linux file recovery utility for corrupted Truecrypt NTFS disk

Question

I have a true-crypt disk (the whole device is encrypted) with bad sectors. I can mount the volume on Ubuntu machine but every utility I try freezes while trying to copy files of it.

Is there some utility I can use to save as many files as I can?

Answer 1

you can try foremost() from Ubuntu, while the device is mounted.

Answer 2

Whatever backups you made are your best chance. You did make backups, right?

According to the Truecrypt FAQ, your best bet is to use Windows filesystem-repair tools (chkdsk, or 3rd-party tools):

What will happen when a part of a TrueCrypt volume becomes corrupted?

In encrypted data, one corrupted bit usually corrupts the whole ciphertext block in which it occurred. The ciphertext block size used by TrueCrypt is 16 bytes (i.e., 128 bits). The mode of operation used by TrueCrypt ensures that if data corruption occurs within a block, the remaining blocks are not affected. See also the question 'What do I do when the encrypted filesystem on my TrueCrypt volume is corrupted?

What do I do when the encrypted filesystem on my TrueCrypt volume is corrupted?

File system within a TrueCrypt volume may become corrupted in the same way as any normal unencrypted file system. When that happens, you can use filesystem repair tools supplied with your operating system to fix it. In Windows, it is the 'chkdsk' tool. TrueCrypt provides an easy way to use this tool on a TrueCrypt volume: Right-click the mounted volume in the main TrueCrypt window (in the drive list) and from the context menu select 'Repair Filesystem'.

Answer 3

The various versions of ddrescue or dd_rescue can repeatedly try to read an unreadable block but also skip the unreadable blocks and come back to them later after reading what it can in the first pass.