Solved TrueCrypted hard drive moved to alternate PC, causes BSOD during boot

[CIS]

My PC's motherboard died a few months ago, and I was finally able to find a cheap replacement that is almost completely identical. I have placed my hard drive into this computer, and tried to boot.

My hard drive is encrypted with TrueCrypt, and it prompts for the password in the BIOS environment before Windows can boot. This part works fine, so the TrueCrypt boot loader does not seem to be corrupted.

But as soon as I enter the password and hit enter, it shows the Windows dialog of "Windows failed to start. It may be due to a hardware change" (similar to the screen seen at boot up when you'd shut down the PC improperly). When I select the "Start Windows normally" option, it shows the Windows 7 screen for about 3 seconds, then it freezes, then BSOD, then restart.

From my online searching, I've figured that it must have something to do with driver conflicts. Is it just the hard drive driver causing the problem? Does anyone have any idea how this can be resolved, if at all?


Thanks very much in advance.

Relevant screenshots (sorry for poor quality):

1. TC Boot Loader (on my hard drive) prompt is shown, password entered, shows "Booting..."

2. "Windows Error Recovery" screen shows, offering options of "Launch Start Repair" or "Start Windows Normally".

3. When "Start Windows Normally" is selected, the Windows 7 boot logo begins, and then freezes after about 3 seconds.

4. BSOD appears, with the relevant text illustrated.

5. Computer restarts automatically.

 

[HonorGamer]

Load up into safe mode with networking by pressing F8 on start up. Then follow the http://www.sevenforums.com/crashes-debugging/96879-blue-screen-death-bsod-posting-instructions.html so we can assist better.

-Justin

 

[CIS]

Thanks for the reply, Justin.


I'm sure this is an extremely bad sign, but I get the BSOD about halfway through the the "Loading Windows Files" menu when entering Safe Mode with Networking. :shock:

Major thanks to anyone who might still be able to assist me with this mess... I know it's more of a TrueCrypt-specific issue, but since the boot loader works just fine and everything else worked fine on my previous (fried) PC, I'm inclined to believe it's more of a hardware compatibility issue.

 

[HonorGamer]

Try loading your windows 7 install CD, and try a system restore to before you installed TruCrypt.

-Justin

 

[Golden]

Try loading your windows 7 install CD, and try a system restore to before you installed TruCrypt.

Hi,

Unfortunately I don't think this will work - the entire partition is encrypted, so System Restore has no way of decrypting the partition to read the restore points at this stage.

The 07B error might be related the hard drive controller:

1. In the old computer, were you using the IDE or AHCI mode?
2. In the new computer, are you using the IDE or AHCI mode?

In the new computer BIOS, try swapping between IDE and AHCI mode.

Regards,
Golden

 

[HonorGamer]

Try loading your windows 7 install CD, and try a system restore to before you installed TruCrypt.

Hi,

Unfortunately I don't think this will work - the entire partition is encrypted, so System Restore has no way of decrypting the partition to read the restore points at this stage.

The 07B error might be related the hard drive controller:

1. In the old computer, were you using the IDE or AHCI mode?
2. In the new computer, are you using the IDE or AHCI mode?

In the new computer BIOS, try swapping between IDE and AHCI mode.

Regards,
Golden

Thanks, never thought of that.

 

[CIS]

Try loading your windows 7 install CD, and try a system restore to before you installed TruCrypt.

-Justin

Nope, it indicates to me that you must choose which Operating System to restore, and there are none in the list. Seemingly TC is encrypting the drive so that it cannot be accessed otherwise, or maybe it's just corrupted? I can't tell.

I might try using the System Repair "drivers" option to try uploading the Fujitsu hard drive driver from a USB memory stick and see if that might be the problem.

Any other suggestions? Thanks again for your assistance, it is much appreciated.

 

[CIS]

Just noticed the additional replies. Thanks Golden, I will try that and update.

 

[CIS]

Golden,

I don't see any option in BIOS to switch between IDE and AHCI mode. From the tuturials I've scoured online, it seems that there should usually be such an option available. Perhaps I need to upgrade the BIOS version? The model is HP DV9000 Pavilion laptop.

 

[Golden]

Hi,

Try the System Configuration Menu as described in the manual.

Regards,
Golden

 

[CIS]

Thanks for your suggestion, Golden, but I've resolved the issue.

I formatted a non-system partition and installed Win7 to it, then in that Windows environment was able to d/l TC and mount my files from the unbootable TC-encrypted Windows drive and transfer them to the new installation, after which I wiped the original drives and re-organized to my previous configuration.

But thanks again for your suggestions and help!