Bootcamp drivers issue (Windows 10 + encrypted ntfs disk - TrueCrypt and all other)

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Level 1

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Bootcamp drivers issue (Windows 10 + encrypted ntfs disk - TrueCrypt and all other)

Hi,

I have interesting issue - after installing Windows 10 on MacBook Air (I have tried on 2 differnt ones) it is possible to create encrypted ntfs drive (for example with TrueCrypt, VeraCrypt and other similar). However after running setup of Bootcamp drivers for Windows there is an issue: all those program stop to work with NTFS drives (they still allow to work with FAT drives). The problem cannot be undone (even after uninstalling Bootcamp on Windows NTFS drives are still not accessible).

Even more amazing - when I run Windows 10 under Parallels Desktop it works fine with NTFS encrypted volumes.

The problem does not appear on Windows 7, Windows 8 and 8.1 (I have tested all of them with Bootcamp drivers installed on Windows).

Do you have any clue, what is the reason of this problem and how to make it work?

hcsradek

MacBook Air, OS X Yosemite (10.10.3), Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8

Posted on May 16, 2015 3:42 PM

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Answer 1

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

May 16, 2015 7:21 PM in response to hcsradek

hcsradek wrote:

I have interesting issue - after installing Windows 10 on MacBook Air (I have tried on 2 differnt ones) it is possible to create encrypted ntfs drive (for example with TrueCrypt, VeraCrypt and other similar).

Have you tested with BitLocker? There are quite a few challenges with encrypted Windows drives. Was Windows installed using EFI or BIOS? You can check msconfig and look for BIOS or UEFI.

However after running setup of Bootcamp drivers for Windows there is an issue: all those program stop to work with NTFS drives (they still allow to work with FAT drives).

To clarify, are you saying if your Drive is encrypted, then your Keypad and Mouse do not work? Does NTFS drives refer to the drive on which the OS is installed, or a non-OS NTFS drive? Are you encrypting these FAT drives, and does the encryption software support such drives?

What are the requirements for encryption software you are using? For BitLocker there are very specific requirements. For example, from https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd875544%28v=ws.10%29.aspx?f=255&MSP PError=-2147217396

To turn on BitLocker Drive Encryption on the operating system drive, your computer's hard disk must meet the following requirements:

The hard disk must contain at least two partitions: the operating system partition and the active system partition. The operating system partition is where Windows is installed and will be encrypted. The active system partition must remain unencrypted so that the computer can be started, and this partition must be at least 100 MB in size. By default in Windows 7, the system partition will not be given a letter and will be hidden from the user. If your computer does not have a separate, active partition, the required partitions will be created for you during BitLocker setup. By default during Windows setup, a separate, hidden system partition is created. It is a best practice for users to run as a standard user to prevent access to the system partition.

The operating system and active system partitions must be formatted with the NTFS file system. Other partitions can be formatted with NTFS, FAT, FAT32, or exFAT.

The BIOS must be compatible with the TPM or support USB devices during computer startup. If this is not the case, you will need to update the BIOS before using BitLocker.

hcsradek wrote:

Even more amazing - when I run Windows 10 under Parallels Desktop it works fine with NTFS encrypted volumes.

The problem does not appear on Windows 7, Windows 8 and 8.1 (I have tested all of them with Bootcamp drivers installed on Windows).

Windows 10 does not have an official Apple driver set yet. Apple has a NTFS driver built into OS X , but till W10 is officially supported, this driver may not have sufficient updates to let it work correctly with W10. Was W10 a clean install or an Upgrade from W7/W8+?

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Answer 2

hcsradek Author

Level 1

9 points

May 18, 2015 1:57 AM in response to Loner T

Hi,

Thanks for reply.

I don't have bitlocker (it requires Windows Ultimate) but I have tested TrueCrypt, VeraCrypt, SymantecPGP and others. I am using the same container on USB and use it on several systems so it is not an option to upgade all to Ultimate.

To clarify - I am not encrypting whole disk - I am just creating container which is encrypted virtual drive, so I understand that questions about EFI are not relevant (in fact one of my MacBooks is new one so it has UEFI requirement, the second is older os I have MBR on disk).

