Systems and methods for reducing problems and disadvantages associated with traditional approaches to encryption and decryption of data are provided. An information handling system may include a processor, a memory communicatively coupled to the processor, and a computer-readable medium communicatively coupled to the processor. The computer-readable medium may have instructions stored thereon, the instructions configured to, when executed by the processor: (i) periodically store, during an encryption or decryption operation performed on the computer-readable medium, one or more variables indicative of an encryption status of a volume of the computer-readable medium; (ii) determine, based on the one or more variables, whether the volume is in a partially encrypted or decrypted state; and (iii) in response to a determination that the volume is in a partially encrypted or decrypted state, boot from the volume and continue the encryption or decryption operation.