TrueCrypt forum down for over a day..so far

Discussion in 'privacy general' started by KookyMan, Aug 14, 2008.

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  1. DavidXanatos

    DavidXanatos Developer

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    How does it look with the rebel board?
    Anyone willing to do the admin part?
    I could spend some webspace witn DB and stuff...
     
  2. Philchenevert

    Philchenevert Registered Member

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    TrueCrypt Forum down: where can I get help?

    :oops: With the TC forum down is there any suggestion of where I can go to get help?

    My 40GB enctypted external HD suddenly can't be opened and all kind of wierd things are happening to it. (Like it shows as drive G, and can be opened)

    3 emails to the folks at TC have produced no answer, so........
     
  3. KookyMan

    KookyMan Registered Member

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    Encrypted External HD, now showing with drive letter of G.

    Does it ask to be formatted? Did you encrypt the entire device? If yes, it sounds like you initialized the drive, which damaged the header information.

    If that's what you did, was it created using v6 or v5? If v6, if you try to access it three times it should use the backup headers. If v5(or earlier) then you'll need to restore the backup headers you have made (you did make them, didn't you?) to be able to access the container.

    If the above doesn't help, more information please.
     
  4. Philchenevert

    Philchenevert Registered Member

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    :D Kookie Man! Thank you thank you. Yes,I did indeed encrypt the entire drive 'cuse I thought it would be the safest thing to do and do not remember anything about making a Rescue Disk.

    I followed your advice and when I tried to mount it the fourth time, it APPEARED!
    or at least it showed up in it's usual place, which is
    Drive S: Device\Harddisk2\partition 0 37.3GB.

    (I haven't had the nerve to actually open it up to see what is in there yet)

    When trying to use tools to Restore Volume Header, the program wants me to dismount it before this can be done. Frankly I'm kinda afraid to dismount it because it may never come back but will do it anyway.

    If it does indeen open normally now, can I make a Rescue Disk?

    THANK YOU AGAIN!
     
  5. Philchenevert

    Philchenevert Registered Member

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    Re: TrueCrypt HD cannot be opened

    :( Oh Poop! (contining to try fixes for my TrueCrypt HD that does not open)

    I ran the Restore Volume Header; Dismounted; then Auto Mount Devices.
    My encrypted external HD does appear as drive V: Device\hardisk\partition 0 37.3GB, AES, and normal
    and looked normal but an error message popped up from Windows Explorer saying that "the file type cannot be read".

    in explorer, clicking on the V drive brings up the message: Drive is not formatted: do you want to format it now?

    Background data: I am running XP, sp2 on a Compaq that is about 2 years old.
    -installed TrueCrypt 6.0a about 9 weeks ago;
    -trial volumes on my internal HD worked fine then I encrypted my entire SeaGate 40GB external drive and accessed it repeatedly over a period of a month with no problem; I use the Auto-Mount Devices button to mount.
    -downloaded TrueCrypt on my laptop, plugged in my encrypted extenal HD via USB and tried to mount it.
    -that is when it went kapluueeee (technical term) and mounted it in drive G or H, and I could only see gibberish. tsk.
     
    Last edited: Aug 29, 2008
  6. KookyMan

    KookyMan Registered Member

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    When you plugged it into the laptop, Windows took the opportunity to look at the disk, and seeing only random data (like it should) it assumed that it was a new drive an initialized it. This damaged the leading headers, which caused your problem. Restoring the headers basically made the drive look brand new / uninitialized again, so now there's a little battle being waged between Windows hating unformatted/uninitialized disks so wanting to initialize them all, and TC keeping the drive as it wants it.

    Whatever you do, don't format it, or you'll wipe data.

    If your going to continue moving the drive back and forth, I would suggest making a new container on your desktop (or laptop) of equal or larger size than your USB's container, transfer all the data out of the USB Drive. Once that is done, let Windows initialize the disk, but do not format it. Now use TC to encrypt the partition. (not the whole device.) Once you do, you can transfer the data back to the USB.

    The result will be the disk can be initialized, so Windows will be happy and not damage the headers so readily. Just remove the drive letter in Disk Manager assigned to it. Just remember to never format the disk, or let anyone else format it.

