5 replies to this topic

[AnonVendetta]

I am trying to use RMPrepUSB's (v2.1.734) "Create ext2/3/4 FS" option. My goal is to create a persistent image file that I will use in conjunction with a Ubuntu ISO. I selected the option to list large drives. What I'm trying to do is create a 32GB persistent file on my external HDD, then later copy that file to my E2B drive. My HDD is selected. I can get as far as selecting the FS I want to use (ext4), then it just exits. Not RMPrepUSB itself, just the prompt to create the FS. In the drive list it says my HDD is "unmounted". My gut feeling is that RMPrepUSB sees it this way because the sole partition on the drive is encrypted with VeraCrypt. Even in Disk Management the volume is seen as raw. But it is indeed mounted and accessible in Explorer, etc. Is there a way to force RMPrepUSB to simply write the image file onto the root of this drive, since it is accessible? I really would prefer not to have to write this large file onto my SSD, and writing it directly onto the E2B drive may be a bit slow.

 

Thanks!

[steve6375]

Does the target drive have a drive letter in Windows?

If it is seen as raw by Windows, how can it write a file to it??

[AnonVendetta]

Yes, the target volume does have a drive letter. But it is assigned by VeraCrypt, not Windows. As stated, the volume is accessible in Explorer, most softwares can see it, etc. Disk Management does see the volume as raw, regardless of whether it's mounted or not. VeraCrypt runs a driver in the background, so encrypted volumes remain mounted even if I kill the VC GUI.

An idea: Prompt the user for a path to write the image file to. As long as it's accessible then it shouldn't matter whether RMPrepUSB sees the volume as not mounted.

I'm not sure how to explain this, but VC does non-transparent encryption on non-system volumes. C drive is the exception, if Windows itself is encrypted then everything sees it correctly as long as it is mounted (i.e. Windows is running). Obviously, C drive can never be seen as raw when the system is running, this would be a problem. A consequence of this behavior is that many softwares see the non-system volume as raw even when mounted, and they may not be able to see its' free/used space. Different encryption softwares handle things differently, so this doesn't apply to all. I'm not partitioning this volume, installing bootloaders, etc., so simply asking for a path should suffice.

[steve6375]

OK, I see. So the APIs that are used to make the ext filesystem are not supported by VeraCrypt.

Why not make the ext file on another drive then?

Just use the RMPrepUSB - Settings - All Drives setting.

[AnonVendetta]

@steve6375: Well, I don't have another drive except my SSD, otherwise I would have used that instead.

 

But can you consider adding a prompt for a path to save the image file to? Not for the whole app, just for this particular function. RMPrepUSB should be willing to write to any path that is available.

 

I would use another more transparent encryption solution, but from what I've tried, VeraCrypt and TrueCrypt are the only ones that work on Windows, Linux, and Mac. I like to keep my data secure, but I also need it to be accessible in multiple OSes.

 

Thanks!

[steve6375]

It writes the file to \ . You will still get the same problem even if you could specify a path.