System encryption with Windows 10 fails

[Ali]

Hi,
I have used Truecrypt in the past to encrypt my boot disk under Windows 7. I tried to do the same under Windows 10, but I'm running into a couple of issues.

1. When I tried to encrypt my boot disk, Veracrypt complained that it could not find Windows installed. There was an option to continue if the user is sure Windows 10 is installed. Windows 10 is indeed installed so I continued.
2. I selected my master password and default everything else.
3. When the system rebooted, Veracrypt asked for a password. After I entered my password, it asked for PIM and there was a note to leave blank for default. When I hit enter, I got an error saying password, PIM, or hash is incorrect.
4. I'm sure of the password.
5. I booted from the USB and removed the Veracrypt bootloader and loaded windows.
6. When Windows loads, Veracrypt says encryption failed and offers to try again. I select no and it closed.
7. I launched Veracrypt and went through the whole process again without success.

I'm absolutely sure of my password.

I'm running Windows 10 Pro, Asus TUF X-570, Ryzer 5600X, and Corsair M.2 as my boot drive.

Thank you,
Ali

[Dave]

Are you using spaces in the password? Never use spaces in any password. Try making the password visible as you type it into both fields.

EDIT: please make sure to turn off "fast startup" in Windows 10. Newer versions of VeraCrypt will prompt to turn off fast startup.

BACK UP DATA FIRST...
Was Windows 7 previously installed? If so, you may have to erase all partitions and install Windows 10 cleanly, then try VeraCrypt again.

A few suggestions that may help you:
You could try updating all of the drivers and the BIOS on your computer to the latest versions from Asus (not AMD or Intel - drivers must be from Asus as these are customised by Asus for the motherboard). A buggy BIOS may cause problems with VeraCrypt.
If you didn't erase the drive, try un-installing and then installing the latest version of VeraCrypt.
If you install Windows 10, make sure to install the chipset driver FIRST, before all other drivers.

In the BIOS settings:
Turn off XMP/DOCP (or similar) temporarily (if it makes no difference, you can re-enable again if you enabled it previously).
Also turn off "Enhanced Halt State" (also called "C1E") in the CPU section, if available. VeraCrypt runs better with this turned off and it makes the computer more responsive. ;-)
Don't forget to save and exit the BIOS.

Also try removing and re-inserting the memory modules (they may not be fully tight in the slots and this can cause weird issues, even when Windows 10 appears to work properly). Remove the memory, push down on the right hand size of the memory module until it "clicks" into place, then repeat with the left hand side until it also "clicks" in place. Do this for all memory modules. It's worth a try.

Hope this helps.

[DDD]

Wow, you seem very knowledgeable.
How come no spaces in passwords ever?
And my Acer computer has Mickey Mouse BIOS settings. There's no option there to choose C1E / Enhanced Halt State. I wonder if mine is turned on by default and why Veracrypt sometimes hangs.

[Dave]

How come no spaces in passwords ever?

It's not advisable to use spaces in passwords. I know older software and older devices (like older wireless routers) didn't like spaces in the passwords. People may forget they put spaces in their passwords. To avoid problems, I say never use spaces in passwords. Maybe it's different now in 2021 and most websites and software has no problems with spaces in passwords?

And my Acer computer has Mickey Mouse BIOS settings. There's no option there to choose C1E / Enhanced Halt State. I wonder if mine is turned on by default and why Veracrypt sometimes hangs.

Possibly throttling. If you haven't already, clean the vents and fans of dust. There could be extra "hidden" BIOS settings if you press a combination of keys? I don't know for sure or which keys to press, so you'd need to contact Acer. Maybe these hidden settings could reveal an option to turn off C1E/Enhanced Halt State?
You could try turning off any "power saving" or "green" features in the BIOS, but this will decrease battery life if your device is a laptop.

Don't forget, save and exit the BIOS after you make any changes.

I'm assuming you've updated the BIOS and all drivers from Acer?
Encrypted drives will always be slower than non-encrypted, so a little overhead is expected. To reduce the VeraCrypt performance hang at times, switch to an SSD drive. Hard drives are SLOW. This won't stop it completely, but be far less noticeable.

[DDD]

I'm not sure how to take one of your lines and quote it. But, I often see in Event Viewer that the speed of processor 7 is being limited by firmware, and I didn't know what was causing that, whether that was Veracrypt or BIOS settings or what.

I've updated the BIOS to the latest. The thing with drivers from Acer, though, is that they don't update their BIOSes and drivers to the latest. Windows couldn't find drivers for my touchpad, and I had to get them from the Acer website. But then, who knows even if I'm using a bad driver? I've uninstalled all the drivers where I could delete the driver software too and then updated from Windows Update.

With switching to a SSD drive, but about people having trouble with encryption and SSDs?

[Dave]

To quote text, highlight it, copy and paste, then highlight the pasted text and click on the speech marks above. That's how I do it. Tip: leave spaces below so the rest of the text is unquoted.

There's no guarantee these suggestions will solve your problem...

Acer drivers will have been customised for the hardware setup in your computer. As long as you have the latest Acer drivers for your computer model number, you can then safely install any later drivers from Windows Update, if offered (this should keep the original Acer driver customisations in place).

Please install ALL of the Acer drivers, starting with the "chipset" one, followed by "Intel Management Engine" (if available), then all others. Don't miss any!

Search for and open Control Panel in Windows. In the top-right, click on "View by" and change to either small or large icons (to make all the Control Panel categories visible).

1. Click on Power Options.
2. On the currently selected power plan, click "change plan settings".
3. Click "change advanced power settings".
4. Click the "+" next to "Processor power management".
5. Make sure the "Maximum processor state" is set to 100% for "plugged in".
   If you have a laptop, you could set this to 100% for battery too, but your battery will not last as long between charges.
   When done, click on the OK button and restart Windows (don't shut down, but restart).

If all else fails, I would suggest you back up all your files and reset Windows 8/10. Search for "reset" and go through the options to reset the device, making sure you choose the option to remove everything (this will erase the drive). MAKE SURE YOU BACKUP EVERYTHING FIRST! Then see if the problem with VeraCrypt has been resolved.

Tip: make sure Windows 10 is fully updated BEFORE you encrypt Windows with VeraCrypt.

You will need to update all the drivers from Acer again, to their latest versions, if did you reset Windows and remove everything (erase).

Btw You don't need to switch to an SSD, but it will be faster and as you point out, some people have had problems with VeraCrypt on SSD drives!