VeraCrypt and Windows 11 24H2 stuck during "booting..."

[arcturus-777]

Hi, this is my first bug report on GitHub. I will try to explain the issue to my best ability.

I run a Windows 11 24H2 system. I updated to 24H2 just about two weeks ago. Then I started the encryption of the system partition with VeraCrypt as usual and everything seemed to work perfectly fine until the point where you have to do the (booting) test, right before you start the real encryption of the system partition.

The system starts and the VeraCrypt bootloader menu appears as usual, I enter my password, VeraCrypt confirms "OK" and then it prints "Booting..." and nothing happens. You are stuck at this point. Soft-Reset does not work, but a hard reset works. You can then skip the VeraCrypt bootloader via ESC and the system boots normally into Windows where I then chose to not go through with the encryption.

Expected behavior

I expected VeraCrypt to boot into my system as usual.

Observed behavior

After entering the correct password VeraCrypt confirms "OK" but is then stuck showing the prompt "booting...".

Steps to reproduce

1. Open VeraCrypt and start system partition encryption process
2. Set password, encryption alghorythm etc. (I've used the standard settings and did not change anything)
3. Provide randomization data by moving the mice
4. Create and burn rescue disc
5. Start pre-boot-authentication test
6. Wait for VeraCrypt Bootloader to appear
7. Enter correct password and confirm -> VeraCrypt shows "OK"
8. VeraCrypt shows "booting..." and nothing happens.

Your Environment

-Windows 11 24H2 (64bit) -> running in legacy MBR mode
-VeraCrypt recent version 1.26.20 from February 3rd

I use VeraCrypt for many years now on the exact same system. It worked flawlessy on all Windows 10 and Windows 11 versions until the 24H2 update dropped.

If anymore information is needed to help with troubleshooting, please let me know. I am happy to support you.

[John-jk]

The same error. With fresh Windows 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC (Build - 26100.1742).

After entering the password, the windows logo appears with the loader animation below. After that, the computer reboots. This happens in a circle until you press the ESC button. When you press ESC, the windows load normally and a VeraCrypt message appears stating that the test will not pass with a suggestion to repeat or cancel everything.

[Zz9uk3]

Its the bootmgr of Windows 11 24h2 which causes the problem. Once you replace it with the 23h2 version it will boot fine again. but be careful: A windows update might replace the bootmgr file again making the bootloader get stuck at "booting ..." and you unable to enter your system (had to build my m2 into another device, select the m2 from within Veracrypt and replace the file once again).

[nyamcoder]

The same error. With fresh Windows 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC (Build - 26100.1742).

After entering the password, the windows logo appears with the loader animation below. After that, the computer reboots. This happens in a circle until you press the ESC button. When you press ESC, the windows load normally and a VeraCrypt message appears stating that the test will not pass with a suggestion to repeat or cancel everything.

Same for me with a fresh Win11 Pro 24H2, mbr, and latest VC. Fortunately a cold reboot and ESC helped me out. Skipping encryption for now, since I was in the testing phase; yet I don't feel like replacing w/ 23h2 either... (@Zz9uk3: what is an "m2" btw?) – Thanks for trying to resolve this issue, guys!!

[John-jk]

@nyamcoder he means the disk M.2 SSD

@idrassi Do you plan to make any fixes to this behavior in the near future?

[nyamcoder]

Its the bootmgr of Windows 11 24h2 which causes the problem.

That's the main issue, however – since VC makes use of Grub for chainloading. Win11 24H2 is 'fighting' it (even it is the only OS), so Grub cannot find it anymore (whether it's on UEFI or MBR), cf.

• askubuntu.com/questions/1529291/grub-problem-after-windows-11-24h2-update
• answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/grub-screen-after-windows-11-24h2-start-up
• Arch Forums: Windows 11 24H2 deletes grub EFI entry on every boot
• . . .

FWIW, maybe this post of the latter link points in the right direction:
bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?pid=2228129#p2228129
I wonder if this can be implemented into VC...?

[nyamcoder]

This looks like a promising approach, fitting both BIOS/MBR and UEFI/GPT alike:

it is possible to create a fake MBR partition entry suitable for both kinds of BIOSes manually as a sequence of bytes.

Arch wiki: Tricking_old_BIOS_into_booting_from_GPT

Yet another idea:
Maybe the Grub version VC uses is missing os-prober, which is obligatory for detecting Windows partitions; that is, because latest versions of Grub (or the Linux distro VC is being build on, respectively) might not include it, so it must be explicitly installed and enabled.
It's FOSS: Missing Windows from Grub After Dual Boot? Here's What You Can Do

[arcturus-777]

Thanks to everyone for gathering information on this issue, much appreciated!
I understand that the root cause is the bootmgr/bootloader which is being overwritten(?).

@idrassi Can this be fixed by the Veracrypt team? Can we hope for a fix soon-ish? Any response is much apprectiated.

It is horrible not being able to use Veracrypt to encrypt my system drive. Without a fix I guess there is no other option than to fall back on Bitlocker (which I don't want to use at all, but it is better than nothing).