Version Information

IMPORTANT: If you store the backup volume in any location that an adversary can 
repeatedly access (for example, on a device kept in a bank’s safe deposit box), you should 
repeat all of the above steps (including the step 1) each time you want to back up the 
volume (see below).
If you follow the above steps, you will help prevent adversaries from finding out: 
•
Which sectors of the volumes are changing (because you always follow step 1). This is 
particularly important, for example, if you store the backup volume on a device kept in a 
bank’s safe deposit box (or in any other location that an adversary can repeatedly access) 
and the volume contains a hidden volume (for more information, see the subsection 
Security Requirements and Precautions Pertaining to Hidden Volumes
 in the chapter 
Plausible Deniability
).
•
That one of the volumes is a backup of the other. 
System Partitions 
Note: In addition to backing up files, we recommend that you also back up your TrueCrypt Rescue 
Disk (select 
System
> 
Create Rescue Disk
). For more information, see the section 
TrueCrypt 
Rescue Disk
. 

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To back up an encrypted system partition securely and safely, it is recommended to follow these 
steps: 
1. If you have multiple operating systems installed on your computer, boot the one that does 
not require pre-boot authentication.
If you do not have multiple operating systems installed on your computer, you can boot a 
WinPE or BartPE CD/DVD (‘live’ Windows entirely stored on and booted from a CD/DVD; 
for more information, search the section 
Frequently Asked Questions
 for the keyword 
‘BartPE’). 
If none of the above is possible, connect your system drive as a secondary drive to another 
computer and then boot the operating system installed on the computer. 
Note: For security reasons, if the operating system that you want to back up resides in a 
hidden TrueCrypt volume (see the section 
Hidden Operating System
), then the operating 
system that you boot in this step must be either another hidden operating system or a "live-
CD" operating system (see above). For more information, see the subsection 
Security 
Requirements and Precautions Pertaining to Hidden Volumes
 in the chapter 
Plausible 
Deniability
. 
2. Create a new non-system TrueCrypt volume using the TrueCrypt Volume Creation Wizard 
(do not enable the 
Quick Format
option or the 
Dynamic
option). It will be your 
backup
volume so its size should match (or be greater than) the size of the system partition that 
you want to back up. 
If the operating system that you want to back up is installed in a hidden TrueCrypt volume 
(see the section 
Hidden Operating System
), the 
backup
volume must be a hidden 
TrueCrypt volume too. Before you create the hidden 
backup
volume, you must create a 
new host (outer) volume for it without enabling the 
Quick Format 
option. In addition, 
especially if the 
backup
volume is file-hosted, the hidden 
backup
volume should occupy 
only a very small portion of the container and the outer volume should be almost completely 
filled with files (otherwise, the plausible deniability of the hidden volume might be adversely 
affected). 
3. Mount the newly created 
backup
volume. 
4. Mount the system partition that you want to back up by following these steps:
a. Click 
Select Device
and then select the system partition that you want to back up (in 
case of a hidden operating system, select the partition containing the hidden volume 
in which the operating system is installed).
b. Click 
OK
.
c. Select 
System
> 
Mount Without Pre-Boot Authentication
.
d. Enter your pre-boot authentication password and click 
OK
.
5. Mount the 
backup
volume and then use a third-party program or a Windows tool to create 
an image of the filesystem that resides on the system partition (which was mounted as a 

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regular TrueCrypt volume in the previous step) and store the image directly on the mounted 
backup
volume.