truecrypt - stuck between decoy and hidden os

[aceraspire99]

Hi I just recently finished encrypting the hidden os on my second partition (155 gb) and was supposed to install windows 7 on my decoy system, which was the original C drive (129 gb). But I have miserably failed to install windows 7 with the error 0x80070241 each time. Since my laptop has no cd drive I had to mount the windows 7 iso with virtual devices and I also tried using a usb bootable but no success same error.

Now I am stuck in my hidden os system and can't find a way to access the C drive, and I can't decrypt the hidden os or format the drive so what can I do to at least remove the hidden system and try again, or find a way to install windows 7 on the decoy partition? I also have no rescue disk, but I have the password to the hidden os and can access it.

My laptop info is the following :-
Windows 7 SP 1 2009 64 bit Home Premium ( I used the X17-58997 and downloaded it twice)

Any suggestions to solve this issue would be greatly appreciated, I've already spent 3 days learning how to encrypt correctly and now that this has happened I don't know what to do exactly, I guess getting an external hard drive would be one of the next steps?

[JConLine]

I don't know if GParted will work but have you tried to delete your partitions with GParted? If not you could download an .iso image of GParted then burn it to a usb drive from which you can boot to Linux (GParted is Linux) and then delete your partitions.

Good luck,

Jim

[PaulyDefran]

1. No Rescue.iso is bad. Didn't it make you create at least the .iso file for burning later? What'd you do with it?

2. You can't boot it without the Rescue.iso, but you should be able to access either the outer, decoy section, or the hidden OS section, by sticking it in a caddy and using TC (either installed or Portable) from another machine.

3. I have no idea why you can't install Windows again, on the first partition that TC wiped after cloning your original install to the hidden partition. It should be a blank partition. Hard drive problem? Memory problem? You'll have to diagnose it.

4. You should very easily be able to wipe the drive with any free partition tool. TC doesn't 'protect' anything. The only thing you might have to do on a 'normal' working install after a wipe, (and not removing pre boot authentication with TC beforehand) would be fixboot or fixmbr after wiping a TC install, to get rid of the bootloader. But that isn't your case here.

PD