Container is SOMETIMES automatically mounted on boot without password

[Maingron]

I have a private-ish VeraCrypt container at work, which contains some private stuff, but also my programming projects. The reason for this is, that I don't want anyone to be able to access the files without my permission.
But - I noticed that my container automatically mounts without entering the password, but only sometimes. I wasn't able to catch the reason for it, but it seems quite random.

The Laptop I use is, as far as I am concerned, Bitlocker encrypted by default, but without password.

About the VeraCrypt settings: See attached photos.
Also, I'm pretty sure I haven't written / read 966 MB / 277 MB today, but I also can't rule it out 100%. I think it must be from yesterday, though.

I usually shut down the Laptop "completely", at least for Windows 11 standards, with all programs and processes being stopped.

Soooo... Why does this happen and how to stop it? Seems to be a weird bug to me.

Versions:

• VC 1.25.9 64x
• Win 11 Pro 23H2 (Build 22631.3296)

I lately even configured Windows Hello with my fingerprint, but I usually use a different finger to turn on the laptop, so Windows Hello shouldn't recognize me.

We bought the laptop in November 2023, I believe, and I'm 99% sure the company didn't install any unwanted software.

[Maingron]

• System is not encrypted by VeraCrypt
• I don't have favorite volumes or system favorite volumes

[Jertzukka]

Can you try disabling Fast Startup in Windows and see if it still occurs (see)? With fast startup enabled, Windows rarely actually shuts down, instead it enters into hibernation-like state which I can imagine could cause issues such as cache persisting.

[Maingron]

I see. I'll check if I can try this next week without breaking anything else.

Since you mention the Fast-Startup when creating containers, it could technically be classified as user error.

I still think it's a pretty serious flaw, especially since it happens so randomly. Isn't it possible to implement a check that dismounts containers on boot, or better on / after shutdown?

Even though I "dismissed" the fast-startup notice, I believe containers should be dismounted as expected, and under no circumstances be unintentionally remounted, especially with the high likelihood of the user not noticing.