Sometimes, you might notice a yellow exclamation mark on one of your hard drives in File Explorer. This warning icon can be alarming, but the good news is—it’s often easy to fix.
This issue typically relates to BitLocker Drive Encryption. Even if you’re not using BitLocker intentionally, Windows may have partially enabled it, which triggers the warning. Here’s a quick command-line fix to remove that annoying yellow exclamation mark.
✅ Fix Yellow Exclamation Mark with CMD
Follow the steps below:
- Open Command Prompt as Administrator
- Press
Win + X, then choose Command Prompt (Admin) or Windows Terminal (Admin).
- Press
- Type the following command:
manage-bde <Drive Letter>: -off - 🔧 Replace
<Drive Letter>with the actual letter of the affected drive. For example, if the warning is on drive D, type:manage-bde D: -off - Press Enter.
- Wait a few seconds and refresh File Explorer.
The yellow warning mark should now be gone.
📝 Notes:
- This command turns off BitLocker if it’s been enabled or partially initialized.
- Make sure to run the command with administrator privileges.
- No data will be deleted or modified—this is a safe fix for most cases.
If the yellow mark still doesn’t disappear, try restarting your PC once, or check if BitLocker is fully disabled in the Control Panel > BitLocker Drive Encryption.
