PGP Desktop Known Compatibility Issues

PGP is no longer being offered on the software grid. Support is being phased out and will discontinue at the end of 2016.

On this page:

Overview

Because PGP Desktop modifies a computer's Master Boot Record (MBR), other applications that modify a computer's MBR are unlikely to interact well with PGP.  It's imperative to make and verify a good backup of your computer before encrypting its hard drive.

Issues with Windows

• The version MIT provides (10.2) is not compatible with Windows 8
• Issues with Windows 7
• Boot error with PGP and certain laptops running Windows 7
  https://kb.mit.edu/confluence/display/istcontrib/Boot+error+with+PGP+and+certain+laptops+running+Windows+7
  
  Hibernating on Windows 7 and Windows Vista systems. You might run into problems with hibernation after you encrypt your disk. When that happens, simply delete the hibernation file on resume and continue to boot into Windows. This problem will only occur once after encryption. To avoid the problem, do a reboot after disk encryption is done.
  
  If you already have PGP, the upgrade installation requires nothing more than downloading and running the installer. If you aren't sure whether you are running the 32 bit or 64 bit version of Windows 7, you can find out via the 2 simple steps here.
  
  Certain types of removable flash devices cannot be encrypted with the vendor- supplied format. They must be formatted within Windows prior to encrypting.
  
  Errors when attempting to encrypt your disk are often caused by bad sectors on a hard disk. These can frequently be corrected with third-party products which repair and ensure the health of your disk. The Windows CHKDSK program may resolve the issue in some instances, but more comprehensive programs such as SpinRite from Gibson Research Corporation (http://www.grc.com) are often required. Additionally, if your disk is seriously fragmented, Symantec Corporation recommends that you defragment your disk prior to encryption using the Windows Disk Defragmenter.
  
  

• Boot error with PGP and certain laptops running Windows 7 https://kb.mit.edu/confluence/display/istcontrib/Boot+error+with+PGP+and+certain+laptops+running+Windows+7

Issues with Macs

Wait before installing Apple upgrades If you are using PGP on a Mac, we recommend to wait prior to installing any new version of the OS, so that compatibility issues can be determined by IS&T. If you experience an issue, recovery has been fairly quick, however, you may need to seek assistance depending on your technical comfort level. If you would like to know more, email pgp-help@mit.edu. If you must upgrade, uninstall and remove PGP from your Mac before downloading or installing the Apple Update.

FileVault 2 Recommendation In Lion (OS X 10.7) and Mountain Lion (OS X 10.8) Apple has included a native whole disk encryption solution called FileVault 2. It is recommended for Mac users to enable FileVault 2 as the preferred method of disk encryption. Documentation on FileVault 2 for 10.7 is here, and for 10.8 is here.

• Mac OS X 10.6.5 and earlier (Snow Leopard)
  There have been compatibility issues between PGP Whole Disk Encryption and Mac OS X, which have caused some computers to become unbootable. Make sure you are running Mac OS X 10.6.6 or later (up through 10.8.1).

• Mac OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion)
  There are compatibility issues between PGP Whole Disk Encryption and Mac OS X 10.8. 2. Steps for enabling FileVault 2 on Mountain Lion have been posted. If you are already using PGP on a Mac version OS X 10.7.4 or earlier and plan on upgrading to Mac OS X 10.8, you must decrypt the computer and uninstall PGP before you upgrade to Mac OS X 10.8.
• If you experience or hear of any other problems, please send them to pgp-help@mit.edu.

Other

The following software is known to not be compatible (in any way, shape or form) with PGP Desktop:

• Faronics Deep Freeze (any edition)
• Utimaco Safeguard Easy 3.x
• Wave Systems' Dell Embassy Trust Suite co-exists on the system but causes the system to slow down.
• Absolute Software's CompuTrace laptop security and tracking product (on some hardware).
  • PGP Desktop is compatible only with the BIOS configuration of CompuTrace. Using CompuTrace in MBR mode is not compatible.
  • Users should be especially sensitive to installing Computrace (the commerically available product) or Lojack for Laptops (the consumer branding of Computrace) on any non-enterprise grade or older machine since the BIOS module is not likely to be present.
  • The Mac version of Computrace does not interfere with PGP Desktop and there is not an interaction.

• Hard disk encryption products from GuardianEdge Technologies: Encryption Anywhere Hard Disk and Encryption Plus Hard Disk products, formerly known as PC Guardian products.

The following programs can co-exist with PGP Desktop on the same system, but will block the PGP whole disk encryption feature:

• Safeboot Solo
• SecureStar SCPP

Also, EXTREME CAUTION should be used with third party hard drive repair, defragmentation and optimization utilities.

Additional Information More information on PGP can be found on the PGP Desktop page. If you don't find your answer, contact pgp-help@mit.edu.