Truecrypt problem, please help if you can.

I have a problem getting a Truecrypt encrypted drive back after reinstalling the operating system and was wondering if anybody knew a way to get it back as it has some photos on it that are not backed up.

Here's what happened:

I had a single partition that was encrypted using Truecrypt. I then repartitioned the drive to give me 2 partitions. I then transferred some data to the second partition.

I then reinstalled the operating system (windows 7) on the first partition (with the format option). But did not format the second partition.

After booting up the new OS I no longer get the Truecrypt boot screen and I can’t see the second partition in windows explorer. However it is there when viewing the drive in the windows disk management tool (says drive type unallocated). I have tried accessing it using Truecypt but it doesn’t recognise it.

Is there a way to get the encrypted partition back or im i stuffed. I know the encryption password but I don’t have a rescue disk. Ive had a quick play with winhex but not having much joy.

Any help would be much appreciated.

 

Wow, this is a bad one! You've committed a whole series of "data-wrecking" mistakes, so don't get your hopes up. I'm surprised that you thought it would be ok to make those types of changes to an encrypted partition.

But ok, please answer the following questions and I will try to puzzle it out:

1. I assume that we're talking about an encrypted OS, right? Not merely an encrypted partition on a data disk?

2. If so, when you originally set things up, are you sure that you encrypted only the system partition, or did you actually encrypt the entire system drive? (If you encrypted the entire system drive, and then repartitioned it, then the second partition would contain encrypted data that can only be decrypted using the system encryption key).

3. Is the data that you transferred to the second partition the data that you are trying to recover?

4. How much data?

5. You really need that rescue disk. Are you sure that you don't have it? And if not, then do you have any backup images of the encrypted OS that were made before you reinstalled Windows 7?

Since you don't have the rescue disk, your only hope is that the 512-byte system volume header might still exist on the drive (usually in Sector 62). However, it might have been overwritten when you reinstalled Windows 7. We can check to see if it's still there, but I'd rather hear your answers to the above questions before I suggest a course of action.

 

Hi,

1. Im not 100% sure but i think the whole system was encrypted. At the time it was only a single partition containing the OS.

2. As there was only a single partition on the drive at the time, then I assume that the whole system was encrypted. It was only after the drive was encryted then i repartitioned (using windows disk manager!). I now realise this was mistake number 1.

3. Yes

4. The second partition was about 20Gb but was not full. I think from memory I transferred about 10Gb to it.

5. That’s a no, and no. I definitely don’t have a backup of the drive and im 95% sure ive lost the recuse disk, but im still looking.

Its soundings like bad news from what you have said, but thanks for helping!

 

I'm too busy to respond right now, sorry. I'll try to catch up later.

 

ok, no problem. whenever your free your help is appreciated.

Thanks