What does HRESULT 0x80310082 (FVE_E_RECOVERY_PARTITION) mean?

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This drive cannot be encrypted because it is reserved for Windows System Recovery Options.

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FVE_E_RECOVERY_PARTITION

The exact BitLocker boundary

FVE_E_RECOVERY_PARTITION (0x80310082) identifies the point where the selected partition is reserved for Windows recovery and is excluded from BitLocker encryption as a normal data volume. Note: The BitLocker provider tracks encryption conversion, protection, lock state, metadata version, filesystem geometry and outstanding volume use independently. When diagnosing this result, remember: Two volumes can both appear “encrypted” in a UI while being in very different states for a management API.

Note: Use the volume GUID and current storage topology as the stable identity. When diagnosing this result, remember: Drive letters, mount points and cluster paths are presentation details and can point to the wrong object during recovery.

Do not confuse it with a nearby failure

Keep this separate from an unmounted user data volume or the system partition; recovery-partition identity comes from layout and role metadata. That distinction determines whether the next check belongs to policy, protector inventory, volume geometry, firmware, account escrow or the calling application's buffer contract.

Evidence that distinguishes the condition

record partition type GUID, WinRE registration, reagentc output, volume label and the device identifier passed to BitLocker. 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.

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

Safe corrective sequence

target the intended OS or data volume and leave the registered recovery partition unchanged unless performing a supported WinRE redesign.
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.

The boundary above identifies which BitLocker state must change before a retry can be meaningful; repeating the call without changing that state only adds noise.

Confirm the partition role through WinRE registration

A recovery partition commonly has no drive letter and uses a dedicated GPT type, but those clues alone are not sufficient. Compare the partition identifier with reagentc /info, the current WinRE location and the deployment layout. Selecting the wrong small partition can produce this result even when the intended data volume is eligible.

Leave the registered recovery partition outside ordinary data-volume encryption. If the recovery layout must change, disable and re-register WinRE through a documented deployment procedure before resizing or replacing partitions.

State checks specific to it

Checkpoint	How to interpret it for it
Before the call	Record the target identity and the pre-call volume state and geometry state. The decisive boundary is that the selected partition is reserved for Windows recovery and is excluded from BitLocker encryption as a normal data volume.
At failure	Preserve partition type GUID, WinRE registration, reagentc output, volume label and the device identifier passed to BitLocker. This proves whether it came from BitLocker itself or from a wrapper translating another result.
After correction	Target the intended OS or data volume and leave the registered recovery partition unchanged unless performing a supported WinRE redesign. 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

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