Couple of Questions re VeraCrypt

[glen pinn]

Hi everyone, i was using VeraCrypt for several months last year but i stopped using it as it was kind of confusing me, however i have decided to try using it again, but i need to ask a couple of questions if i can.

1. which Encryption Algorithm should i select to encrypt a 500gb volume on a 2tb hard drive, not sure which one i used to use.

2. can a volume or Disk that has been encrypted using VeraCrypt be mounted using a different Encryption software, or can it be accessed by any other means except to VeraCrypt.

3. If i encrypt a 500gb volume on a hard drive, or even encrypt a complete hard drive as a single volume, is it possible for File Recovery software to recover files that are stored within that encrypted volume, to me it would seem logical that those files can be recoverd as they are written to the hard drive itself, but just locked inside the encrypted volume.

Cheers, and thanks for your help.

[glen pinn]

Sorry i just tested number 3 above, i created a 500gb encrypted volume on an empty 2tb Hdd using a very strong password, i mounted it, placed 1gb of files inside, unmounted the volume.

I opened EaseUS Date Recovery Pro and did a full recovery of that drive, and the recovery detected the encrypted volume as a 500gb FILE not a folder, so i started the recovery process, and it has just completed recovering that encrypted volume to another hard drive that i selected.

Looks like if i have my important files inside that 500gb encrypted volume, if i was to have that hard drive stolen or lost, anyone who tries to get access to that encrypted volume will need to mount the volume using VeraCrypt and use the password that i used when encrypting that volume, so i am now happy to proceed with using that encrypted volume to store personal data in.