Encrypt external hard drive with TrueCrypt - how it works

With TrueCrypt you can not only encrypt your system partition, but also your external hard drive. We show you the individual steps.

Step 1: Start encryption of the external hard drive with TrueCrypt

1. Connect your external hard drive to your computer and start TrueCrypt.
2. Click the button "Create volume" in the middle and select the option "Encrypt a partition / drive".
3. Then select "Standard TrueCrypt Volume" and click "Next".
4. With the button "data carrier" you can see all available devices for encryption. Select the external hard drive there and click on "OK".
5. If there is data on the hard disk that you want to keep, click on "Encrypt partition in-place". If the hard drive is empty, you should choose the much faster method "Create encrypted volume and format it".

Step 2: choose encryption and secure hard drive

1. Now you have to choose one of the encryption methods. Here we recommend the common and extremely safe method "AES".
2. In the next step, set a password. In order for encryption to make sense, the password must be very secure. Use our tips for a secure password.
3. Click on "Next" and you will see a chain of numbers and letters. To make encryption even more secure, move your mouse back and forth in the window for about 30 seconds.
4. Depending on whether you previously decided on "Format partition and encrypt" or "Encrypt in place", click on "Format" or "Encrypt".
5. The process is now started. Depending on the size of the external hard drive, this takes a few minutes or even a few hours.

We show you how to crack passwords in the practical tip on how to decrypt all types of encrypted data.