Recovering Partially Forgotten Password with John the Ripper

So I have this computer encrypted with DiskCryptor 0.9.x. I used a password for about 1.5 years, but now I can only remember part of it. I came home one night, entered it, and it just wouldn’t work. I think I might’ve messed up a letter or the case. It’s not a hardware issue; it’s definitely on my end. I’ve got a few bitcoins and a ton of personal stuff locked away.

I can’t really help with your situation, but you should definitely back up your data first. Create a disk image or two. Even if it’s still encrypted, at least if the disk dies, your data’s safe while you figure out the password.

For sure, I’ve already made some disk images and I’m working with those.

Have you thought about using a tool to generate a wordlist by mangling your partial password? That could be easier to set up in a batch file.

Yeah, I think John the Ripper is solid for this. Check out some resources online for it, like cheat sheets and rule sets you can download.

Wait, you entered your password daily for 1.5 years and forgot it? You definitely know it. Just work with your memories. Try to recall the vibes from one of those days when you got into your computer without a hitch.

I probably didn’t enter it every single day. Sometimes I didn’t log in for a week. But on average, I’d say around 350 times. That bad day, I had hibernated it in the morning, went to school, came back, and it just wouldn’t accept my password after multiple tries. I was already stressed with school and even slipped on ice that day.

Since you said you typed it in daily for so long, I wonder if the header got corrupted somehow. The header is what holds the key for decryption, right? Maybe check forums or GitHub related to DiskCryptor too, since it’s less popular than others.

Are you suggesting using Windows PE to recover the bitcoin file?

Win PE? Nah, I don’t see how that helps with brute-forcing the disk and decrypting it.

You know, if you can remember more than 28 random characters, that's impressive. You mentioned muscle memory; maybe that got messed up after your injury? Hypnosis could be an option, might help jog your memory.

That’s how I usually recall my passwords too. But have you tried using a different keyboard? Or just typing it out multiple times to see if you make the same mistakes?

I’d suggest using a password manager for stuff like this. The disk image shouldn’t go there, but with random passwords, it’s easy to forget if you get distracted.

Funny you mention that. I actually saved a password to an encrypted file inside that very container once! Luckily, I had a backup.

Here’s a thought: If your password was ‘Bitcoinlover184%’ and you only remember part of it, you could use a mask attack. Like using?a?a?a for missing characters could work, but you’d need some serious GPU power to pull it off.

I see your point, but I just don’t get how header corruption could happen without a major issue. It usually occurs when Windows messes with the drive, right? Were there any weird issues when hibernating?

I doubt it was cosmic rays messing with RAM. But if both drives are having the same issue, maybe header corruption isn’t a player here.

Have you checked the S.M.A.R.T. status of both drives yet?

I haven't checked since the incident, but I’ve done it monthly before, and both were fine. No hardware failures, so it’s something else.

I've heard that folks in the password-cracking community can be super helpful. But it seems unlikely that there’s an encryption header issue if two devices aren’t unlocking. Have you looked into any hibernation issues with DiskCryptor?