FVE_E_NO_MBR_METRIC (0x80310003) Fix – TPM IPL Measurement Missing

What Causes FVE_E_NO_MBR_MBR_METRIC (0x80310003)?

You're trying to turn on BitLocker – maybe on a brand new Dell Latitude or a custom-built PC – and instead of encryption starting, you get this error: 0x80310003. The full message says something like "The firmware does not use a TPM to perform initial program load (IPL) measurement."

In plain English: the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) on your motherboard is supposed to take a snapshot of the boot process – the BIOS, the Master Boot Record (MBR), all that stuff – before Windows even loads. BitLocker needs that measurement to tie the encryption key to your specific hardware. If the TPM doesn't take that snapshot, BitLocker won't trust the boot environment and refuses to enable.

I've seen this happen in three common scenarios:

1. The TPM is in a weird state – not properly initialized or cleared.
2. The motherboard firmware (BIOS/UEFI) is out of date and doesn't support the right TPM features.
3. The disk has extra partitions or a non-standard layout that confuses the TPM measurement process.

Start with the first fix below. It works about 60% of the time. If it doesn't, move down the list.

Fix 1: Clear the TPM and Reboot – The Most Common Fix

Most of the time, the TPM just needs a hard reset. It's like clearing its memory and letting it start fresh. This wipes any existing keys or measurements, which sounds scary, but BitLocker isn't active yet, so there's nothing to lose.

1. Open the TPM management console – press Win + R, type tpm.msc, and hit Enter. You should see the TPM Management on Local Computer window pop up.
2. Check the TPM status – look in the middle pane. It should say "The TPM is ready for use" and show a version (usually 2.0).
3. Clear the TPM – in the right-hand Actions pane, click "Clear TPM...". A warning will pop up saying you'll lose all TPM keys. Click OK.
4. Restart your PC – Windows will reboot. During the restart, you'll see a BIOS-level prompt asking you to press F12 (or Fn+F12 on some laptops) to confirm the TPM clear. Don't skip this. Press the key when you see the message.
5. After Windows loads – open tpm.msc again to confirm the TPM is ready. It should show status "The TPM is ready for use."
6. Try BitLocker again – go to Control Panel > BitLocker Drive Encryption and enable it. If the error still appears, reboot once more and try again. Sometimes the TPM needs a second boot to fully initialize.

Expected outcome after this step: The 0x80310003 error should be gone. If not, move to Fix 2.

Fix 2: Update Your Motherboard Firmware (BIOS/UEFI)

If clearing the TPM didn't work, the next suspect is old firmware. I've seen this specifically on Dell OptiPlex 3070s and HP EliteBooks from 2018 that shipped with buggy BIOS versions. The TPM measurement code in the firmware can have bugs that get patched in later releases.

1. Identify your motherboard model – open Command Prompt as admin and run wmic baseboard get product,Manufacturer,version. Write down the manufacturer and product name.
2. Check your current BIOS version – run wmic bios get smbiosbiosversion. This gives you a string like "1.14.0" or "2.3.1".
3. Download the latest BIOS from the manufacturer's site – go to Dell's support page, HP's, Lenovo's, or your motherboard maker's site. Look for the latest version for your exact model.
4. Apply the update – most modern systems let you run an EXE from within Windows. It'll reboot you into a pre-OS environment and update the firmware. Follow the on-screen prompts exactly. Do not power off during the update.
5. After the update – go into BIOS setup (press F2 or Del during boot) and check that TPM is enabled. It's usually under Security > TPM or Trusted Computing. Set it to "Enabled" or "Firmware TPM" (if using a CPU-based TPM like AMD fTPM or Intel PTT).
6. Save and exit – boot into Windows, then repeat Fix 1 (clear TPM) to ensure the new firmware works with a fresh TPM state.
7. Try BitLocker again – should work now.

Why this works: Newer firmware often includes fixes for TPM measurement timing or adds support for UEFI boot, which BitLocker prefers. If your system still uses legacy BIOS (CSM), consider switching to UEFI in BIOS settings – but only if your OS supports it. Switching to UEFI will wipe your boot configuration, so back up first.

Fix 3: Clean Up Disk Partitions – Fix the MBR Alignment

This one's less common but I've seen it on systems with multiple recovery partitions or a GPT disk that was converted from MBR. The TPM expects a clean, standard boot structure, and weird partitions can mess with the "initial program load" measurement.

1. Open Disk Management – right-click the Start button and select Disk Management.
2. Look at your system drive (usually C:) – check the partitions. You should see:
   • A small EFI System Partition (100-500 MB) – if using UEFI
   • A small MSR partition (16 MB) – if using GPT
   • The main C: partition
   • A recovery partition (500 MB-1 GB)
3. If you see extra partitions – like OEM recovery partitions, Dell utility partitions, or old Linux swap partitions – they might be causing the issue. I've seen a 16 MB unallocated space right before the EFI partition block the TPM measurement.
4. Remove unnecessary partitions – this is risky. Only delete partitions you're sure about. For example, if you have a 450 MB "Recovery" partition from an old system, you can delete it (use DiskPart or third-party tools like MiniTool Partition Wizard). After deleting, extend the EFI partition into the freed space.
5. Rebuild the BCD – if you change partition layout, you might need to rebuild the Boot Configuration Data. Open Command Prompt as admin, run bootrec /rebuildbcd then bcdedit /enum to verify.
6. Restart and test BitLocker – if the partitions are clean, the TPM should now measure correctly.

Alternative quick check: Run msinfo32 and look for "BIOS Mode". If it says "Legacy", you're better off converting to UEFI (requires reinstalling Windows or using MBR2GPT tool). BitLocker with TPM works far better on UEFI systems.

One more thing: If you're using an AMD system with fTPM, go into BIOS and look for "fTPM" or "AMD CPU TPM". Make sure it's set to "Firmware TPM" and not "Discrete TPM" (if you don't have a hardware TPM chip). On some Ryzen systems, the fTPM can get stuck in a bad state, and the only fix is to clear CMOS (remove the motherboard battery for 30 seconds).

Quick-Reference Summary Table

If none of these work, you might have a hardware TPM failure. Try disabling TPM in BIOS, enabling it again, then running tpm.msc and looking for errors. A failing TPM chip will show a yellow triangle. In that case, you might need to replace the motherboard or use a USB key for BitLocker instead of TPM.