Veracrypt causing all sorts of problems: USB, shutdown
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Hi,
Just got a new Toshiba Canvio Connect ii 2TB external harddrive and was hoping to get either all of it or part of it password encrypted. I thus opted for Veracrypt and went ahead with a hidden encrypted file encryption. It worked no problem (mounting and unmounting the encrypted portion wasn't an issue). However, a number of problems emerged right after this:
1-When I went ahead and connected my old Seagate Passport HD 1TB (to transfer files to the new Toshiba), it wouldn't mount anymore. My compter "sees" it (it appears in the tray to safely unmount), but it doesn't mount.
2-Strangely enough, the Toshiba and a small Thumb Drive I had lying around will mount, but only after the computer has been freshy rebooted. If i remove either one and plug them back in, the light on the Toshib will blink a bit, but it won't mount. Meanwhile, the Seagate never mounts, even after a fresh reboot. It still mounts no problem on other computers.
3-The computer will no longer shut down properly. It'll sort of shut down (screen goes off)... However, I suspect it's more of a sleep mode as the light by the power button stays on. I have to hold down the power button for a few secs to make the little light turn off. Strange...
Why the hell has Veracrypt managed to screw up so many things at once? This is a brand new computer (just a few weeks old) with barely anything installed which was working flawlessly until now. I attempted to deencrypt the Toshiba portion, but it didn't work. I ended up formatting the whole drive (it was brand new, so no big deal). However, the fact that other drives are no longer being mounted when I plug them in it a bit alarming. I tested my Seagate (which had zero problems mounting this morning prior to installing Vera) in another computer and it still mounts fine. Just no longer mounts on my computer... Two other USB hard drives will mount, but ONLY after a fresh reboot. And again, the computer doesn't even shut down properly (I suspect GDI+Windows as it mentions it upon shutting down).
Anyways, this is so bizarre and frustrating given I was just trying to encrypt some files... I'm probably going to end up formatting the whole computer/reinstalling Windows/reinstalling drivers and hoping for the best. But seriously, what happened here? Any ideas? Not exactly inspiring...
Last edit: Mike 2016-12-13
Hi,
What you are describing is very strange and I have never seen a report like this. Obvisouly, if VeraCrypt was blocking disks from being used or blocking PC from shutting down, no one will use and we would have detected during tests anyway (being developer of VeraCrypt, I use it heavily on multiple machines running Windows 7 and Windows 10 and never had a problem).
You didn't say what version of Windows you are using (Windows 10?). Also, you didn't mention the other software installed on the machine that have problems.
And, if you uninstall VeraCrypt, does the problem persist?
To analyze more we would need more information and also Windows Events Viewer entries related to disk and shutdown issues.
Anyway, it is very likely that some other software components are causing issues on your machine.
I've been away from Windows for around a decade (used various Linux based OSs, mainly Ubuntu), and just got a new laptop and figured I'd give Windows 10 a go. No issues so far really and it's been great. No other software has problems, and I didn't install anything else besides VeraCrypt. Actually, I did install "Pogoplug" from Toshiba. I just uninstalled Veracrypt and Pogo (the two only things I installed in a week or so, both installed this morning). The issues persist. It really only started after I created an encrypted drive (under F I think, maybe D) for the external HD. Now even if I plug in the new Toshiba, it'll light up and start running, then the light will blink and the drive will stop. It doesn't mount at all. The Seagate's light will stay on and I can hear the drive humming, but it'll never mount. No software issues.
Almost as if my USB drivers were deleted or something, though the whole "appears after a fresh reboot" and bein able to see the names of devides under the "safely remove device" tray would denate that theory. To be honest, I think I'll just go ahead and format as I've only had the computer less than three weeks and don't have much intalled, so it wouldn't be a big problem to reinstall everything. I'm just worried about my data and the fact that I can't access it anymore. I could show you logs, but I'm not sure how to copy them here.
[img]https://s28.postimg.org/piuygzhyl/Untitled_1.jpg[/img]