Fails to Auto Dismount After Inactivity
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I've had this problem for quite a while, I'm guessing about three years, Windows 10 Pro, VeraCrypt version 1.25.4 on a desktop PC. The hard drive in question is an internal 8TB SATA drive formatted in NTFS. There is no sleep mode set, but the monitors are set to power down after a specified persiod, usually 15 minutes.
I had a number of small encrypted volumes (file-based) and one large volume (6+ TB). I had VeraCrypt set to auto dismount after no writes/reads for a specific time, usually 180 minutes. The small volumes would do that OK, but the large volume would not -- it only dismounted about half the time. I tried to track down what was accessing the drive, but with no success.
I wanted to simplify my encrypted volume scheme, so I encrypted an entire partition into a large volume (7 TB) and added the contents of the files from all of the individual previous volumes. My plan was to end up with a single volume. That worked fine, except now the large volume refuses to auto-dismount.
I closed all the apps and I launched SysInternals' Disk Monitor to check for any disk activity on the partition that hosted the volume. I set VeraCrypt to auto-dismount after 180 minutes of idle time. Disk Monitor reported no access to the drive/partition from 2:00 AM to 8:00 am, yet the volume did not dismount.
I'm a bit stumped. Is it the size of the volume? Any ideas?
Could you screenshot and post your 'Preferences'.
Here you go.
Have you tried 'Force auto-dismount ...' and/or 'Mount volumes as removable ...' ?
I'm extremely reluctant to force dismount. What does mounting it as removable do?
Forcing dismount after 180 minutes of your inactivity will not result in any loss of your user data. See https://www.veracrypt.fr/en/Normal%20Dismount%20vs%20Force%20Dismount.html
Note the point about antivirus software. Are you using one of these 'let us take complete control of this computer in ways which are too complicated to understand' third-party antivirus 'solutions'? It's all snake oil; Windows in-built security features, sensibly configured, are all one needs.
Re 'removable', see https://www.veracrypt.fr/en/Removable%20Medium%20Volume.html, particularly about how it minimises I/O and caching issues. It is sensible to have 'Recycle Bins' for 'removable drives', though, but created by other means eg a registry hack; see https://www.thewindowsclub.com/create-a-recycle-bin-for-usb-drive-removable-media
'System Volume Information' is a folder where eg 'System Restore Point' info is stored. If you don't use that feature (at all, or on the VC mounted volume) you don't need it.
If you have backups of your data, you can afford to experiment.
Yeah, after reading the description of Force Dismount that's what I thought it did, and I'll not use it.
I do use Restore Points, but only on the C: drive, before I install new software or otherwise make significant changes to the system configuration.
If I chose to set the volume as removable, can I change back? Or is it one-time change?
Yes, you can switch removable on or off as and when you want.
I'll give it a try. Thanks for your help. Have a good one.
you can list opened/locked files with Nirsoft's OpenedFIlesView
Thanks. It appears this utility shows a static view, i.e., open files as of this moment. As I understand it, the Auto-Dismount needs "x" minutes of idle time (when drives are not being accessed) before it confirms it's okay to dismount? Disk Monitor provides a log to review disk access for as long as it runs, that's why I used it. Neat collection of utilities, though, even if the website looks like it was created in 1990!
Incidentally, I haven't a static period of 180 minutes in the last few days, so I can't tell if the "Mount as Removeable" has had any effect.
I decided to go back to my previous arrangement -- multiple volumes. I'm still in the process, but I've already done two and the remaining one dismounted last night. Let's hope that is not a fluke.
Question: I'm creating a large volume (6 TB, NTFS), and after 14 hours it's still formatting, even after specifying "quick format". I don't remember how long it took last time I created a volume this large, but it seems overly long. The drive is still active, so I guess it's okay, right?
UPDATE:
The new volume had the same issue. I created another volume of only 4TB, and that seems to be working fine. It's only half populated, but that doesn't seem to matter. Perhaps this is the issue?