    Oh, and after you have the drive mounted in TrueCrypt, the drive letter that TC is using is appearing as unformatted? or is Windows saying the USB Drive is unformatted before you mount the container?
     
  7. Philchenevert

    Philchenevert Registered Member

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    KookyMan. First of all thank you for your patience and time in helping me. You are a gentleman and a scholar indeed.

    Next. now I know what happened. ! It wasn't just bad karma.

    OK: 1) I did not format the TC drive so at least I did that right. (yea)
    2) I have a large external HD, can I use that to transfer my 'lost' data to instead of my desktop? There isn't enough room for 35GB anywhere else.
    3) (BIG QUESTION) How can I transfer the data out of my encrypted drive when, clicking on Removeable Disk V in windows explorer, the only option I get is to format it or not? and it shows in TC as mounted.
    4) Explorer does not say it is unformated before I mount the volume, it doesn't even see it.

    5) I don't plan to ever plug it into my laptop again. <G>
     
  8. KookyMan

    KookyMan Registered Member

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    If you mount the container to V:, and V: is coming back as unformatted, then you have some damage.

    From here you'll need to try some data recovery techniques, but this is where my expertise wanes, so I'll let someone with more knowledge step in.

    Also, it doesn't matter where you put the data, HD, external, laptop, the key is you need to move it somewhere so that you can create a new container.
     
  9. Philchenevert

    Philchenevert Registered Member

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    Thanks KookyMan,

    your expertise has helped me tremendously. This episode has at least forced me to read every last word of the TrueCrypt documentation and learn many things about initialization, encrypted backup and headers and stuff. I will start looking for data recovery information today. Who knows, I might get some of it back!

    As a side note, doesn't it seem odd that TrueCrypt would be so fragile that simply plugging an encrypted drive into another computer would cause the leading headers to be bent completely out of shape and the data lost in never never land? Apparently the backup headers were also damaged because restoring to them does not work either.

    I'm an amateur of course (a 'user') but saw no warning about this possibility and indeed used the 'traveling' option since I intended to bring my little encrypted drive around with me on trips. Now I have a nice paperweight.

    On the other hand, I can certainly sleep comfortably knowing that no one will EVER be able to read that 30GB of sensitive, unique data. :doubt: Including me. <G>
     
  10. KookyMan

    KookyMan Registered Member

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    I wouldn't call TC fragile. But thats just me. If you think of it like a safe, all you basically did was damage the tumblers. (the header) TC doesn't protect a drive at all, its not designed to prevent writing. Also, if the backup headers were damaged, you would never be able to mount the container. And imagine not having the built in backup headers.. Prior to v6, you had to manually make backups, and a good number of people never thought they needed to do backups.

    If you do the drive initialization first, then partition and encrypt you won't have to worry about that problem. Then again, you don't have to worry if you always answer "No" when windows wants to initialize the drive.

    Oh well, best of luck to you. Btw, remember to run any recovery software on the mounted drive, not the drive letter assigned by windows to the physical drive or you will recover nothing.
     
  11. jketzetera

    jketzetera Registered Member

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    Are you sure that this is the reason for his header corruption? I cannot remember that any version of Windows (2000, XP, Vista) auto-initializes a hard drive without user intervention. Granted, my Vista experience is limited but under 2000 and XP, you always have to go into disk management first and then either initialize a new drive manually or click NEXT and then OK in an automatic prompt.

    I just moved a truecrypt encrypted drive (encrypted volume within a non-system device) to a new computer (Windows XP) and the drive does indeed turn-up as un-initialized when I go into disk management. When I enter disk management Windows also kindly offers to initialize the disk but I respectfully decline. However, how can one initialize a disk in windows without going into disk management?

    Given that his backup volume header seems not to have fixed things, his problems could have another reason.
     
  12. KookyMan

    KookyMan Registered Member

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    It's possible theres something else at play. But I've also come to realize, and this is no slight against any user or the OP, but people have been indoctrinated by MS into simply hitting "next" when it appears without reading the screen in a lot of cases. Those of us who are technologically aware take a moment to skim the screen to see what is going on are aware but a significant number of people don't even do that.

