Chkdisk on a pre-boot authentication truecrypt drive via VirtualBox

2 drives:

150gb - Linux Mint (not encrypted)

300gb - Windows Vista 64-bit (truecrypt with preboot authentication)

I need to repair my windows install (freezes trying to load a system dll, spinrite gives the drive a clean bill of health, so its just a corrupted system file.) Running repair off the windows install dvd wont work because it can't see my windows partition (due to truecrypt).

Here's what i've done:

Boot into linux partition, install virtualbox and truecrypt gui
Use truecrypt GUI to mount the windows drive (it is now mounted under /media/truecrypt1, and I can see all of my files, great! I can at least save the redownload time of installing my steam games if I have to reinstall)
I created a virtualmachine and attached the host DVD drive to it so it can boot the windows installation dvd.

I want to be able to have the virtualmachine repair the windows install that is currently mounted under /media/truecrypt1. How do I create a passthrough vmdk so that I can mount it in the virtualmachine so that the windows repair tool will be able to see the windows install.

SOLUTION (thanks to tapped-out):

create vmdk passthrough so that virtualbox can use the truecrypt drive: VBoxManage internalcommands createrawvmdk -filename ./passthrough.vmdk -rawdisk /dev/mapper/truecrypt1
Run virtualbox as root: sudo virtualbox
Add the passthrough.vmdk to your virtualmachine's drives
Boot the virtualmachine from the windows install dvd, click Repair computer
It will NOT find the drive to repair, but if you click Load Drivers it will allow you to browse your windows install. Don't load any drivers, just click Next. There will be an option to allow you to open a command prompt.
cd /D c:\ and then chkdsk /f /r

Dont know if it will fix my corrupt dll, but mission accomplished: mounted a pre-boot authenticated truecrypt drive under a virtualmachine so I could run checkdisk on it.

TheBigS

Posted 2012-04-15T12:33:19.027

Reputation: 123

Answers

From a terminal, you will want to run this command:

VBoxManage internalcommands createrawvmdk -filename ./passthrough.vmdk -rawdisk /media/truecrypt1 -register

You can then mount this in a VM as normal.

EDIT: the register parameter has apparently been deprecated, and you need to use the block device, not the mounted partition:

VBoxManage internalcommands createrawvmdk -filename ./passthrough.vmdk -rawdisk /dev/mapper/truecrypt1

nc4pk

Posted 2012-04-15T12:33:19.027

Reputation: 8 261

invalid parameter -register – TheBigS – 2012-04-15T13:09:41.307

sudo VBoxManage internalcommands createrawvmdk -filename ./passthrough.vmdk -rawdisk /media/truecrypt1

VBoxManage: error: File '/media/truecrypt1' is no block device VBoxManage: error: The raw disk vmdk file was not created – TheBigS – 2012-04-15T13:10:51.973

oh, I see. /media/truecrypt1 isn't a blockdevice, it's the partition. what happens if you run VBoxManage internalcommands createrawvmdk -filename ./passthrough.vmdk -rawdisk /dev/mapper/truecrypt1? – nc4pk – 2012-04-15T13:22:10.953

That works! at least it created the vmdk, but now I get this error when trying to use it Result Code: NS_ERROR_FAILURE (0x80004005) Component: Medium Interface: IMedium {53f9cc0c-e0fd-40a5-a404-a7a5272082cd} Callee: IVirtualBox {c28be65f-1a8f-43b4-81f1-eb60cb516e66} – TheBigS – 2012-04-15T13:25:55.730

seems like a common problem on linux, according to this. what happens if you run sudo /etc/init.d/vboxdrv setup?

– nc4pk – 2012-04-15T13:28:36.517

AH soo close. I don't have /etc/init.d/vboxdrv but I found somewhere else where someone said to just run virtualbox as root. That works! at least I can add the drive to my virtual machine, but windows repair tool doesn't show the drive in the list of windows installs that I can repair. UGH. To throw salt in the wound, it will let me browse the drive for disk drivers (it even recognizes it as C:) it just won't let me repair it. – TheBigS – 2012-04-15T13:53:50.500

Got it to run chkdsk, mission accomplished, i don't know if it will fix my corrupt dll, but i got it to work. I'll edit the above question to put the solution in there, thanks! – TheBigS – 2012-04-15T13:59:53.020