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Hi Mounir/other frequent VC members(e.g. enigma2illusion,Kurt Fitzner) About possible VC1.24 issues

Technical Topics
Mike
2019-10-10
2019-10-13

  • Mike

    Mike - 2019-10-10

    Dear Mounir and other frequent VC members (e.g. enigma2illusion,Kurt Fitzner),

    I have a few general questions related to using the latest VC 1.24 version and my questions are not technical at all (should be pretty straightforward) and a reply from Mounir and other frequent VC members(e.g. enigma2illusion,Kurt Fitzner or other) would be greatly appreciated. I think the anwsers to the following questions would provide some useful information to general Veracrypt users about the current/potential issues that the latest Veracrypt 1.24 version can or might still have, and we can then decide ourselves whether to update to VC1.24 accordingly (i.e. decide whether to update or to wait for the next version where a critical issue is solved, e.g. can perform official Windows 10 update freely without worrying about the boot issue showing up)

    Currently I am still using truecrypt on my desktop computer, but I am planning to buy a laptop soon and will encrypt it using the latest VC 1.24 version. Over the last month I've updated myself with many info available in the sourceforge VC forum. There is a lot of things to digest and after all the readings, I have the following 3 questions.

    Question 1) If I am using the latest VC 1.24, do I still have to worry about the issues as mentioned in the following forum thread?

    https://sourceforge.net/p/veracrypt/discussion/technical/thread/f403d1d8/

    From what I read in the above thread, there seems to be a lot of steps to go through to have the VC bootloader to load correctly in some laptops and it's not so easy for a non-technical person to go through. From my understanding, it seems that with VC 1.24, we don't have to go through the steps as mentioned in the above forum thread as the issue is solved, and the VC bootloader will be loaded straightforwardly with the latest VC 1.24 in all or most brands of laptop computers. Is this the correct understanding? Are there any issues still lingering with a certain brand of laptop computer that I'll have to pay attention to, even when the latest VC1.24 version is used?

    Question 2) Does the above issue only apply to laptops only? In other words, the bootloader issue mentioned in the above VC forum thread only happens in laptop computers, and it won't happen on desktop computers at all? (i.e. when using VC with desktop's motherboard, there won't be such issues). Is this the correct understanding?

    Question 3) The other major issue that has lingered for quite a while seems to be that after a Windows update (Windows 10), the computer won't boot anymore. If I am using VC 1.24, will I still experience this issue with both laptop and desktop computers? Is there anything that I should be aware of when doing Windows 10 or Windows 7 update (e.g. should I update Windows 10 manually?)

    Thanks for reading my message and I appreciate and look forward to your reply.

     

    Last edit: Mike 2019-10-10

  • Enigma2Illusion

    Enigma2Illusion - 2019-10-13

    Answer to Question 1

    Always make backups of your data. Encryption has the same vulnerabilities as unencrypted partitions/disks due to user error, software issues or hardware failure resulting in the loss of data or the entire drive. Backup of your data to other physical medium is required to prevent loss of data.

    For system encryption in my opinion, yes. There are regretfully users still reporting problems when Windows performs a major OS upgrade in Windows 10. Yet, other users are able to upgrade without having to decrypt the system first.

    I am not aware any definitive list of makes and models that are known to encounter the Windows upgrade issue. Therefore, it is unknown if your make and model of laptop will experience a problem.

    Safest method is to decrypt, upgrade OS and encrypt again the system partition.

    Be sure to disable Windows Fast Startup.

    https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/4189-turn-off-fast-startup-windows-10-a.html

    Why?

    https://sourceforge.net/p/veracrypt/tickets/180/

    Answer to Question 2

    I believe the issue can occur on both desktops and laptops.

    Answer to Question 3

    See answer 1.

     

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