    A wonderful example of this is when TC 6.0 was released, a new option was added to the installer to disable the windows pagefile, and it was checked by default. After 6.0 started getting widespread, the forums started getting tons of posts complaining about all the memory errors that users were running into (out of memory) after installing TC6 and everyone thought TC was screwing up first, then when people realized the pagefile was disabled, people started screaming that TC "silently" disabled the pagefile without warning, even though it is a clearly stated in the installer. Obviously it wasn't done "secretly" but people claim they never saw it was going to happen.

    I've heard of Windows trying to initialize newly detected disks without being in Disk Manager, but I don't use externals so I've never seen it first hand.
     
  13. DavidXanatos

    DavidXanatos Developer

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    From my expirience under 2k and xp you indeed need disk management in order to scre up your disks.
     
  14. Philchenevert

    Philchenevert Registered Member

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    Re: My Data is Unreadable

    Yeah, It's me again. Gustav knocked out my 'lectricity for a week and we are extremely grateful to have air condition and a working refrigerator and coffee pot, but here I am with the same problem looking for a solution:

    My external drive mounts but windows says "can't read this file type" and then asks politely if I wish to format the drive. :rolleyes: I just as politely decline.

    So TRUECrypt does see the drive and does accept the password and does mount it but after that nothing is accessible. BTW, I've had no luck on free or professional data recovery yet because of the storm.
     
  15. KookyMan

    KookyMan Registered Member

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    Well, The TC Forums are back up.

    It appears at first glance that they have been pruning the database removing all posts that appear to be against the new rules.

    #9 is slightly modified from my first posting earlier in this thread, which now covers addons that DO use TrueCrypt, (I'm assuming specifically TCTemp and TCGina which were two addons previously supported by the TC Dev's. Basically they've incorporated most of the functionality into TC "Proper" and its now forbidden to even mention the origin of the functionality.

    #10 is brand new (the former #10 got rolled into #7). Wow. I guess it does make sense as an extension to #9.

    DavidXantos - I spoke with Racoon about the "rebel" board, to see what he thought. I told him like I saw it, first the users are getting screwed by TC, now he is. We really don't even need a board at this point, just try to get people over here... Its a better/wider scope board anyways.

    I'm thinking though that unless the TC Dev's get their head out of their butts, they are going to effectively kill TC. Its a great program, but some of the bugs lately combined with going ape!$#@ on their community = driving off the community.
     
  16. DavidXanatos

    DavidXanatos Developer

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    Will there be a TC section created here or shell TC topics be discussed in "Privacy Related Topics" ?
     
  17. KookyMan

    KookyMan Registered Member

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    Probably just here. The only "sections" are the official help forums (ie: ESET doesn't have their own, they host them here).

    We'll find out what happens, I just posted an invite to everyone on the TC forums to come here.

    Racoon has joined us as well. (He wrote TCTemp and TCGina)
     
  18. Carver

    Carver Registered Member

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    I am amazed the thread at truecrypt forums hasn't been deleted yet.
     
  19. SpaceX

    SpaceX Registered Member

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    Hi Carver,

    Are you maybe talking about mine? It has now been deleted. No dissent is apparently the new rule of the times with the TCF.
     
  20. Carver

    Carver Registered Member

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    Yes I was as for being a dissident the Truecrypt forum admins who concocted those rules provided good reason to people to dissent. I also posted in the thread to point out this wasn't the first time this type of forum outtage has happened.
     
  21. KookyMan

    KookyMan Registered Member

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    Theres another complaint thread on the forum.. I've almost stopped posting, I just go to see whats posted.

    Lets see how long this one lasts.. If the pm system was still up I'd start im'ing people to join us.

    Oh look, I'm editing my post.. isn't this just so EVIL!!

    There is a post still that points at Wilders over there, that made it back to the top of the posts...It was a "where to find Justin" post.

    --
    I just was going to add a reply to the current rant thread over there, an they've added a threat (yea.. that's good for communities, threats). The thread has been locked (not deleted) and if you try and add a reply it says:
    I am really getting tempted to send an email to each of the Dev's, politely, explaining to them that with that attitude going on in the forums, its going to drive the community away. I know some people are going to stop recommending TC because there isn't really any good place to get help anymore. At least not officially. Granted that might not mean much to them considering they don't make money on each install, but it is going to definitely impact the general contributions.
     
    Last edited: Sep 12, 2008
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