HRESULT 0x803100B2 (FVE_E_EDRIVE_INCOMPATIBLE

Status / error code:

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Constant name:

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Operating System:

Description:

The drive specified does not support hardware-based encryption.

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FVE_E_EDRIVE_DISALLOWED_BY_GP	FVE_E_NOT_ALLOWED_TO_UPGRADE_WHILE_CONVERTING

FVE_E_EDRIVE_INCOMPATIBLE_VOLUME

What BitLocker has already established

At HRESULT 0x803100B2, BitLocker has determined that the selected volume layout or drive capability cannot participate in Windows encrypted-drive hardware encryption. The FVE_E_EDRIVE_INCOMPATIBLE_VOLUME code does not by itself say that the volume master key is lost or that user data is corrupt.

Operational boundary: hardware-encrypted drive negotiation.

For FVE_E_EDRIVE_INCOMPATIBLE_VOLUME, note: Hardware-encrypted drives add firmware, storage-driver and drive-security state below the normal BitLocker volume provider. When diagnosing FVE_E_EDRIVE_INCOMPATIBLE_VOLUME, remember: BitLocker can reject the hardware path before conversion starts, and policy may or may not permit a fallback to software encryption. For FVE_E_EDRIVE_INCOMPATIBLE_VOLUME, note: If policy permits software fallback, verify the final method explicitly. When diagnosing FVE_E_EDRIVE_INCOMPATIBLE_VOLUME, remember: A failed hardware dry run can otherwise leave an administrator assuming protection that never started.

Data to preserve before changing state

For FVE_E_EDRIVE_INCOMPATIBLE_VOLUME, record drive protocol/capability, volume layout, partitioning, firmware, storage driver and GetHardwareEncryptionStatus result. For FVE_E_EDRIVE_INCOMPATIBLE_VOLUME, keep the full HRESULT and the first method that returned it because later cleanup calls can report a different state.
For FVE_E_EDRIVE_INCOMPATIBLE_VOLUME, 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.
Export BitLocker operational events for the FVE_E_EDRIVE_INCOMPATIBLE_VOLUME failure and note the boot session, caller identity and management source; that evidence separates this BitLocker condition from a generic access or storage error.

Related state to rule out

Do not merge this incident with FVE_E_KEY_LENGTH_NOT_SUPPORTED_BY_EDRIVE, where the device is otherwise considered but rejects a specific key size. If both appear with FVE_E_EDRIVE_INCOMPATIBLE_VOLUME in one trace, preserve ordering because the first HRESULT normally identifies the prerequisite that caused later cleanup or fallback messages.

How to retest without losing evidence

Use software encryption unless the exact hardware and layout can be brought into a documented compatible configuration.

After correcting the FVE_E_EDRIVE_INCOMPATIBLE_VOLUME prerequisite, refresh protection, conversion and lock state before one controlled retry; a cached UI message is not proof that the FVE_E_EDRIVE_INCOMPATIBLE_VOLUME condition is still active.
Before a FVE_E_EDRIVE_INCOMPATIBLE_VOLUME 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-CimInstance -Namespace root/cimv2/security/MicrosoftVolumeEncryption -Class Win32_EncryptableVolume"

For FVE_E_EDRIVE_INCOMPATIBLE_VOLUME, diagnosis should be driven by the target object, effective policy and captured state snapshot rather than by a generic remediation applied to every BitLocker error.

State checks specific to FVE_E_EDRIVE_INCOMPATIBLE_VOLUME

Checkpoint	How to interpret it for FVE_E_EDRIVE_INCOMPATIBLE_VOLUME
Before the call	Record the target identity and the pre-call hardware-encrypted drive negotiation state. For FVE_E_EDRIVE_INCOMPATIBLE_VOLUME, the decisive boundary is that the selected volume layout or drive capability cannot participate in Windows encrypted-drive hardware encryption.
At failure	Preserve drive protocol/capability, volume layout, partitioning, firmware, storage driver and GetHardwareEncryptionStatus result. This proves whether FVE_E_EDRIVE_INCOMPATIBLE_VOLUME came from BitLocker itself or from a wrapper translating another result.
After correction	Use software encryption unless the exact hardware and layout can be brought into a documented compatible configuration. The FVE_E_EDRIVE_INCOMPATIBLE_VOLUME request should then advance without removing an unrelated recovery route.
After reboot or remount	Recheck protection, conversion and lock state for FVE_E_EDRIVE_INCOMPATIBLE_VOLUME; a successful management call is incomplete if the next boot cannot unlock the volume.

Verification after the change

For FVE_E_EDRIVE_INCOMPATIBLE_VOLUME, success means more than the absence of a dialog. Confirm that the condition represented by FVE_E_EDRIVE_INCOMPATIBLE_VOLUME 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_EDRIVE_INCOMPATIBLE_VOLUME request advances to another HRESULT, record both values in order because that transition reveals the next unmet prerequisite.

Microsoft references

Reference set for FVE_E_EDRIVE_INCOMPATIBLE_VOLUME:

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