Date: 09 February 25, 22:02 PM
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 Folders disappearing in Truecrypt



Traveller


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Hi all.

(Truecrypt version 7.0a and Ubuntu 9.10)

Using Truecrypt, a folder has been created which contains more folders. Each of these folders contain files as well as more folders. Now something very strange is happening. In one of the folders, if I right-click and create a new folder, it appears in the list, however, if I go back using the back arrow and then forward again, the folder has disappeared! If I try to create another folder of the same name, it says it already exists, but where has it gone? Why can't I see it? The even more strange thing is that I have tried to create a folder in one of the other folders and that seems to be working fine. Why is it happening to this one folder? Also, I have never really paid much attention to this before so how do I know if more folders containing important files have hidden themselves and I don't even know that they're there?

I have also just checked it in Ubuntu 10.04 and the same thing happens. I am not 100% sure but I think that there should be many many more files in my folder than those that can be seen. I have also not created a hidden volume which deletes files when space is used up. In any case, it tells me there is still about 80Gb space left. What is happening and where are the folders/files????

Thanks for any help.

scuzzy


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  • In an emergency, 9-1-1 calls ME.

I don't know what is causing the problem, but a possible work around comes to mind.

Since the problem seems to be in only one particular folder (if I understood you correctly), try temporarily moving that folder and its contents to another place on your hard drive (outside of the Truecrypt volume). Then erase the folder from within the Truecrypt volume. Once that's done, create a new folder in the Truecrypt volume and move the contents back. Then see if the problem continues.

Also, while the folder is on another place on your hard drive, see if you can replicate the problem. It should help you determine if the problem lies within Truecrypt, or within the folder itself.

Traveller


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Hi scuzzy/ja. Thanks for the help.

I moved all the visible files into another folder and the problem didn't appear in the new folder, however, when I tried to paste the faulty folder on the desktop. It gives an error.

Error while copying.
There was an error getting information about the files in the folder "whatever".
Error stating file '/media/truecrypt#/whatever/whatever/filename.ext': Input/output error.

I have substituted the text as follows:-

whatever - folder names
# - Truecrypt slot
filename - the name of a file
ext - the extension of the file

The file in question is one of my files but it does not appear anywhere in the folder. I only get an error about it. I think it should have appeared in the folder.

Anyhow, if I 'skip' the error, the folder manages to paste to the desktop, but it still appears empty and it still insists that the I cannot create the disappearing folders in it because they exist already.

I do not want to erase the faulty folder until I know it doesn't contain any other files I can't see but I have no way of knowing that at the moment! The 'super-folder' contains LOTS of other things and would take an eternity to copy over, especially as copying everything at once may corrupt files (or do I have the wrong info here?).

I'm going to run some sort of disk checker now as I have read somewhere that it could possibly be a hardware issue as well as check for malware as suggested. Will poast the results.

Thanks.

Traveller


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Hi ja.

I have done the basic virus test and disk check, which came up with nothing, but they were the VERY basic tests that came with Ubuntu and may not pick anything up at all. The disk is currently going through a SMART test (thorough).

What's your thinking behind copying the files over to a flash drive? Do you mean in case it's the drive that's failing?

Anything I paste into the faulty folder is disappearing. I've been searching the web but cannot find anyone with the same problem of files just disappearing into thin air but then when a file of the same name is pasted, it states that the file already exists! I copied several files to the faulty folder yesterday and because they were so many and the folder already contained many, I didn't notice if the added files were disappearing, especially because they appear at first but it is when you navigate away from the folder and back again that they disappear! Can anyone think of a more annoying problem that this?? Unbelievably frustrating! Even if I cannot get the files back, is there any way to see the names of the files so that I'd at least know what I've lost?

Thanks.

Edit - I would poast at the Truecrypt site as well but they're one of those that do not accept registration with free email addresses, so I'm not going to be poasting there!

Traveller


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Just when you thought things couldn't get any weirder....

The files that were in the faulty folder to start with didn't disappear. Those remained in the folder as mentioned before, however, I do not know if these are ALL files that were in the folder. As you know, I moved these files from the faulty folder to a newly created folder. The funny part is when I tried moving one of these files back to the faulty folder, the file stayed there ok, however, moving a file from one of the other ok folders doesn't work. Only files that were originally in the faulty folder seem to be able to be moved to it successfully! Anything else that I newly create or move to the folder disappears!

Thanks for the advice. If I do move the files, I will move them to a new hard drive instead of a USB stick as I was supposed to back it all up on a new drive anyway but I never learn my lesson!

Thanks for the tip regarding the free email.

Traveller


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Hi ja, thanks for the reply. I agree that I should backup/move the files asap. I can try a program to recover lost files now because I assume I just need to place the now 'empty' faulty folder on the Desktop.

Thanks for the info/link about a dropbox.

Traveller


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Hi, just an update.

I decided to try a file recovery program (Photorec) to locate the missing files, however, it recovered nearly 5000 files! It's almost useless though because almost all of the files are corrupted and even if they weren't, it wouldn't be practical to figure out which files are the ones that I am looking for because the filenames weren't retained and I'm assuming most of the files are those that I deleted on purpose and no longer want. I have no idea how to recover files from one particular folder (the faulty one). I also tried to use another file recovery program called Foremost, which I think recovers the filenames but I haven't been able to get it to recover a single file yet, probably due to my not knowing how to use it properly.

FYI, I did back up all the files onto two different hard drives!!

Not really asking a question in this poast, just wanted to provide an update on the outcome. Thanks.

Traveller


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Hi ja.

If you mean filtering from the file recovery program, I wouldn't have a clue how to do that. Just look at the instructions I have to follow!!

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/15761/recover-data-like-a-forensics-expert-using-an-ubuntu-live-cd/

If you mean filtering after the files are saved on my pc, the only thing that can be used to compare files is the sizes of the files.

I think I may have to admit defeat on this one!

Thanks for all the help and advice here. It was all appreciated.