Truecrypt encryption tutorial 4 - How to use full disk encryption with Truecrypt - Updated for Truecrypt version 6!

Last updated July 20, 2010 7:30 PM

The disk encryption software in Truecrypt 6 supports encryption of an entire Windows installation. This means that every file on your computer can be encrypted. Previous versions of Truecrypt could not encrypt operating system files and folders, or the temporary files and folders Windows creates automatically as you work with your computer, such as the virtual memory paging file. Using full disk encryption means that your data is safe and sound no matter where it is stored on your computer. Furthermore, there is no longer any need to use file shredding utilities to clear files and folders from unencrypted areas of your hard drive, since there are no longer any unencrypted areas! In the past, products which offered this level of security were prohibitively expensive, but now everyone can benefit from the improved security of full hard drive encryption for free.

The follwing tutorial will show you how you can encrypt your entire hard drive, including your operating system files, using Truecrypt 6. This tutorial is probably the most advanced concept we have covered to date on Top-Windows-Tutorials.com. Having said that, we believe that the process is simple enough for most users to attempt, as long as they follow a few precautions beforehand.

Please exercise caution when following this tutorial!

Before beginning this tutorial, please make a FULL backup of your computers hard drive. We also recommend watching the video through once from start to finish, before attempting the procedure yourself.

To start the video presentation, please click on the picture below.

Additional Notes

Windows XP / Windows 7 Users - While this tutorial was filmed using Windows Vista, the procedure is almost identical under your operating systems. Of course, Windows XP users will not see any User Account Control prompts or warnings.

Please note that this procedure only encrypts the hard drive that Windows is installed on. If you have another hard drive attached to your computer, this procedure will not encrypt the contents of that drive, even if it is installed inside your computer.

To create Truecrypt rescue CD's for use with full disk encryption, you can use InfraRecorder:-

Or, Windows 7 users can use the Windows ISO recorder. Truecrypt will launch this automatically for Windows 7 users during the process:-

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