Is there a "Quick Start Guide" or some tutorial for beginners?
Yes. The first chapter, Beginner’s Tutorial, contains screenshots and step-by-step instructions on
how to create, mount, and use a VeraCrypt volume.
Can I encrypt a partition/drive where Windows is installed?
Yes (see the chapter System Encryption).
The system encryption Pre Test fails because the bootloader hangs with the messaging
"booting" after successfully verifying the password. How to make the Pre Test succeed?
There two known workarounds for this issue (Both require having a Windows Installation disk):
1. Boot your machine using a Windows Installation disk and select to repair your computer.
Choose "Command Prompt" option and when it opens, type the commands below and then
restart your system:
o BootRec /fixmbr
o BootRec /FixBoot
2. Delete the 100 MB System Reserved partition located at the beginning of your drive, set the
system partition next to it as the active partition (both can be done using diskpart utility
available in Windows Installation disk repair option). After that, run Startup Repair after
rebooting on Windows Installation disk. The following link contains detailed instructions:
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/71363-system-reserved-partition-delete.html
The system encryption Pre Test fails even though the password was correctly entered in the
bootloader. How to make the Pre Test succeed?
This can be caused by the TrueCrypt driver that clears BIOS memory before VeraCrypt is able to
read it. In this case, uninstalling TrueCrypt solves the issue.
This can also be caused by some hardware drivers and other software that access BIOS memory.
There is no generic solution for this and affected users should identify such software and remove it
from the system.
Can I directly play a video (.avi, .mpg, etc.) stored on a VeraCrypt volume?
Yes, VeraCrypt-encrypted volumes are like normal disks. You provide the correct password (and/or
keyfile) and mount (open) the VeraCrypt volume. When you double click the icon of the video file,
the operating system launches the application associated with the file type – typically a media
player. The media player then begins loading a small initial portion of the video file from the
VeraCrypt-encrypted volume to RAM (memory) in order to play it. While the portion is being loaded,
VeraCrypt is automatically decrypting it (in RAM). The decrypted portion of the video (stored
in RAM) is then played by the media player. While this portion is being played, the media player
begins loading another small portion of the video file from the VeraCrypt-encrypted volume to
RAM (memory) and the process repeats.
The same goes for video recording: Before a chunk of a video file is written to a VeraCrypt volume,
VeraCrypt encrypts it in RAM and then writes it to the disk. This process is called on-the-fly
encryption/decryption and it works for all file types (not only for video files).
