Truecrypt installation and usage guide for Windows XP, 7, Vista and 8

WARNING!!: Before installing Truecrypt encryption software on your

computer, you should create an Acronis image back up of your computer system
to an external hard drive just in case Truecrypt encryption fails for any reason.
If Truecrypt encryption fails, the data on your hard drive may become corrupted
and you would need to restore your computer system from your Acronis image
back up.
I recommend connecting your computer to an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) because if
your computer loses power for any reason during encryption, your computer’s hard drive will
become corrupted. In the event of a power failure, it is possible for you to Pause or Defer the
encryption process and shut down the computer. You would be able to resume encryption
process after power is restored by logging back into your computer and starting Truecrypt
program again.

Windows 8 is not officially supported but will work when using the Windows
7/Vista/XP/2000 installation referenced below.

Download Truecrypt installation software from:

http://www.truecrypt.org/downloads

Download the TrueCrypt Setup 7.1a.exe (3.3 MB)

Run the setup program.

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Check the box to accept the license terms and then click Next button.

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Select the Install option and then click Next button.

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Click Install button.

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Wait around 30 seconds to 1 minute for the installation to complete.

When installation is complete, a window similar to the above window will appear on your
monitor.

Click OK button.

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Click the Finish button.

If you want to read the Beginner’s Tutorial, click Yes. Otherwise, click No.

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Click the Truecrypt icon on your desktop to start Truecrypt

 How to guide to set up pre-boot authentication encryption

Click the System menu and then select Encrypt System Partition/Drive…

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For pre-boot authentication encryption, select Encrypt the system partition or entire system
drive. Then click Next button.

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Select Normal option and then click Next button

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If you only have 1 partition on your hard drive, select Encrypt the whole drive option. Then
click Next button.

If you have more than 1 partition on your hard drive, but only want to encrypt the partition that
the Windows operating system is stored on, select Encrypt the Windows system partition. All
other partitions will NOT be encrypted.

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You may receive the message above if you have more than one partition on your hard drive or
if you are using a laptop computer, you may have a special recovery partition. If you had
already created an Acronis image back up (refer to Warning on page 1 of this guide) of your
computer system, select No and proceed to the next step.

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If you are not sure what to select, it is safer to select No. Then click Next button.

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Select Single-boot if there is only one operating system installed on your computer.

Then click Next button.

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Select AES as the Encryption Algorithm (that is the default option).

Select RIPEMD-160 as the Hash Algorithm (that is the default option).

Then click Next button.

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Select a password that you can remember with password complexity (combination of Capital
and lower case letters, numbers and special characters such as @#$%^&*(, Password should
also be different than your Windows log on password. Then click Next button.

You will receive the message above if your password is less than 20 characters in length. I think
it is fine to have a password less than 20 characters in length if it has password complexity
(combination of Capital and lower case letters, numbers and special characters such as
@#$%^&*(,

Click Yes button to the prompt.

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Move your mouse pointer as randomly as possible for around 10 to 15 seconds within the area
circled above. Then click Next button.

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Click Next button.

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You should create a Truecrypt Rescue CD and save in a safe place.

Do NOT lose the Truecrypt Rescue CD.

Choose a location to save the iso file to and give the Rescue disk a name. Then Click the Next
button.

I recommend saving the iso file to an external hard drive and also email yourself a copy and
save it in your email archive (the iso file size is around 1.75 Megabytes).

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If your computer does not have CD/DVD recording software, download CD/DVD recording
software from the link circled in the window that appears.

Then click Next button to proceed.

If your computer does not have a CD/DVD recording drive, copy the iso file to an external
hard drive and then find a computer that does have a CD/DVD recording drive to burn your
iso file to a CD.

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The window above is a warning that tells you that each computer is unique and you will need to
create a new Truecrypt Rescue CD for each computer you encrypt even if you use the same
encryption password. Click OK button to proceed.

Click Launch Microsoft Windows Disc Image Burner button to proceed.

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You should check box to Verify disc after burning. Put CD to be burned in your computer’s
CD/DVD Recordable drive. Click Burn button.

The window above applies if you have Windows Disc Image Burner installed

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After burning the Truecrypt Rescue CD, click the Next button to verify the CD was correctly
burned.

Click Next button to proceed.

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Select None for Wipe Mode. Then click Next button.

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Click the Test button.
Final warning: You should have created Acronis image back up of your computer system and
created a Truecrypt Rescue Disk CD.

Click Yes button to restart your computer.

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After computer has restarted, you will be prompted to enter your pre-boot authentication
password. Then Windows loads normally and you will need to enter your Windows log on
password as usual.

Confirm that Automatic Updates are temporarily turned off and that your computer is not set
to go to Sleep or Hibernate. You do not want the Encryption process to be interrupted
because that may cause problems.

I recommend connecting your computer to an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) because if

your computer loses power for any reason during encryption, your computer’s hard drive
may become corrupted.

Click Encrypt button to start the encryption process or click Defer button if you want to start
encryption process later.

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The three screenshots that follow below give instructions to boot from Truecrypt Rescue CD
and how to use the Truecrypt Rescue CD after your computer has completed the encryption
process.
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The amount of time required for the Truecrypt encryption process to be completed will vary
based on the size of your hard drive. For an Intel core 2 duo processor with 2 Gigabytes of
RAM, it takes around 4 hours to encrypt a 250 Gigabyte hard drive.

It is possible for you to Pause or Defer the encryption process but that is not recommended
except if your computer is connected to a UPS. If there is a power failure, you would be able to
Pause or Defer the encryption process and then Shut Down your computer.

The window above will appear after the encryption process has completed. Click the OK
button. I recommend restarting your computer.