[SOLVED] Linux<>Win7 Truecrypt file Sync via DropBox

[flightoffire]

Hi folks. First post. Nice to support Linux.

I have posted this here in 'Other Network Topics' as this appears to be the most relevant spot. If it is best put elsewhere, please let me know.

Background.
My desktop (at home) has Win7 on it. My laptop has dual boot - windows 7 and Linux Mint. I almost always boot to Mint on my lappy as I am 'forcing' myself to get more familiar with Linux. I only use Windows 7 on my desktop.

FYI, I do periodic computer tech support myself so I'm not shy of computers. However, I know only a little about Linux.

My situation.
I have installed TrueCrypt on both machines just fine to create an encrypted 'private' section in my DropBox folder. I have worked out how to auto-mount-on-boot the TrueCrypt volume on my Minty (what I call my Linux laptop). However, the Minty TrueCrypt volume is NOT syncing through DropBox to the same volume on my desktop at home. Thus, all the dropbox files/folders in the encrypted volume on my PC do not show up across the network on my Minty.

How do I configure things, what do I need to do, fix, change, etc, to get the two encrypted TrueCrypt volumes to 'talk to each other' via DropBox so I can see contents on both machines?

Thanks.

Flightoffire
(pron: flight-of-fire)

[flightoffire]

An afterthought.

I suspect the problem lies on the Linux end of things. My intuition tells me that I need to make sure that the details on my Minty for this TrueCrypt vault needs to be 'identical' somehow so it looks the 'same' to the Drop box server, otherwise it will seem like a 'different' volume or something. Consequently, two 'different' volumes (on either end, 1 at home, 1 on my Minty) cannot sync.

Flightoffire

[flightoffire]

The law of averages dictates that out of nearly 100,000 members, there is bound to be at least a dozen or so people who have managed to get Truecrypt on two separate machines, 1 Mint and 1 Windows 7, to talk to each other?

Anyone got any ideas or thoughts on this ... or needs further info?

Cheers,

Flightoffire

[multinux]

However, the Minty TrueCrypt volume is NOT syncing through DropBox to the same volume on my desktop at home. Thus, all the dropbox files/folders in the encrypted volume on my PC do not show up across the network on my Minty.
(pron: flight-of-fire)

Hello Flightoffire.

I have a "nearly" similar setup. I use a Windows 7 PC in my office and a Linux PC (crunchbang11) at home. Both have Dropbox installed and there are some TrueCrypt containers which I use from time to time.

Hi folks. First post. Nice to support Linux.
I have installed TrueCrypt on both machines just fine to create an encrypted 'private' section in my DropBox folder. I have worked out how to auto-mount-on-boot the TrueCrypt volume on my Minty (what I call my Linux laptop).

Just to be sure. You are talking about an encrypted volume in Dropbox?? But we are talking here about a TrueCrypt container which stays in one of your Dropbox folders and which you are mounting to your system, right?!

However, the Minty TrueCrypt volume is NOT syncing through DropBox to the same volume on my desktop at home. Thus, all the dropbox files/folders in the encrypted volume on my PC do not show up across the network on my Minty.

Did you unmount the TrueCrypt container and let Dropbox sync the changed data ("Deltas") before you mount the same container in your Minty?
Or don't you see anything under the path of your mounted container on Minty? If so you should start a file commander as root (shell > gksu thunar) and check again. Sometimes there are problems with user rights and/or how the container is formated (fat, ntfs, ext*, etc.).

[flightoffire]

Hi multinux and thanks for your reply. Sorry for the delay in getting back to you as I did not have 'inform me of replies to my posts' enabled, (now it is).

In answer to your questions, I just reinstalled TrueCrypt to test out what it was/was not doing to be able to reply to you accurately. In short, I fixed it.

First, in answer to your questions though...

You are talking about an encrypted volume in Dropbox?? But we are talking here about a TrueCrypt container which stays in one of your Dropbox folders and which you are mounting to your system, right?!

Correct. I created a TrueCrypt volume and placed it in a DropBox folder then mounted it in Win7.

Did you unmount the TrueCrypt container and let DropBox sync the changed data ("Deltas") before you mount the same container in your Minty?

No, and I think that is my problem. I was still thinking regular DropBox folder and did not take into consideration that the folder is encrypted, (kind of obvious really) and thus 'locked out' to any other external access unless unmounted first. Meaning, only one machine can access it at one time.

My solution was this.

My original TC vault was 500 meg. Yeah I know, a bit big.

I deleted that and just created a 5 meg one. I opened a text file, typed a test sentence and saved it to the 5 meg TC vault. I then DISmounted the volume on my Win7 machine ... went over to my Minty, opened TrueCrypt, selected the new 5 meg vault/encryption file (that I created on Windows) and opened it in Mint. There is my test text file!

Moral of the story, DISmount in one operating system before mounting your TrueCrypt vault in another operating system.

Mystery solved.

Hope this helps a few people.

Thanks.

Flightoffire