Changing Password, Keyfiles, PIM

[WRVC2016]

First, when I change these (Password, KeyFiles, and PIM), does the process only affects the Hash Algorithim, and not the Encryption Algorithm? I believe that I read some where that these are stored in Hash.

Second, is it safe to make these changes (Password, KeyFiles, and PIM) every 3 to 4 months? Will this lead to any corruptions?

Third, I know the Encryption Algorithm CANNOT be changed while the Hash Algorithm can be changed. On a 2TB drive, how long will it take to change the Hash Algorithm? A couple of minutes, not a couple of hours right?

Thank You

[Enigma2Illusion]

You can read the detail of how the header key is generated at the link below.

https://veracrypt.codeplex.com/wikipage?title=Header%20Key%20Derivation

Here is how VeraCrypt unlocks the header to retrieve the encryption key to use for mounting the volume.

https://veracrypt.codeplex.com/wikipage?title=Encryption%20Scheme

A simplified explanation is the hash key is generated using your password, PIM (custom or default values) and any keyfiles you specified. Neither the password, PIM or keyfiles are stored in the header.

However, PIM and keyfiles can be stored in VeraCrypt files. See following link.

https://veracrypt.codeplex.com/wikipage?title=VeraCrypt%20System%20Files

Changing the password, PIM or keyfiles only affect the header key and will only take a short time to change (think minutes or faster) to create the new header key. Corruption can occur at any time due to software failure, hardware failure or user error. Hence, you should always make backups of your data regardless of encryption.

[WRVC2016]

Thank You for the explanation Enigma! I will read those links later today.