TrueCrypt: filesystem corruption: is it possible to lose all data at once?

Question

I read that among various corruption risks is the filesystem corruption, that also affects TrueCrypt volumes, like any other system.I would like to know if it is possible that a corruption in some special small region can lead to lose the entire filesystem?

Answer 1

Yes, there is one critical part in a TrueCrypt volume that has to be present and valid otherwise your data is lost: The Volume Header

This is the reason why TrueCrypt has the possibility to back-up this small region and save it somewehere else:

Select Tools -> Backup Volume Header

The Volume Header is really small it's - the first 512 bytes of the TrueCrypt container.

Answer 2

According to the truecrypt FAQ, the cipherblock size is 16 bytes, so one bad bit will likely cause the loss of 16 bytes, but not the whole disk.