FVE_E_RAW_BLOCKED) mean?

FVE_E_RAW_BLOCKED

Read this as a state-machine result

FVE_E_RAW_BLOCKED is a BitLocker facility HRESULT, not a Win32 filesystem error wrapped by an application. In this case BitLocker cannot enter raw-access mode because the volume is still mounted, open or otherwise in active use.

For FVE_E_RAW_BLOCKED, note: The BitLocker provider tracks encryption conversion, protection, lock state, metadata version, filesystem geometry and outstanding volume use independently. When diagnosing FVE_E_RAW_BLOCKED, remember: Two volumes can both appear “encrypted” in a UI while being in very different states for a management API.

What the code does not prove

The closest misleading interpretation is FVE_E_RAW_ACCESS, which means raw mode is already active rather than blocked before entry. For FVE_E_RAW_BLOCKED, verify the returning method and state transition before assigning the incident to disk corruption, TPM failure or bad credentials.

Inspect the target, not just the message

1. For FVE_E_RAW_BLOCKED, record open handles, mount points, filesystem state, cluster role ownership, VSS activity and the exact process requesting raw access. For FVE_E_RAW_BLOCKED, keep the full HRESULT and the first method that returned it because later cleanup calls can report a different state.
2. For FVE_E_RAW_BLOCKED, capture manage-bde -status and the protector inventory for the exact volume GUID, not only the drive letter, because letters can change in WinRE, clusters and deployment environments.
3. Export BitLocker operational events for the FVE_E_RAW_BLOCKED failure and note the boot session, caller identity and management source; that evidence separates this BitLocker condition from a generic access or storage error.

For FVE_E_RAW_BLOCKED, note: Conversion status and protection status answer different questions: sectors can be encrypted while protectors are suspended, and a fully decrypted volume can still contain stale management context in a caller.

A low-risk recovery path

• For FVE_E_RAW_BLOCKED, quiesce the volume through the supported maintenance workflow, verify it is no longer in use, and then retry once.
• After correcting the FVE_E_RAW_BLOCKED prerequisite, refresh protection, conversion and lock state before one controlled retry; a cached UI message is not proof that the FVE_E_RAW_BLOCKED condition is still active.
• Before a FVE_E_RAW_BLOCKED remediation deletes protectors, changes firmware mode, resizes partitions or decrypts a production drive, verify that an independent recovery method is available and escrowed in the intended directory or account.

manage-bde -status
powershell -NoProfile -Command "Get-BitLockerVolume | Format-List *"

Result interpretation for FVE_E_RAW_BLOCKED

After correction, compare the new conversion, protection and lock state with the original snapshot. A different HRESULT after FVE_E_RAW_BLOCKED is useful because it means the request crossed this boundary and reached the next prerequisite.

State checks specific to FVE_E_RAW_BLOCKED

Verification after the change

For FVE_E_RAW_BLOCKED, success means more than the absence of a dialog. Confirm that the condition represented by FVE_E_RAW_BLOCKED now matches the intended design, that the protector inventory has not lost an independent recovery route, and that the next reboot or remount can unlock the volume. If the FVE_E_RAW_BLOCKED request advances to another HRESULT, record both values in order because that transition reveals the next unmet prerequisite.

References

Reference set for FVE_E_RAW_BLOCKED:

• Microsoft: BitLocker operations guide
• Microsoft: manage-bde status
• Microsoft: GetConversionStatus method
• Microsoft: GetLockStatus method

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