Does this exist?

[Anthus]

Well, seeing as the computer forum is gone, I'll ask here.

I want to know if a program exists that will allow me to put a password on my external hard drive, but will let me "approve" certain computers (my two computers) so that I don't have to put it in every time I want to access my stuff. The password will keep people out (obviously), and allow me to still use it on other machines than my own.

I bought a WD passport external drive some time ago that I've been using as my primary storage, and it came with some software, but I wiped that shit so quick (But I don't think it was this, it seemed like bloatware). I basically want it so my shit is secure if it where to get lost, or stolen. It may be a bit much to ask, but it's be nice to have like, a "Please return to" type file accessible if it where found. If it doesn't exist, maybe I should sell the idea. Yeah right.

So, does such software exist, and will it -not- require a re-format of the drive? Thank you.

On an unrelated note, what happened to GCD? Did it go out with the hack? Would it be a lot of work or something to bring it back?

Again, thank for bearing with me through another mundane thread.

[Saffith]

You can come pretty close to that with TrueCrypt (http://www.truecrypt.org/). Create a small partition with a FAT file system for your "return to" message and anything else you want to be public and encrypt the rest of the drive. The one problem is that it won't save passwords, but you can create a shortcut that provides the password via command line argument.

[Anthus]

Okay, cool. Is is possible to use command lines for a shortcut password through rocket dock? It has a few different fields, it's just a matter of knowing which one to use. Also, this won't require a reformat, will it? One more question. What about programs that use files stored on the encrypted partition? Example being, I use Open Office in C:\Program Files\Open Office\ to open a file on the encrypted drive.

Thank you for the reply.

[Mercy]

On an unrelated note, what happened to GCD? Did it go out with the hack? Would it be a lot of work or something to bring it back?
GCD and a few other forums did not warrant enough traffic to justify keeping them up. It was nice to have those extraneous, niche forums when we had more traffic in order to keep those niche topics from getting lost in the fluff of GD. If/when postings pick up they may return but I would not hold my breath for the near future. Feel free to post your computer topics in GD.

-m.

[Saffith]

It should work fine with RocketDock. I believe you'd just need to set "/v <volume> /p <password>" in the arguments field. The full list of available arguments is here (http://www.truecrypt.org/docs/?s=command-line-usage).
Using multiple partitions would require reformatting, but there is another way you could do it. Assuming the disk's file system allows very large files (NTFS should be good), you could create a container file (http://www.truecrypt.org/docs/?s=tutorial) with a maximum size as large as the disk. You'd still have to copy all your files into it, but reformatting wouldn't be necessary.
Once it's mounted, it looks like a regular drive. Programs that use it won't see any difference.

[Anthus]

Okay, so by creating a container file, the computer will think it is an actual drive as opposed to a USB Mass Storage device? I'll try this later, when I have a bit more time.