What does HRESULT 0x803100C0 (FVE_E_PROTECTOR_CHANGE_MAX_PASSPHRASE_CHANGE_ATTEMPTS_REACHED) mean?

Status / error code:

Category:

Constant name:

Source:

Facility:

Operating System:

Description:

BitLocker has disabled password changes after too many failed requests. Click the link to reset the password as an administrator.

Previous	Next
FVE_E_EDRIVE_INCOMPATIBLE_FIRMWARE	FVE_E_PASSPHRASE_PROTECTOR_CHANGE_BY_STD_USER_DISALLOWED

FVE_E_PROTECTOR_CHANGE_MAX_PASSPHRASE_CHANGE_ATTEMPTS_REACHED

What BitLocker has already established

At HRESULT 0x803100C0, BitLocker has determined that BitLocker has throttled password changes after too many failed current-password submissions. The FVE_E_PROTECTOR_CHANGE_MAX_PASSPHRASE_CHANGE_ATTEMPTS_REACHED code does not by itself say that the volume master key is lost or that user data is corrupt.

Operational boundary: key-protector lifecycle.

For FVE_E_PROTECTOR_CHANGE_MAX_PASSPHRASE_CHANGE_ATTEMPTS_REACHED, note: A BitLocker key protector wraps access to the volume master key. When diagnosing FVE_E_PROTECTOR_CHANGE_MAX_PASSPHRASE_CHANGE_ATTEMPTS_REACHED, remember: TPM, TPM+PIN, startup key, recovery password, password, certificate and Network Unlock protectors have different volume and policy rules; changing one is not the same as decrypting the volume. For FVE_E_PROTECTOR_CHANGE_MAX_PASSPHRASE_CHANGE_ATTEMPTS_REACHED, note: Protector inventory should be treated like a set of independent unlock routes. When diagnosing FVE_E_PROTECTOR_CHANGE_MAX_PASSPHRASE_CHANGE_ATTEMPTS_REACHED, remember: Record protector GUID and type; the presence of a recovery password does not prove that the PIN/password protector being changed exists.

Data to preserve before changing state

For FVE_E_PROTECTOR_CHANGE_MAX_PASSPHRASE_CHANGE_ATTEMPTS_REACHED, record change-attempt events, protector GUID, caller and automation history, timing and whether a stale credential is cached. For FVE_E_PROTECTOR_CHANGE_MAX_PASSPHRASE_CHANGE_ATTEMPTS_REACHED, keep the full HRESULT and the first method that returned it because later cleanup calls can report a different state.
For FVE_E_PROTECTOR_CHANGE_MAX_PASSPHRASE_CHANGE_ATTEMPTS_REACHED, 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_PROTECTOR_CHANGE_MAX_PASSPHRASE_CHANGE_ATTEMPTS_REACHED 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 a device lockout caused by repeated sign-in or preboot attempts; this counter belongs to protector maintenance. If both appear with FVE_E_PROTECTOR_CHANGE_MAX_PASSPHRASE_CHANGE_ATTEMPTS_REACHED 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

Stop retries, use an authorized administrator reset path, and correct the script or UI that repeats the old password.

After correcting the FVE_E_PROTECTOR_CHANGE_MAX_PASSPHRASE_CHANGE_ATTEMPTS_REACHED prerequisite, refresh protection, conversion and lock state before one controlled retry; a cached UI message is not proof that the FVE_E_PROTECTOR_CHANGE_MAX_PASSPHRASE_CHANGE_ATTEMPTS_REACHED condition is still active.
Before a FVE_E_PROTECTOR_CHANGE_MAX_PASSPHRASE_CHANGE_ATTEMPTS_REACHED 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:\npowershell -NoProfile -Command "Get-BitLockerVolume C: | Format-List KeyProtector,ProtectionStatus,VolumeStatus"

For FVE_E_PROTECTOR_CHANGE_MAX_PASSPHRASE_CHANGE_ATTEMPTS_REACHED, 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_PROTECTOR_CHANGE_MAX_PASSPHRASE_CHANGE_ATTEMPTS_REACHED

Checkpoint	How to interpret it for FVE_E_PROTECTOR_CHANGE_MAX_PASSPHRASE_CHANGE_ATTEMPTS_REACHED
Before the call	Record the target identity and the pre-call key-protector lifecycle state. For FVE_E_PROTECTOR_CHANGE_MAX_PASSPHRASE_CHANGE_ATTEMPTS_REACHED, the decisive boundary is that BitLocker has throttled password changes after too many failed current-password submissions.
At failure	Preserve change-attempt events, protector GUID, caller and automation history, timing and whether a stale credential is cached. This proves whether FVE_E_PROTECTOR_CHANGE_MAX_PASSPHRASE_CHANGE_ATTEMPTS_REACHED came from BitLocker itself or from a wrapper translating another result.
After correction	Stop retries, use an authorized administrator reset path, and correct the script or UI that repeats the old password. The FVE_E_PROTECTOR_CHANGE_MAX_PASSPHRASE_CHANGE_ATTEMPTS_REACHED request should then advance without removing an unrelated recovery route.
After reboot or remount	Recheck protection, conversion and lock state for FVE_E_PROTECTOR_CHANGE_MAX_PASSPHRASE_CHANGE_ATTEMPTS_REACHED; a successful management call is incomplete if the next boot cannot unlock the volume.

Verification after the change

For FVE_E_PROTECTOR_CHANGE_MAX_PASSPHRASE_CHANGE_ATTEMPTS_REACHED, success means more than the absence of a dialog. Confirm that the condition represented by FVE_E_PROTECTOR_CHANGE_MAX_PASSPHRASE_CHANGE_ATTEMPTS_REACHED 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_PROTECTOR_CHANGE_MAX_PASSPHRASE_CHANGE_ATTEMPTS_REACHED 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_PROTECTOR_CHANGE_MAX_PASSPHRASE_CHANGE_ATTEMPTS_REACHED:

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