Operation Manual
33
Operating Systems Supported for System Encryption
Note: After this version of VeraCrypt was released, a new version of an operating system may have
been released and verified to be fully compatible with VeraCrypt. Therefore, if this is the latest
stable version of VeraCrypt, you should check the online version of this chapter at:
https://veracrypt.codeplex.com/wikipage?title=Supported%20Systems%20for%20System%20Encr
yption
VeraCrypt can currently encrypt the following operating systems (BIOS mode only, UEFI/GPT not
supported):
Windows 8 and 8.1
Windows 7
Windows Vista (SP1 or later)
Windows XP
Windows Server 2012
Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (64-bit)
Windows Server 2003
Note: The following operating systems (among others) are not supported: Windows RT, Windows 2003 IA-64, Windows
2008 IA-64, Windows XP IA-64, and the Embedded/Tablet versions of Windows.
See also the section Supported Operating Systems.
VeraCrypt Rescue Disk
During the process of preparing the encryption of a system partition/drive, VeraCrypt requires that
you create a so-called VeraCrypt Rescue Disk (CD/DVD), which serves the following purposes:
If the VeraCrypt Boot Loader screen does not appear after you start your computer (or if
Windows does not boot), the VeraCrypt Boot Loader may be damaged. The VeraCrypt
Rescue Disk allows you restore it and thus to regain access to your encrypted system and
data (however, note that you will still have to enter the correct password then). In the
Rescue Disk screen, select Repair Options > Restore VeraCrypt Boot Loader. Then press
‘Y’ to confirm the action, remove the Rescue Disk from your CD/DVD drive and restart your
computer.
If the VeraCrypt Boot Loader is frequently damaged (for example, by inappropriately
designed activation software) or if you do not want the VeraCrypt boot loader to reside
on the hard drive (for example, if you want to use an alternative boot loader/manager for
other operating systems), you can boot directly from the VeraCrypt Rescue Disk (as it
contains the VeraCrypt boot loader too) without restoring the boot loader to the hard drive.
Just insert your Rescue Disk into your CD/DVD drive and then enter your password in the
Rescue Disk screen.
If you repeatedly enter the correct password but VeraCrypt says that the password is
incorrect, it is possible that the master key or other critical data are damaged. The
VeraCrypt Rescue Disk allows you to restore them and thus to regain access to your
encrypted system and data (however, note that you will still have to enter the correct
password then). In the Rescue Disk screen, select Repair Options > Restore key data.
Then enter your password, press ‘Y’ to confirm the action, remove the Rescue Disk from