Thinkpads Forum

... after a fresh OS install? I'm not talking about upgrading to newer versions, but rather, installing a fresh version of XP on the same machine, using the same versions of CSS and PrivateDisk that originally shipped with your machine.

I upgraded to Vista, and while I have no regrets, it did leave me with an orphaned PrivateDisk volume that I would like to access. I realize this cannot be done using CSS 8, as it does not support PrivateDisk, but what if I were to take another HDD and put the original software on it?

Would CSS recognize that it is installed on the same computer as before, and allow access to the existing PrivateDisk volume -- assuming I used the correct password -- or is each installation likely to be unique, and non-replicatable? (No, that probably isn't a word.) Has anyone ever attempted to roll back and recover a PrivateDisk volume?

Chief

Yes, if and only if you know the password required to mount the drive. The volume created for you automatically by CSS/Private Disk has some randomly generated password. If you created the volume yourself, you should have set your own password and should be good to go.

In this case, I created the password -- and I remember it, notwithstanding the fact that the drive was usually only accessed via biometrics -- so this is potentially very good news. Thanks!

Chief

I think you need the original passphrase, the correct version fo the CSS installed, and possible a certificate to migrate? Don't forget to to migrate the certificate.

Installind a different OS actually causes another problem outside of the fact that you are saying that CSS doesn't work with Vista (I haven't tested it). Basically the design point of TPM is that only one OS can access the secured files. By design, this prevents someone from booting to another OS (prior to Vista being prevalent) and attempting to hack the secured drive/volume.

Good luck,
John.

I've feared as much. The problem with Vista was that it wouldn't mount the drive. That was before the fresh install; now I don't even have CSS installed.

Chief