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I encrypted my external hard drive using Linux Mint (Ubuntu) and password protected it. Now I can't access it on Windows 7 as it gives errors and won't mount. Is there a software that will allow me to read from this device? Note: I'm not sure exactly which algorithm was used to encrypt the drive but it was the standard option in Linux Mint (Ubuntu) and it sounded universal, but apparently not. Thanks!

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Can't you boot the liveCD and mount the drive, then decrypt it? – skub Jan 23 '12 at 18:34
No because you would need to reformat the drive to decrypt it, that or install Linux again and transfer all files to the computer and then reformat/decrypt it but I'm trying to avoid having to install Linux on any computers. Plus, it would be nice to keep the current encryption/password active on the drive while I use Windows. – Jerry Jan 30 '12 at 17:36
you can actually mount any crypted drive within a live environment, given that the LiveCD supports cryptsetup. Assuming standard encrypion without keyfile and no lvm inside cryptdrive cryptsetup luksOpen /dev/sdxY crypt && mount /dev/mapper/crypt /mount/point should work, just change the partition and mount target. – Informaficker Jan 30 '12 at 19:00
That is what I was referring to (above). – skub Feb 16 '12 at 16:15

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Check out FreeOTFE

I am pretty sure that Ubuntu / Mint uses dm-crypt with Luks and AES-Algorithm as standard for /home encryption as most modern CPUs support AES natively and thus it is very fast (faster than read/write of the harddrive).

FreeOTFE seems to be able to read all of the supported modes, so you might give it a shot. I never used it myself so no guarantee.

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Thanks for updating your comment, I will check out FreeOTFE and let you know! – Jerry Jan 30 '12 at 17:38

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