Encrypting a drive using TrueCrypt

Note: Set up on the 3 August 2009 using version 6.2a on Windows XP Professional SP3

Installing TrueCrypt and creating an encrypted space:

Tip: The TrueCrypt User Guide has an excellent beginner's tutorial, which clearly explains all of the settings and options available. This is in PDF format and can be viewed by selecting User's Guide from the Help tab once the program has been installed.

Steps 2-11 below are best used in conjunction with the Beginner's Tutorial.

Step 1:

Download TrueCrypt. TrueCrypt can be downloaded from the developer's website at www.truecrypt.org. Once downloaded, double-click the TrueCrypt Setup 6.2a.exe and follow the instructions. After the installation has completed, run the TrueCrypt application (usually from the start menu, or a shortcut on the desktop).

Step 2:

Click Create Volume from the application window.

Step 3:

Choose a volume creation wizard.

Note: I chose to Create an encrypted file container - this allows you to easily move, copy or back up the encrypted volume from Windows Explorer.

Step 4:

Choose the volume type.

Note: I chose a Standard TrueCrypt volume.

Step 5:

Choose the volume location.

Note: I left never save history checked, and then clicked Select File and browsed to the location where I wanted the volume to be created.

Step 6:

Choose a name for the volume.

Note: I named the file with the extension .tc, i.e. myvolume.tc, for easy reference.

Step 7:

Click Next.

Step 8:

Select the encryption options.

Note: I chose the default settings of AES.

Step 9:

Choose a volume size.

Note:

System file types:

The maximum size for a file on a FAT32 system is 4GB. If a larger volume is needed the partition must first be formatted to NTFS.

To check the file system of the drive, go to Start > Run, type compmgmt.msc and click OK. Under Storage, click Disk Management, and all drives should be listed along with their file system.

Microsoft explains how to format a basic volume. Please note this will delete all the data on the volume.

External drives:

When specifying a volume size, I left some spare disk space on the drive, so that later I could add the TrueCrypt.exe and truecrypt.sys files. This allows you to remove the drive and access the encrypted data on another PC (admin privileges permitting) without having to install TrueCrypt. It also allows you to store other files on the drive which do not need to be encrypted.

Step 10:

Type a strong password.

Step 11:

Format the volume.

Note: As suggested, make sure you randomly move your mouse pointer within the wizard for at least thirty seconds to create a strong encryption key

After you click Format, TrueCrypt will begin to create a file as specified in Step 6. Depending on the size of the container being encrypted this may take some time.

Once this has finished, the volume is encrypted and ready for use.

To access the encrypted data, the volume needs to be mounted. This can be done from within the TrueCrypt application or by creating a batch file, which will automate much of the process.

Mounting the Volume for use

Option 1: Mounting the Volume via the TrueCrypt application:

Run TrueCrypt
Select a drive letter
Click Select File, and browse to the encrypted file
Click Mount You will be prompted to enter the password to access the encrypted volume.

The encrypted space should now be accessible from Windows Explorer as a mounted drive using the drive letter selected previously.

Option 2: Mounting the Volume via a batch file:

This is useful for automating many of the steps needed when using the TrueCrypt application, and is my preferred method.

First, copy the required TrueCrypt files to the top level of the drive:

truecrypt.sys is a system file for 32-bit systems
truecrypt-x64.sys is a system file for 64-bit systems
TrueCrypt.exe is required to mount the virtual drive
TrueCrypt Format.exe is only required if you want to create a new volume (virtual drive)
A Configuration.xml file will be created after you first run TrueCrypt - this will store any custom settings

Next create the batch file, as below, to mount or dismount the volume. The file can be created in notepad but should be saved as a .bat extension, not .txt.

Hard Disk Drive Mount Example:

Create a new file in a text editor (i.e. open Notepad)
Insert the following text into the file:

TrueCrypt /v myvolume.tc /lx /a /e /q
Save the file as mount-x.bat

USB Mount Example:

Create a new file in a text editor (i.e. open Notepad)
Insert the following text into the file:

TrueCrypt /v myvolume.tc /lx /m rm /a /e /q
Save the file as mount-x.bat

Dismount Example:

Create a new file in a text editor (i.e. open Notepad)
Insert the following text into the file:

TrueCrypt /q /dx
Save the file as dismount-x.bat

The above examples are where:

TrueCrypt: runs the TrueCrypt.exe application
/v myvolume.tc: finds the encrypted volume
/lx: mounts the volume to drive 'x' (any drive letter not in use can be specified)
/a: is implicit if /v is specified
/e: opens an Explorer window after mount
/q: stops the main TrueCrypt window from being opened
/m rm: mounts the volume as a removable medium (required for USB)
/dx: dismounts the drive specified – 'x' in this case (if left blank all encrypted drives are dismounted)

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