What does HRESULT 0x80310037 (FVE_E_FIPS_PREVENTS_RECOVERY_PASSWORD) mean?

Status / error code:

Category:

Constant name:

Source:

Facility:

Operating System:

Description:

The Group Policy setting requiring FIPS compliance prevents a local recovery password from being generated or used by BitLocker Drive Encryption. When operating in FIPS-compliant mode, BitLocker recovery options can be either a recovery key stored on a USB drive or recovery through a data recovery agent.

Previous	Next
FVE_E_FIPS_RNG_CHECK_FAILED	FVE_E_FIPS_PREVENTS_EXTERNAL_KEY_EXPORT

FVE_E_FIPS_PREVENTS_RECOVERY_PASSWORD

Read this as a state-machine result

FVE_E_FIPS_PREVENTS_RECOVERY_PASSWORD is a BitLocker facility HRESULT, not a Win32 filesystem error wrapped by an application. In this case effective FIPS policy blocks creation or use of the numerical recovery-password protector in the applicable Windows implementation.

Note: FIPS-restricted operation changes which protector, export and key-derivation paths BitLocker may use. When diagnosing this result, remember: The volume encryption algorithm and the protector workflow are separate layers, so a FIPS-related HRESULT should be traced to the exact protector or key-management call.

What the code does not prove

The closest misleading interpretation is a malformed 48-digit password or a missing recovery record, both of which occur after a numerical protector is allowed. 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

record effective System cryptography policy, existing protector types, Windows version, escrow requirements and the command that attempted to add or use the protector. Keep the full HRESULT and the first method that returned it because later cleanup calls can report a different state.
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 result failure and note the boot session, caller identity and management source; that evidence separates this BitLocker condition from a generic access or storage error.

Note: FIPS mode does not translate into “turn encryption off.” It constrains algorithms and key-handling paths, so the correct remedy is to select a permitted protector and escrow design.

A low-risk recovery path

choose a policy-compliant recovery method or change the approved policy centrally; do not repeatedly regenerate numerical passwords.
After correcting the result prerequisite, refresh protection, conversion and lock state before one controlled retry; a cached UI message is not proof that the condition is still active.
Before a this result 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 -protectors -get C:\ngpresult /h bitlocker-policy.html

Result Interpretation

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

State checks specific to the result

Checkpoint	How to interpret it for it
Before the call	Record the target identity and the pre-call FIPS-restricted key management state. The decisive boundary is that effective FIPS policy blocks creation or use of the numerical recovery-password protector in the applicable Windows implementation.
At failure	Preserve effective System cryptography policy, existing protector types, Windows version, escrow requirements and the command that attempted to add or use the protector. This proves whether it came from BitLocker itself or from a wrapper translating another result.
After correction	Choose a policy-compliant recovery method or change the approved policy centrally; do not repeatedly regenerate numerical passwords. The request should then advance without removing an unrelated recovery route.
After reboot or remount	Recheck protection, conversion and lock state for it; a successful management call is incomplete if the next boot cannot unlock the volume.

Verification after the change

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

References

Reference set for it:

Looking for a different code? Search another status or error code.