What will happen to my usb encryption if Veracrypt got deleted?

[L_ishere670]

I want to use Veracrypt to encrypt my usb but iam afraid to lose its contents if i had to re-install Windows or Veracrypt got deleted, What would happen to my usb??

Thanks for your attention, And waiting for your answers

[anon57307869]

You should be able to encrypt the USB device even if you reinstall VeraCrypt or Windows, as long as you remember the password (and have access to the key file, if you created one).

[ticklemyIP]

Depending on which filesystem you chose in your encrypted volume any operating system that supports that filesystem and has Veracrypt installed would be able to decrypt and mount your volume. If you know the password that is.

[Average_Joe (Joey)]

@L_ishere670

I want to use Veracrypt to encrypt my usb but iam afraid to lose its contents if i had to re-install Windows or Veracrypt got deleted, What would happen to my usb??

@anon57307869

You should be able to encrypt the USB device even if you reinstall VeraCrypt or Windows, as long as you remember the password (and have access to the key file, if you created one).

@ticklemyIP

Depending on which filesystem you chose in your encrypted volume any operating system that supports that filesystem and has Veracrypt installed would be able to decrypt and mount your volume. If you know the password that is.

This is a good question.

If someone encrypts their work folder by using a Veracrypt container but then the Veracrypt App is removed from the system, how would he be able to work folder???

EDIT:
This is very worrying to me because I like to store things for the long term and know that they’ll be 100% accessible in the future.

Nevermind, the password is stored in the Veracrypt container so you should be able to access the Veracrypt container with the correct password even if you’re using a completely different version of Veracrypt right? For example, a user encrypts a USB HDD with Veracrypt version 1.2 and then the same user tries to decrypt the USB HDD using Veracrypt version 9.8… Would this work?

[Uzbeki_Vulture]

According to their FAQs

Will I be able to mount my VeraCrypt partition/container after I reinstall or upgrade the operating system?
Yes, VeraCrypt volumes are independent of the operating system. However, you need to make sure your operating system installer does not format the partition where your VeraCrypt volume resides.
Note: If the system partition/drive is encrypted and you want to reinstall or upgrade Windows, you need to decrypt it first (select System > Permanently Decrypt System Partition/Drive). However, a running operating system can be updated (security patches, service packs, etc.) without any problems even when the system partition/drive is encrypted.

Can I upgrade from an older version of VeraCrypt to the latest version without any problems?
Generally, yes. However, before upgrading, please read the release notes for all versions of VeraCrypt that have been released since your version was released. If there are any known issues or incompatibilities related to upgrading from your version to a newer one, they will be listed in the release notes.

So as long as you have the Veracrypt container on the USB, the password, and access to the Veracrypt website to install the software, then you have nothing to worry about.

If you want be sure you can access your data in the post-internet apocalypse, then download the same Veracrypt installer you used to encrypt the file to your USB.

And have several backups.

[Average_Joe (Joey)]

@Uzbeki_Vulture

According to their FAQs

Will I be able to mount my VeraCrypt partition/container after I reinstall or upgrade the operating system?
Yes, VeraCrypt volumes are independent of the operating system. However, you need to make sure your operating system installer does not format the partition where your VeraCrypt volume resides.
Note: If the system partition/drive is encrypted and you want to reinstall or upgrade Windows, you need to decrypt it first (select System > Permanently Decrypt System Partition/Drive). However, a running operating system can be updated (security patches, service packs, etc.) without any problems even when the system partition/drive is encrypted.

Can I upgrade from an older version of VeraCrypt to the latest version without any problems?
Generally, yes. However, before upgrading, please read the release notes for all versions of VeraCrypt that have been released since your version was released. If there are any known issues or incompatibilities related to upgrading from your version to a newer one, they will be listed in the release notes.

So as long as you have the Veracrypt container on the USB, the password, and access to the Veracrypt website to install the software, then you have nothing to worry about.

If you want be sure you can access your data in the post-internet apocalypse, then download the same Veracrypt installer you used to encrypt the file to your USB.

And have several backups.

Great reply!

You could even try by creating a “TEST” Veracrypt container, store some random files in it and then try to access it on different OS’/platforms. Also, you could try use the portable and installer version as well to be extra safe.