Veracrypt Whole System Encryption + Microsoft Windows 10 Updates = Unaccessible Hard Drive !!! How come???

[Gunjan Garg]

I was running windows 10 on my Dell Inspiron 15 laptop. I'd encrypted the entire system using veracrypt. I was very happy with it. Went well for a couple months, maybe more... Then one day, after windows updates asked me to reboot, I reached a dead end after the reboot. Windows was telling me that it was initiating recovery process, and then in the end it was telling me that it had failed at recovering. Alternate options like system restore weren't helping either, I mean they weren't working (I mean they weren't starting). I, thus, tried the command line alternate recovery option. It started in something called the X drive. The dir forwardslash p command in this X drive showed just umpteen dll files, and nothing else. When I tried to jump over to the C drive, the command prompt was telling that this (that is C) drive doesn't contain a recognizable file system. I understood at that very moment that windows was unable to read the encrypted drive. It was then and there that I noticed I could reach the windows recovery options without entering my veracrypt password. I restarted the laptop to check the same and yes that was the case. I just entered my user password (or optionally the supervisor password) and then the hdd password. I reached the windows recovery straight after that, there was NO NEED TO ENTER THE VERACRYPT PASSWORD. I figured out that the windows updates had rewritten the mbr and veracrypt bootloader wasn't working consequentially. So I took my veracrypt recovery usb stick (I had created this while encrypting the whole system using veracrypt, and I had kept it very safe and with me because the installation process of veracrypt encryption had described this recovery usb stick as some kind of a ONE AND ONLY FALL BACK OPTION in case of catastrophes) and then I got many options. I reinstalled the veracrypt bootloader. After shutting down the system, removing the veracrypt recovery usb stick, and starting the system again, I got the veracrypt prompt for two passwords. One is the real password and the other is I don't know what - I had left it as empty string coz veracrypt suggested the same during the encryption process. This time I was hoping that my PC will boot into windows 10 as I used to before the updates mishap. But again, I was taken to recovery options. I went to command line and tried to jump to C drive. Yet again I was being told that it wasn't having any recognizable file system. I THEN DECIDED TO DECRYPT THE WHOLE SYSTEM. Once again I turned off the system and inserted the veracrypt recovery usb stick. I started the decryption process, It took over a few hours (700+ GBs had to be decrypted). After the process got over, I was being asked neither the veracrypt password nor how I was planning to recover windows. This time it wasn't veracrypt or windows recovery talking to me. This time, it was directly the BIOS. It was telling me there was no hard disk in the laptop and I was supposed to "RESEAT" the hard drive! What a contradiction? Why reseat when you're asking me for hdd password. Then I entered the BIOS setup. The fixed HDD was being shown - both the name of the hard disk and the 1000 GB size. Clearly there was no need to reseat, yet after exiting the BIOS setup, I would always reach the same notification : "HARD DRIVE NOT FOUND".

[Gunjan Garg]

I don't mind reinstalling windows, and everything. I can do that! But I HOPE to get my data. I may be sounding as a noob, coz I didn't backup. I am not actually that stupid. I create backups. But this hard disk had atleast 250 GBs unbackuped. I am a collector of rock and blues music and theoretical physics documentaries. I have about 3 TBs of the same backuped on hard drives and on the cloud. But this thing of about 250+ GBs I had yet to backup. It will be very difficult to recollect them, I even don't have the directory tree with the file names so that I may spend many weeks and download them all again. I put a lot of creativity in collecting the music and videos. Kindly help me if possible. I mean I have the hard disk and I know the veracrypt password. I also have the veracrypt recovery usb stick and it's been confirming that I know the right password. I HAVE ALSO DECRYPTED THE WHOLE DRIVE, spent many hours doing the same. I will happily go on spending any number of days trying to get my data back. PLEASE HELP. Even if with my veracrypt password and my hard disk and my recovery usb stick, I get only to copy all my data to one of my external hard disks, I will be happy to throw away the beautiful OS that I had created and all the programs and themes and settings and even my laptop's internal hard disk if necessary. I will reinstall every thing happily. I JUST WISH, actually HOPE, TO GET MY UNBACKUPED DATA. PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!