Troubleshooting

This section presents possible solutions to common problems that you may run into when using TrueCrypt. If your problem is not listed here, it might be listed in one of the following sections:

Incompatibilities

Known Issues & Limitations

Frequently Asked Questions

Problem:

Writing/reading to/from volume is very slow even though, according to the benchmark, the speed of the cipher that I'm using is higher than the speed of the hard drive.

Probable Cause:

This is probably caused by an interfering application.

Possible Solution:

First, make sure that your TrueCrypt container does not have a file extension that is reserved for executable files (for example, .exe, .sys, or .dll). If it does, Windows and antivirus software may interfere with the container and adversely affect the performance of the volume.

Second, disable or uninstall any application that might be interfering, which usually is antivirus software or automatic disk defragmentation tool, etc. In case of antivirus software, it often helps to turn off real-time (on-access) scanning in the preferences of the antivirus software. If it does not help, try temporarily disabling the virus protection software. If this does not help either, try uninstalling it completely and restarting your computer subsequently.

Problem:

After successfully mounting a volume, Windows reports "This device does not contain a valid file system" or a similar error.

Probable Cause:

The file system on the TrueCrypt volume may be corrupted (or the volume is unformatted).

Possible Solution:

You can use filesystem repair tools supplied with your operating system to attempt to repair the filesystem on the TrueCrypt volume. In Windows, it is the 'chkdsk' tool. TrueCrypt provides an easy way to use this tool on a TrueCrypt volume: First, make a backup copy of the TrueCrypt volume (because the 'chkdsk' tool might damage the filesystem even more) and then mount it. Right-click the mounted volume in the main TrueCrypt window (in the drive list) and from the context menu select 'Repair Filesystem'.

Problem:

When trying to create a hidden volume, its maximum possible size is unexpectedly small (there is much more free space than this on the outer volume).

Probable Cause:

Fragmentation

OR

Too small cluster size + too many files/folders in the root directory of the outer volume.

Possible Solution:

Note: The following solution applies only to hidden volumes created within FAT volumes.

Defragment the outer volume (mount it, right-click its drive letter in the 'Computer' or 'My Computer' window, click Properties, select the Tools tab, and click 'Defragment Now'). After the volume is defragmented, exit Disk Defragmenter and try to create the hidden volume again.

If this does not help, delete all files and folders on the outer volume by pressing Shift+Delete, not by formatting, (do not forget to disable the Recycle Bin and System Restore for this drive beforehand) and try creating the hidden volume on this completely empty outer volume again (for testing purposes only). If the maximum possible size of the hidden volume does not change even now, the cause of the problem is very likely an extended root directory. If you did not use the 'Default' cluster size (the last step in the Wizard), reformat the outer volume and this time leave the cluster size at 'Default'.

If it does not help, reformat the outer volume again and copy less files/folders to its root folder than you did last time. If it does not help, keep reformatting and decreasing the number of files/folders in the root folder. If this is unacceptable or if it does not help, reformat the outer volume and select a larger cluster size. If it does not help, keep reformatting and increasing the cluster size, until the problem is solved. Alternatively, try creating a hidden volume within an NTFS volume.

Problem:

I cannot encrypt a partition/device because TrueCrypt Volume Creation Wizard says it is in use.

Possible Solution:

Close, disable, or uninstall all programs that might be using the partition/device in any way (for example an anti-virus utility). If it does not help, right-click the 'Computer' (or 'My Computer') icon on your desktop and select Manage -> Storage -> Disk Management. Then right-click the partition that you want to encrypt, and click Change Drive Letter and Paths. Then click Remove and OK. Restart the operating system.

Problem:

When creating a hidden volume, the Wizard reports that the outer volume cannot be locked.

Probable Cause:

The outer volume contains files being used by one or more applications.

Possible Solution:

Close all applications that are using files on the outer volume. If it does not help, try disabling or uninstalling any anti-virus utility you use and restarting the system subsequently.

Problem:

One of the following problems occurs:

1. A TrueCrypt volume cannot be mounted.
2. NTFS TrueCrypt volumes cannot be created

In addition, the following error may be reported: "The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process."

Probable Cause:

This is probably caused by an interfering application. Note that this is not a bug in TrueCrypt. The operating system reports to TrueCrypt that the device is locked for an exclusive access by an application (so TrueCrypt is not allowed to access it).

Possible Solution:

It usually helps to disable or uninstall the interfering application, which is usually an anti-virus utility, a disk management application, etc.

Problem:

When accessing a file-hosted container shared over a network, you receive one or both of the following error messages:
"Not enough server storage is available to process this command." and/or,
"Not enough memory to complete transaction."

Probable Cause:

IRPStackSize in the Windows registry may have been set to a too small value.

Possible Solution:

Locate the IRPStackSize key in the Windows registry and set it to a higher value. Then restart the system. If the key does not exist in your Windows registry, create it at: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Parameters and set its value to 16 or higher. Then restart the system. For more information, see: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/285089/
and http://support.microsoft.com/kb/177078/