Cannot get the Automatic Veracrypt start at Windows Log on (veracrypt 1.0e)

[Anonymous]

Dear all and Idrassi,

I have installed Veracrypt 1.0e on Windows and Linux. I have read the documentation and I have tried to play with the option "Start Veracrypt Background Task" under section "Action to perform under logon to Windows". Sadly, ticking or not this option has strictly no effect: Veracrypt never automatically starts with Windows.

Having it working would be a great feature. My Windows version is 8.1 (if needed).

I have also installed the same version of Veracrypt on my Linux, but it seems that there is no option to make it start automatically after log on (nonetheless, with the linux version, I should be able to cook up a bash script).

cheers,
Fab

[Anonymous]

Me again,

I have tried this morning to install Veracrypt 1.0F BETA instead. But no luck, as I cannot get it to start automatically with Windows 8.1.

Any help would be welcome.

Cheers,
Fab

[Mounir IDRASSI]

Hi Fab,

This should work and I have just done a quick test on my Windows 8.1 machine and it starts automatically as expected.

Do you perform logout after changing the option or you are just doing a lock? You have to logout and login again for the option to take effect.

There might something blocking this. Do you have any antivirus software that might forbid auto-startup programs? Can you put VeraCrypt in its exception list?

Actually, what VeraCrypt does when you check this option is very simple: it writes a value under "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run" that indicates to Windows to start VeraCrypt upon logon.
You can open Regedit and go to this place to see if it is there. It should contain a value named "VeraCrypt" with the following data content: "C:\Program Files\VeraCrypt\VeraCrypt.exe" /q preferences /a logon"

Every program can write to this registry key so the only explanation is either you didn't logout/login or there is a program (like antivirus) that forbid writing to this registry key.

[Mounir IDRASSI]

The other explanation is that you just didn't see the VeraCrypt icon in the System try. As the name of the option indicates, VeraCrypt starts in background without any GUI. You have to go to the system try and click on the icon to make VeraCrypt window visible.

If what you want is to display VeraCrypt window every time you logon, then you have the modify the registry for this because there is no option for this (the normal usage is to go to the system try to launch what you need): just modify the value described above and remove "/q preferences" from it.

[Anonymous]

Hi Mounir,

First of all, thanks for your answers.

I have already checked that the icon was not hidden in the system tray, but unfortunately it is not that simple. I have even used the process manager to double-check. I can definitely confirm that Veracrypt is not automatically started when Windows boots. And to be sure, I am everytime rebooting Windows after any modifications.

Concerning the entry in the resgistry, you may be interested to learn that there is no "VeraCrypt" value under "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run". I do not understand why.

Any idea ?

Fab,

[Mounir IDRASSI]

Well...this is strange. Definitely, on a typical Windows installation, VeraCrypt is able to update the registry key to make it start at logon, even when using an account which is not administrator. Now, we have to understand why in your machine, this is not the case.

Do you have any security solution installed (antivirus, anti-malware...)?
Are you able to modify the registry entry manually using regedit?

[Anonymous]

The only security software I am using is the free antivirus AVAST. Are you aware of any issue when running this antivirus and Veracrypt at the same time?
I could modify manually the registry entry if I have too, but I have always tried not to (as I am very experienced with Linux systems, but not so much with Windows).

Fab.

[Mounir IDRASSI]

I checked in a Windows 8.1 machine with Avast 2015 installed and VeraCrypt is able to start at logon.

Your PC doesn't behave as other Windows 8.1 machines do and it is difficult to analyze what is happening in your case without accessing the PC itself. You can try on other Windows 8.1 PCs to see it working.

As explained before, in order to start at logon, VeraCrypt simply creates a registry key for the current user. You can create this registry key yourself . There is no risk in doing that: it just tells Windows to start VeraCrypt upon logon.

I'm attaching a zip containing a .reg file that will activate the auto startup with VeraCrypt. You can edit the .reg file and see that it only create the registry key I explained earlier.

Here is the content of the reg file:

---

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run]
"VeraCrypt"="\"C:\Program Files\VeraCrypt\VeraCrypt.exe\" /q preferences /a logon"

---

Let me know if this manual modification works.

[Anonymous]

Hi Mounir,

Manual editing of the registry saved the situation.
Thanks a lot for your time, and the efforts spent solving the issue.

Wonderful tool.
Fab