How to Create a TrueCrypt Volume

TrueCrypt volumes are containers that store your files in an encrypted format. When a TrueCrypt volume is mounted to your computer it behaves like an additional hard drive inside your computer or an attached USB drive so all programs should be able to access your encrypted files as easily as they can access your unencrypted files on your computer. 

Creating a TrueCrypt Volume

1. Open the TrueCrypt program.

Launch the program by clicking on: Start | All Programs | TrueCrypt | TrueCrypt

 

 2. Create the TrueCrypt volume.

Click the "Create Volume" button.

 

"Create a file container" should be selected by default. If it is not, select it. Then click the "Next" button to continue.

 

 

The selection "Standard TrueCrypt volume" should be selected by default. If it is not, select it. Then click the "Next" button to continue.

 

Click the "Select File..." button.

 

Navigate to the folder you want to save the TrueCrypt volume to. Then specify a name in the "File name" box. Ensure you add the ".tc" extension at the end of the file name that you specify.

 

Click the "Next" button to advance to the next wizard screen.

 

On the "Encryption Options" screen, accept the default of the "AES" encryption algorithm and "RIPEMD-160" for the Hash Algorithm. Then click the "Next" button to continue.

 

Specify the size in MB (megabytes) for the the encrypted volume that you want to make. Click the "Next" button when done.

  • Here are the sizes in megabytes for common computer media to use as a guide in determing the size of the TrueCrypt volume that you should make. In general you need to make the size of the TrueCrypt volume the size of the data which you want to store in it plus some extra space for additional files which you may create or add. Keep in mind that the larger the volume size you specify, the longer it is going to take to copy or backup the volume. The difference can be from a few minutes to hours depending on where you are copying the TrueCrypt volume to and how you are copying it.
    • A standard floppy disk is 1.44MB in size
    • A Zip disk is 100MB in size
    • A CD-ROM disk is 650-700MB in size
    • A DVD disk is 4700MB in size.

 

Specify the password that you want to use to protect the encrypted volume. You will be prompted to enter this password when you want to use this TrueCrypt volume. Once you specify a password, click the "Next" button to continue.


If prompted and your chosen password meets the UT Austin requirements for the data contained in the TrueCrypt volume, click "Yes" to use a "short" password.

 

Now choose a Filesystem format and leave the "Cluster" setting at its default. Then click "Format" to start creating the TrueCrypt volume. Depending on the TrueCrypt volume size you specified and how fast your computer is, the volume creation process may take a few minutes to a few hours.

  • NOTE: If you want to use the TrueCrypt volume on a Windows AND Mac computer then you must choose the file system type "fat". The drawback to this file system format is that the maximum volume size that you can specify is 32 gigabytes (32000 MB).
  • Choose the file system type "NTFS" if you only plan to use the TrueCrypt volume on Windows computers. There is effectivly no limit on the size of the TrueCrypt volume you can speicfy for this file system type.


 After the TrueCrypt volume creation process completes, click OK to close the dialog box.

 

You are now brought back to the TrueCrypt volume creation wizard start screen. If you don't want to make another TrueCrypt volume, click the "Exit" button to quit the wizard.

 

Your TrueCrypt volume is now created and you may exit the TrueCrypt program by clicking the "Exit" button in the lower right hand corner of the TrueCrypt program.

 

You can now mount your newly created TrueCrypt volume to your computer in order to start working with it.

 

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Last updated on November 23, 2010