[Gill..]

Did a TON of sudying before actually attempting... here's my approach - what I wanted... what I have now, and I'm asking for advice.

350 w/Vista x64 unencrypted. Boot loader give an option of Vista or Mint (fake - I uninstalled, can't fix MBR yet)

250 w/XP x64

1.5 TB w/ new install of Ubuntu - partitioned all out.....

1 TB play drive (external) - open to suggestions on what to do with this.

So, the goal was to switch in bios from the 350 (main drive) to the 1.5 TB (w/bootloader)....

On the 1.5 - I wanted it totally encrypted with a hidden OS.

On the 1 TB - I was going to leave 500 unencrypted - and encrypt the other 500 with a copy of Ubuntu on it.....

1 TB is holding all my backup data, I installed Ubuntu first figuring - get it on and configured - THEN try Truecrypt.

So I wanted to encrypt an entire partition, clone Ubuntu and hide it. But when I went to do so, I was really worried I'd wipe Ubuntu (which was a pain to install for the linux noob)... and ended up making a Truecypt container with 700GB. Now I'm at work....

So.... can I still create my hidden OS in within the 700 GB and still create a bootloader so the whole drive's encrypted? Will it mess with the GRUB loader already on there?

Or should I just be happy with the 700 and toss everything in there and shut up?

I really wanted an incognito OS....that would be ballsy! Then I'd make it mobile by cloning it on the 1 TB drive that is external.

Totalling around 6 OS's on one machine - BLAM!

 

[Gill..]

thanks man - I'll look at them tonight and report back - appreciate the links.

 

[Gill..]

Hey, thiussat - not knocking you - but nah - didn't help.

That thread just dealt with the hidden volume, not the OS or Ubuntu copy. Truecrypts own documentation lays out the scene - you put the OS within the hidden volume - but since it's hidden, hence the OS is - ......but this is all after you've created the regular TC volume. (In effect it IS the partitioning piece of software - IT partitions the "TC" volume - and I'm thinking it's its own partition with its own name (properties show it as a "virtual device" in /dev/mapper/TC6 ..but address location is /home/myname/crappy name I gave the folder/....)

Since that volume itself (the regular), the rest of the data (unused) is always filled with garbage - the effect of (1 of) TC's methods of "encryption". So that area is where both a.)the hidden volume and b.)the hidden OS within that volume.....

I think I'm on the right path - the Wizard, TC documentation and graphs and stuff are pretty good. I was just scared the way the Wizard walks you through....

I think i now go back to wizard - create the hidden volume....and a further option will ask about the hidden OS option. It then I hope automates a cloning of the OS that you launch TC from (in this case Ubuntu).

Maybe that thread was changed, or we're thinking different things...

Only thing I should have done (still will do after this post)...is jump back into Windows (Vista)...go to disk management and write down the names (physical - sbd, sbd1 etc...) and what the heck they REALLY contain.

Then jump back to Ubuntu - fire up TC....and hope to god I don't screw it up.

The hidden OS option then loads a "Pre-boot loader" behind the system partition, but before the regular TC partition....both of which are unencrypted....that's how you get it to boot....from what I can tell from the documentation