To show exactly the procedure:

1. Fresh windows installation

- TrueCrypt opens NTFS containers (you can test it simply creating new NTFS drive, mounting it and putting there any file)

- touchapd / keybord are working but without bootcamp drivers they just work

- other devices (for example WiFi) are not installed

2. Installation of Bootcamp drivers

- TrueCrypt (and other) are unable to open NTFS containers (they mount the container but are unable to show even the list of files)

- touchapd / keybord are working like they should

- other devices are also working properly

I am not aware about any particular requirements, which are common for TrueCrypt, VeraCrypt, Symantec PGP... So it is something which is done by BootCamp installation program.

Best,

hcsradek

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Answer 3

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

May 18, 2015 3:21 AM in response to hcsradek

There are a set of Apple Services in Services that you should turn off one-by-one to see which service conflicts with TrueCrypt. More than likely, it is AppleOSSMgr.exe.

You can repeat the same test with others like VeraCrypt and SymantecPGP.

I have lost data with SymantecPGP on a Bootcamp Mac. It was a bad experience. The drive could not be decrypted despite trying all supported mechanisms to rescue the data.

OSX needs a remote lock and wipe feature, similar to iOS, which is coupled with Find My Mac.

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Answer 4

hcsradek Author

Level 1

9 points

May 20, 2015 7:11 AM in response to Loner T

Thanks - I will try with the services (it will take a while because I have removed Windows 10 now) - I will put comment here.

Best,

hcsradek

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Answer 5

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

May 20, 2015 7:25 AM in response to hcsradek

Thank you. It would be good to know what your findings are, for future references.

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Answer 6

hcsradek Author

Level 1

9 points

May 20, 2015 3:59 PM in response to Loner T

Hi,

Unfortunatelly it didn't work. I have restored Windows 10 with Apple Drivers installed (having no possibility to mount NTFS volume) and have stopped all Apple services (even changing the directory name programs are located to be sure, that they are not referenced from anywhere). After restarts the situation hasn't changed (oh - Windows 10 switched to its native screen brightness management instead of Apple's).

Any other ideas what should be tried?

Best,

hcsradek

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Answer 7

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

May 20, 2015 4:58 PM in response to hcsradek

You do realize that TrueCrypt is no longer maintained. VeraCrypt is a fork of TrueCrypt.

The OS X side contains a read-only NTFS driver. If the container is on the Bootcamp volume, can you see the container and it's contents?

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Answer 8

hcsradek Author

Level 1

9 points

May 21, 2015 12:39 AM in response to Loner T

Hi,

When I write "TrueCrypt" I mean that "TrueCrypt, VeraCrypt and others".

The problem is only after booting to windows - TrueCrypt is unable to open NTFS container... After booting to MacOSX with Parallels it works fine. It does not matter where the container is located (but yes - all containers I am using are stored on NTFS drives as they are bigger than 4 GB). I have even tried to mount container which was on SMB server - the same result. So I guess that it is something related to virtual drive which is created after mounting not the driver to phisical disk (the same problem appears on 2 different computers).

Best,

hcsradek

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Answer 9

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

May 21, 2015 4:19 AM in response to hcsradek

Parallels uses it's own MaxFuse/OSXFuse/NTFS-3g derivative driver and creates it's own BIOS emulation layer to be able to boot from BC Partitions. Can you install W10 again and install BC drivers one-at-a-time to test which BC driver's installation breaks TrueCrypt?

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Answer 10

hcsradek Author

Level 1

9 points

May 22, 2015 3:47 PM in response to Loner T

Hi,

It took me some time to do this - I tried with the latest release (10074) hitting into some new issues. After they were solved the situation is following:

1. After fresh Windows 10 installation TrueCrypt and other similar open NTFS containers

2. After installing drivers one-by-one it still works (but I still do not have BootCamp control panel and I am unable to manage screen/keyboard brightness etc)

3. Then, after starting BootCamp setup... TryeCrypt stops working with NTFS containers

I have tried to compare the list of services between Windows 8 and 10 (now I have 2 setups on 2 Mac Books Air - one with Windows 8 which works properly and the second with Windows 10 which does not). I have also stored fresh Windows 10 disk image to be able to restore it in few minutes to do more tests, but I am not sure what else can be checked.

I have also noticed that TrueCrypt copies one driver to system32/drivers and when it was used I am unable to uninstall it (program says that it is unable to stop TrueCrypt Driver Service", but I have no idea what it is.

Best,

hcsradek

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Answer 11

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

May 22, 2015 4:13 PM in response to hcsradek

Can you go into Computer Management -> Services and check what is the name of the executable file? It is supposed to be a mini-OS which allows file movement between the container and other non-encrypted directories/file systems.

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