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I have Windows 7, and I have one encrypted TrueCrypt drive which is auto mounted on Windows logon with a script. But on Windows shutdown I don't use a script to dismount the drive before shutting down Windows. Can leaving the drive mounted when shutting down Windows, somehow damage the data on the encrypted drive?

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  • You should dismount the drive before you restart.
    – Ramhound
    Mar 18, 2015 at 10:41

1 Answer 1

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TrueCrypt automatically dismounts its volumes when Windows is shutting down.
(i.e. the user is "logged off" and there is a setting for auto-dismount when this happens.)

If you hibernate your PC and want the volume to dismount you can also set this in the options.

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Edit:
Please note that when mounting a volume via a script you need to make sure TrueCrypt.exe is also loaded. This is the "TrueCrypt Background Task" and is responsible for the Auto-dismount and more.

TrueCrypt Background Task:
When the main TrueCrypt window is closed, the TrueCrypt Background Task takes care of the following tasks/functions:

  • Hot keys
  • Auto-dismount (e.g., upon logoff, inadvertent host device removal, time-out, etc.)
  • Auto-mount of favorite volumes
  • Notifications (e.g., when damage to hidden volume is prevented)
  • Tray icon

See also http://andryou.com/truecrypt/docs/background-task.php

You can run truecrypt /q background to start it directly in the background.

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  • Yes, but i am using TrueCrypt in portable mode and i am mounting/dismounting volumes from command prompt, so TrueCrypt is not running when Windows is shutting down.
    – peter7558
    Mar 18, 2015 at 13:48
  • Are you sure TrueCrypt isn't running as process in the background. If it's not then you shouldn't be able to access that volume. Try looking in the taskmanager (processes-tab) for a process with the name TrueCrypt.exe. It should be there.
    – Rik
    Mar 18, 2015 at 13:50
  • Correction... You're right. When ending the TrueCrypt process I still have access to the volume. I'll need to investigate further. I wonder what is responsible for writing to the truecrypt-file at that point.
    – Rik
    Mar 18, 2015 at 13:53
  • @peter7558 Yes, you need the TrueCrypt.exe running for the auto-dismount function. See my edited answer. If you don't want the TrueCrypt.exe loaded you need to dismount manually before shutdown.
    – Rik
    Mar 18, 2015 at 14:03
  • @peter7558 You can run truecrypt /q background to start it directly in the background.
    – Rik
    Mar 18, 2015 at 14:07

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