Using Manage-bde from WinPE to Pre-Provision BitLocker Drive Encryption

Q: To pre-provision BitLocker Drive Encryption (BDE) for a Windows 8 volume, I know that I can use the Manage-bde command-line utility from the Windows Preinstallation Environment (WinPE). Can I do this from a standard WinPE image?

A: No, it's not possible to use Manage-bde from a standard WinPE image because, by default, WinPE doesn't include Manage-bde and the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) objects it leverages. To create the custom WinPE image, you must add the WinPE-WMI and WinPE-SecureStartup optional components in the WinPE image. The following Microsoft articles describe how to add these components:

If you're unfamiliar with pre-provisioning BDE, see "New BitLocker Features Speed Up the Encryption Process in Windows 8."