Veracrypt and Acronis True Image Issue
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I use Acronis True Image (ATI) to backup my Windows 10 Veracrypt fully encrypted Windows 10 system drive. I do the backup from within a runing Windows 10 system and backup to a normal unencrypted external drive. If I restore this backup from the external drive it's now totally unencrypted but will not boot because it still contains the Veracrypt boot loader which expects to see an encrypted drive. I need a simply way to restore the original normal Windows 10 bootloader (UEFI bios) to the restored backup so it will boot properly. My question is can this be easily done through the bootable Veracrypt rescue disk. If so can someone go over the procedure for me, I find the selections on the program's interface confusing. Thanks! I was hoping Acronis might someday address this issue by providing a Windows 10 boot record restore option through their program but after years of waiting nothing was ever done. Perhaps it's a more complicated issue than I think or simply not enough people bother with full disk encryption for it to be worth thier while?
Which version of VeraCrypt do you have?
With version 1.24, you can simply press ESCAPE on VeraCrypt password prompt and Windows should start. Otherwise, you can use the attached generic 1.24 Rescue Disk zip to create a bootable Rescue Disk and you can use the menu option "Boot Original Windows Loader" to start Windows.
Does it work like this?
Thanks Mounir, I installed version 1.24. Do you know if it's possible to boot Windows 10 from a backup restored to an external USB drive? I think I remember reading somewhere that you can't boot Windows from a USB device? I've noticed that my BIOS has the normal Windows 10 boot loader listed as an option to the VeraCrypt loader. It may therefore be possible to bypass the VeraCrypt loader by simply selecting that rather than using the two methods you mentioned above. I'm very reluctant to experiment on my current system C: drive in case I screw it up and lose all my data or worse have to reinstall everything from scratch. For example I tried selecting "escape" when booting my VeraCrypt encrypted drive. It immediately detected problems and started repair procedures to my disk. I panicked and reset it almost immediately and fortunately it rebooted OK with no problems or damage. The big problem with trying to test and learn some of your options, like those on your rescue disk, is that there is no information anywhere about how they will perform or react. It's kind of like playing Russian roulette with your system. Better information disemenation about these features and how to use them is required so people don't have any unpleasant surprises!