"The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect."

P

Peter Jason

I am using WinXP SP3.

I get the above error message after I mount a drive via TrueCrypt 7.0a
and try to access certain folders and/or files.

This only happens for some folders and files. Is there any way to
fix this? I cannot see any difference on the mounted drive between
the files that work and those that do not. The faulty files have
appeared with strange-character glyphs for names, and the renaming of
these is not possible.

Please help, Peter
 
V

VanguardLH

Peter said:
I am using WinXP SP3.

I get the above error message after I mount a drive via TrueCrypt 7.0a
and try to access certain folders and/or files.

This only happens for some folders and files. Is there any way to
fix this? I cannot see any difference on the mounted drive between
the files that work and those that do not. The faulty files have
appeared with strange-character glyphs for names, and the renaming of
these is not possible.

Please help, Peter
This is a Windows 7 problem how?

Maybe your TrueCrypt container is damaged. Copy out all the folders and
files into a holding folder on your hard disk. Close the Truecrypt
container. Delete. Use TrueCrypt to create a new container. Open the
new container. Copy all the folders ad files back into the new
container.

Did you created a TrueCrypt container that uses the fake volume inside
(the security feature where one password, the one you're forced to
reveal, opens a volume inside the TC container that holds dummy files
and a different password opens the volume where are your protected
files)? If your bogus volume exceeds its size, it just starts writing
into the secret volume and screws it up. This is cautioned in the
manual for TrueCrypt.
 
P

Peter Jason

This is a Windows 7 problem how?
I am still in the process of transferring everything from an old XP
machine to the Windows 7 new one, so I need this fixed now.
Maybe your TrueCrypt container is damaged. Copy out all the folders and
files into a holding folder on your hard disk. Close the Truecrypt
container. Delete. Use TrueCrypt to create a new container. Open the
new container. Copy all the folders ad files back into the new
container.
Thanks, I'll try this. It is possible that hot-disconnecting the
external HDD that the True Crypt-protected data is on has damaged
something.
Did you created a TrueCrypt container that uses the fake volume inside
(the security feature where one password, the one you're forced to
reveal, opens a volume inside the TC container that holds dummy files
and a different password opens the volume where are your protected
files)? If your bogus volume exceeds its size, it just starts writing
into the secret volume and screws it up. This is cautioned in the
manual for TrueCrypt.
No, there is plenty of room on the HDD for the bogus & front-end
compartments. And both have been working for over two years.
The front-end compartment data is OK however, and seems completely
undamaged.

Anyway, after extensive Goggling, I did a chkdsk on the bogus
compartment (chkdsk Z: /f) via Norton utilities, and it converted much
of the data into a separate folder as files with a strange extension
(the disk is off site and I can't remember) all of which seemed to
contain nothing. But I applied my copy of EnCase Enterprise Edition
to these files (allows fast tabbing thru them all) and I was relieved
to find that most of them were intact - though slow to recover - but
some were mangled and seem irredeemable. I am still working on the
problem. From what you say above I will invest in a larger external
HDD with more space - for insurance. I'll also keep a backup HDD for
this drive too.

Where on Windows 7 is a safe-disconnect for HDDs? There is one for
thumb drives.
 
V

VanguardLH

Peter said:
I am still in the process of transferring everything from an old XP
machine to the Windows 7 new one, so I need this fixed now.
So it isn't a Windows XP or Windows 7 problem but a TrueCrypt problem
and you should be asking about the error in the TrueCrypt forums.
No, there is plenty of room on the HDD for the bogus & front-end
compartments. And both have been working for over two years.
The front-end compartment data is OK however, and seems completely
undamaged.

Anyway, after extensive Goggling, I did a chkdsk on the bogus
compartment (chkdsk Z: /f) via Norton utilities, and it converted much
of the data into a separate folder as files with a strange extension
(the disk is off site and I can't remember) all of which seemed to
contain nothing. But I applied my copy of EnCase Enterprise Edition
to these files (allows fast tabbing thru them all) and I was relieved
to find that most of them were intact - though slow to recover - but
some were mangled and seem irredeemable. I am still working on the
problem. From what you say above I will invest in a larger external
HDD with more space - for insurance. I'll also keep a backup HDD for
this drive too.

Where on Windows 7 is a safe-disconnect for HDDs? There is one for
thumb drives.
Getting a larger HDD in which to place the TrueCrypt container won't
eliminate the danger of using a hidden volume. If file(s) exceed the
capacity of the outer volume, writes continue into the hidden volume
which then corrupts the hidden volume. Because of this, you need to
place a static amount of dummy data in the outer volume that does not
exceed its size and then never modify it. This prevents accidentally
growing the data in the outer volume to then overwrite the hidden volume
where is the data that you are really trying to hide.

http://www.truecrypt.org/docs/hidden-volume-protection

Because of this hazard, I never bother using the dummy outer volume for
the "plausible deniability" feature of TrueCrypt. Yes, you could always
remember to click Mount Options to enable the overwrite protection but
this option doesn't stick and eventually you'll forget to do this one
day, put too much into the outer volume, and then corrupt your hidden
volume. It only takes writing of 1 file into the outer volume that
exceeds its capacity to start overwriting into the hidden volume.

Also, since you typically put dummy files into the outer volume but
leave it static so consumption never exceeds its capacity, it's likely
after a long time that you won't remember the password for the outer
volume, so the whole thing about denying access or knowledge of the
hidden volume is trashed since you can't give the password for the outer
volume to pretend its content is what you were secreting inside. Do you
actually ever mount the outer volume (other than initially to store the
dummy files in there)?
 

Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments. After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.

Ask a Question

Top