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Unable to decrypt a Volume

2022-10-15
2022-10-16
  • Steve W Sperling

    I originally created a 3TB volume but it isn't big enough so I wanted to permanently decrpyt it. I emptied it out but when I try to decrypt it I get the following:

    "Error: VeraCrypt can in-place encrypt only a partition, a dynamic volume, or an entire system drive. Please make sure the specified path is valid."

    Please help!

     
  • Gary Marks

    Gary Marks - 2022-10-16

    Hi Steve,

    I confess I'm curious about the cause of this, and maybe details might help solve the mystery (starting with the type of volume it is, container or partition), but the really simple solution would just be to delete the volume rather than decrypting it. Either type of volume should be easy and very quick to delete, whereas decrypting a volume that has already been emptied seems time consuming and quite pointless. Delete the volume and create a new one, sized to your liking. If you think you might want to expand it in the future, format it with NTFS and you can use the VeraCrypt Volume Expander as future needs dictate.

     
  • Gary Marks

    Gary Marks - 2022-10-16

    Ah, I just realized the crux of your issue when I spotted a logical gap in my own reply concerning partition vs. container. You must have attempted the permanent decryption of a container, which is an inherently encrypted entity that cannot be decrypted. That's how you got to that puzzling error message which most of us have never seen.

     

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