Encrypted system drive - problem with starting Windows 7

[Piotr Wionczyk]

Hi,
I used "encrypt system partition/drive" on my Dell E6430 with Windows 7. Drive was encrypted successfully, and everything worked perfectly.
After a few days, despite entering the correct password and empty "pim" windows does not start. Instead of it a screen appears like this:
https://imgur.com/a/SEJpW4r

Text translation:
"warning
windows recovery console
at this point, you will restore windows to the initial settings.
this operation will delete all information on the hard disk.
press the green button to confirm.
the red button will cancel the operation."

After pressing the red button, the computer starts again
In the command line after entering "c:" (encrypted drive) a message is displayed:
"The volume does not contain a recognized file system. Please make sure that all required file system drivers are loaded and that the volume is not corrupted."

I tried to use the recovery disc, but after decrypting the disk and changing the boot loader to original, the same error still occurs and the partition continues to have an unrecognized file system even after connecting disk to another computer.

I tried to mount volume in veracrypt on the second computer, but despite entering the correct password an error appears:
"Operation failed due to one or more of the following:
- Incorect password,
- Incorrect Volume PIM number
- Incorect PRF (hash)
- Not a valid volume
Source: MountVolume:8090"

Also the attempt to permanently decrypt the disk in the second computer failed and ended with the same error as above.

Please help me

[None no]

Did you try to mount this disk without preboot authentication in another computer BEFORE messing up with decryption?
Did you encrypt system partition or drive?
What does smart say about this disk? Show me...

One friend of mine had an issue which rendered his disk unusable because a virus destroyed plenty of data but you can have a simple hardware problem. I personaly had hdd failure but thanks of raid1 I only replaced the faulty disk. I had such situation 3 times in my life when 3 raid members in different computers just failed.

I have been using Truecrypt/Veracrypt everywhere from the beginning of time.

[Piotr Wionczyk]

Thanks for the answer.

Smart: https://imgur.com/a/BB1HD4A

I've been trying to fix this notebook for a few days and I do not remember now what I did first, decryption or mount in another computer :(
I encrypted system partition.

I tried to decrypt the partition probably three times already using the recovery cd. Each time it takes a few hours, it seems to be successful, but the computer does not start and shows the same error

[None no]

So you fucked the data if you didn't know what you were doing. VeraCrypt is like a replacement for hdd driver, not exactly, but it encrypts the data in the midle of the read/write operation.
If you had a volume header backup you were able to read data using a second computer.

[Enigma2Illusion]

I tried to decrypt the partition probably three times already using the recovery cd. Each time it takes a few hours, it seems to be successful, but the computer does not start and shows the same error.

By decrypting again and again using the Rescue Disk, you have in essence encrypted the drive twice with no way being able to undo the "decrypting".

There needs to be a warning message that repeated decryption of a successful or partially decrypted or failed decryption of the system drive using the Rescue Disk will result in being unable to recover the data.

[Piotr Wionczyk]

By decrypting again and again using the Rescue Disk, you have in essence encrypted the drive twice with no way being able to undo the "decrypting".

The "rescue disc" option was called "decrypt the system partition", not "encrypt" it. How could I know?
Anyway, even after a single decryption, I could not mount this partition on another computer, nor run the system on a notebook. only later, after several unsuccessful attempts to mount the partition did I try to decrypt again.

So there is no way to recover anything from this disk anymore?

[Enigma2Illusion]

So there is no way to recover anything from this disk anymore?

You can contact the developer and offer to pay for a one-off special Rescue Disk to "undo" the two extra decryptions you performed.

However, I am assuming that all three times you performed the decryption using the Rescue Disk that each time it finished with a successful message. If for some reason any of the three decryptions did not finish with a successful message, then some or all of the data is lost.

PS: You should include the link to this thread so Mounir can review the whole issue to determine if there is any chance of you recovering your data since Windows would not start after the first decryption.

If it is possible to "undo" the two extra decryptions, you will probably have to remove the system drive to put into another working computer as a secondary drive in an attempt to access and copy the data.

[None no]

No way to decrypt it. I think you lost your data. Next time get empty spare disk and play with VeraCrypt and learn what will happen if you do this or that. Just destroy empty OS several times until you understand.

[Piotr Wionczyk]

You know what, I think I was very careful. I first searched the internet, but I did not find a similar case. I used the rescue cd as described, but it did not help.
I do not know what I could do differently. It's hard to expect that even using a rescue cd, remembering the password, you can mess up something.
And why the disc did not decrypt himself after the first use of the rescue cd? Whole process ended correctly.

[None no]

Now you have experience. As I said destroy your windows several times and all will be good in the future. The most important procedure you must conduct is to prepare computer, bios settings, bios upgrade, erase sectors to all zeros, install fresh Windows from ISO, not from the manufacturer's recovery!!! I have been using FDE for 10+ years, from the first TC4.x which introduced FDE and I never had problems. I experienced only faulty disks but it was a RAID of some sort or I had a backup copy.

[None no]

Next time before you install a new Windows write 0xFF to all sectors and then write 0x00 to them again. You will be sure that each sector responds properly. Even if there is a faulty sector the hdd's firmware replaces it with spare sector upon zeroing it. This is ATA standard. Zeroing sectors will also remove all data even viruses which could sustain format.
Switch bios to legacy and install windows from the official Windows10 iso from Microsoft. Use MBR. Do not create shitty partitions if you don't need them. It doesn't help to create several partitions.
Backup volume header at the end and make backups of important data.

Of course you must prepare such hdd in the second computer. You will not clean/zero sectors / repair/recover/whatever in the same machine.

[Enigma2Illusion]

What version of VeraCrypt were you using on your PC?

Did you create new Rescue Disk after upgrading the VeraCrypt software? If not, what version of VeraCrypt were you using when you created the Rescue Disk?

Sometimes the Rescue Disk is unable to automatically restore the original Windows bootloader requiring you to restore the original Windows bootloader using the option on the Rescue Disk.

[Piotr Wionczyk]

Only 1.22. And I created a rescue cd just before encryption, so I used VeraCrypt 1.22