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DavidXanatos / DiskCryptor

A fork of the DiskCryptor full disk encryption tool
https://www.diskcryptor.org/
468 stars 100 forks source link

How to decrypt from bootable USB drive? Portable version? #51

Open EntropySmoke opened 2 years ago

EntropySmoke commented 2 years ago

First of all - thank you for this excellent tool!

The only trouble I have with DiskCryptor is that I must be able to decrypt my drives/partitions a bootable USB environment, such as Hiren's Boot CD. I can't get DiskCryptor to launch from such an environment, but I have no problem launching VeraCrypt portable version from the same environment. Any idea why? Is there a way to make DiskCryptor portable?

DavidXanatos commented 2 years ago

Yea that should work just fine, the only main and problematic difference is that the way the DC driver works it must be loaded on boot, while VC's driver can be loaded at any time. ergo, you need to intagrate the driver and the requied reg entries into the win PE image itself.

I personally don't bother anymore with limited and castrated windows PE environments, instead i just take a full blown live windows LTSC on an external SSD. that works great, you can install any software and reboot without loosing the state.

ghost commented 2 years ago

Can you please create a guide? Every time I try to integrate DiskCryptor drivers with whatever method (MSMG Toolkit, DISM, NTLite), I get errors, such as "Incorrect Architecture". Aside from driver integration, I assume registry items must be added.

Personally, I don't like using full version of Windows just to explore and/or restore and/or create partition/drive backup images. There are way too many security vectors in non-tweaked full version of Windows, such as enabled-by-default local network sharing features. Instead, I use DISM to create my own custom versions of Windows-based bootable portable environments that have no network drivers, features, capabilities, etc, but stock images of such environments (such as Macrium Rescure/Recovery PE) are already limited. Ripping away as many components from ful version of Windows is just not feasible (to me).

I think many would appreciate a guide on how to properly integrate DiskCryptor drivers and the program itself into Windows-based PE's.

ghost commented 2 years ago

Still hoping for a guide or a tool for easy integration.

DavidXanatos commented 2 years ago

You dont need a guide, get rufus from https://rufus.ie/ create a windows 10 or 11 to go usb hdd, boot it, run the bog standard DC installer, reboot. voila your external windows 10 or 11 boot disk now has DC installed.

That's why I don't longer bother with windows PE to much work adding stuff, a full blown windows 10 or 11 on a stick is just as flexible but you can install anything to it no limitations no special procedures no nonsense.

ghost commented 2 years ago

Does Windows PE simply not load DiskCryptor drivers on boot? DC drivers are set in registry to start on boot. It should work on WinPE, but it doesn't...

DavidXanatos commented 2 years ago

Well if you prepare a custom win PE image with the drivers integrated than it would work, but why the hastle... howadays you grab a random small usb HDD and install a portable full blown windows on it using rufus.is in that you can install whatever the normal way reboot as many times as you need everythign to set up and then us it on any PC you may need to rescue