Encrypting a Hard Drive

I recently bought a Lexar 16Gb Express Card SSD drive and have Chronosync copying my local Documents folder to it. I would like to encrypt the drive, but don't want to use any third party software (ie: no TrueCrypt). In Disk Utility, I only see options for erasing (formatting) or making encrypted images, but not for encrypting an entire drive. At present, I don't encrypt my main HD as I know Time Machine can't back it up if its encrypted. The problem with an encrypted image is getting it to automount... I can put the 16Gb SSD in, but it won't automatically mount the encrypted image on it. So, is there a way... using only stock, built-in OS X tools, to encrypt a single hard disk, even one that's considered a "removable drive"?

There are no provisions for encrypting an entire drive. You can create an encrypted disc image large enough to hold the contents of the drive; you can use File Vault to encrypt a Home folder if you are using the device to hold a startup system; you can use third-party software - VersionTracker or MacUpdate - to provide encryption.

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Can I use a Self Encrypted ( hardware ) hard drive in my mid 2009 Mac?

I want to use a self encrypted (hardware encryption) hard drive in my mid 2009 13" MacBook Pro. Has anyone ever gotten this to work, or is it listed as "possible" by Apple somewhere? Thanks.

look here:
https://discussions.apple.com/message/22835243#22835243
As far as a list of compatible OPAL drives is concerned:
https://discussions.apple.com/message/22835243#22835243
or look for:
"SecureDoc Supported Self Encrypting Drives" - WinMagic
http://www.winmagic.com/login?return=aW5kZXgucGhwP29wdGlvbj1jb21fcGhvY2Fkb3dubG9 hZCZ2aWV3PWNhdGVnb3J5JmlkPTIwOmRhdGFzaGVldHMmSXRlbWlkPTMxMA==

No "decrypt" choice in contextual menu - need to decrypt an encrypted external hard drive

I have a Firewire 800 external hard drive that I had previously encrypted using the contextual menu. I want to change the password on this drive so I'm trying to decrypt it and re-encrypt it while assigned a new password. I have Filevault 2 enabled on my iMac but this shouldn't affect this external drive. I also have a Firmware Password enabled on this iMac, but again, this shouldn't prevent a "decrypt" option in the contextual menu.
"Encrypt" is present in the contextual menu. When I attempt to use this option it appears to allow me to assign a new password. When I click "Encrypt" I get this message: "The target Core Storage volume is already encrypted." It's true that the drive is already encrypted, that's why I'm trying to decrypt it.
I'm running the latest version of Mountain Lion on a late 2012 iMac. I've searched online for someone with a similar problem, but haven't found this problem reference. Does anyone have any idea as to why "decrypt" is not an option on this external drive, but it is on similar external drives that are also already encrypted. Thanks.

Thanks for your help, Linc. By the way, I mistakenly said I had Filevault and Firmware turned on. Actually, they are NOT enabled on the iMac. Here's what I got in my Text Edit window:
/dev/disk0
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *121.3 GB   disk0
   1:                        EFI                         209.7 MB   disk0s1
   2:          Apple_CoreStorage                         121.0 GB   disk0s2
   3:                 Apple_Boot Boot OS X               134.2 MB   disk0s3
/dev/disk1
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *1.0 TB     disk1
   1:                        EFI                         209.7 MB   disk1s1
   2:          Apple_CoreStorage                         999.3 GB   disk1s2
   3:                 Apple_Boot Recovery HD             650.0 MB   disk1s3
/dev/disk2
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:                  Apple_HFS Macintosh HD           *1.1 TB     disk2
/dev/disk3
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *750.2 GB   disk3
   1:                        EFI                         209.7 MB   disk3s1
   2:          Apple_CoreStorage OWC 750 GB Archive      749.8 GB   disk3s2
   3:                 Apple_Boot Boot OS X               134.2 MB   disk3s3
/dev/disk4
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *500.1 GB   disk4
   1:                        EFI                         209.7 MB   disk4s1
   2:          Apple_CoreStorage                         499.8 GB   disk4s2
   3:                 Apple_Boot Boot OS X               134.2 MB   disk4s3
/dev/disk5
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:                  Apple_HFS OWC 500 GB             *499.4 GB   disk5
/dev/disk6
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *2.0 TB     disk6
   1:                        EFI                         209.7 MB   disk6s1
   2:          Apple_CoreStorage                         2.0 TB     disk6s2
   3:                 Apple_Boot Boot OS X               134.2 MB   disk6s3
/dev/disk7
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:                  Apple_HFS LaCie Porsche 2TB T... *2.0 TB     disk7
/dev/disk8
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:                  Apple_HFS OWC 750 GB Archive     *749.5 GB   disk8
CoreStorage logical volume groups (4 found)
|
+-- Logical Volume Group 77833580-B5D6-4969-90F2-69629D851399
|   =========================================================
|   Name:         Macintosh HD
|   Status:       Online
|   Size:         1120333979648 B (1.1 TB)
|   Free Space:   114688 B (114.7 KB)
|   |
|   +-< Physical Volume 92948041-5F99-48EE-BA6A-AC5E2D801AA1
|   |   ----------------------------------------------------
|   |   Index:    0
|   |   Disk:     disk0s2
|   |   Status:   Online
|   |   Size:     120988852224 B (121.0 GB)
|   |
|   +-< Physical Volume 2AFC48E4-8F84-4353-B5BE-80F82FCC5E60
|   |   ----------------------------------------------------
|   |   Index:    1
|   |   Disk:     disk1s2
|   |   Status:   Online
|   |   Size:     999345127424 B (999.3 GB)
|   |
|   +-> Logical Volume Family 9896E84D-A633-4439-9230-E793C140F99F
|       ----------------------------------------------------------
|       Encryption Status:       Unlocked
|       Encryption Type:         None
|       Conversion Status:       NoConversion
|       Conversion Direction:    -none-
|       Has Encrypted Extents:   No
|       Fully Secure:            No
|       Passphrase Required:     No
|       |
|       +-> Logical Volume 73192A6E-2FD8-48C2-9586-DF06DEAF832C
|           ---------------------------------------------------
|           Disk:               disk2
|           Status:             Online
|           Size (Total):       1111826497536 B (1.1 TB)
|           Size (Converted):   -none-
|           Revertible:         No
|           LV Name:            Macintosh HD
|           Volume Name:        Macintosh HD
|           Content Hint:       Apple_HFS
|
+-- Logical Volume Group D3A1E4E0-2FAB-4620-9E30-A52F1D8967EA
|   =========================================================
|   Name:         LaCie Porsche 2TB Time Machine
|   Status:       Online
|   Size:         2000054960128 B (2.0 TB)
|   Free Space:   16777216 B (16.8 MB)
|   |
|   +-< Physical Volume 5616866C-0E7B-4CFB-9ADF-F8B3C6D558A2
|   |   ----------------------------------------------------
|   |   Index:    0
|   |   Disk:     disk6s2
|   |   Status:   Online
|   |   Size:     2000054960128 B (2.0 TB)
|   |
|   +-> Logical Volume Family 88D4CB4E-CD4B-4DEF-87FF-2C6C0C7FFF48
|       ----------------------------------------------------------
|       Encryption Status:       Unlocked
|       Encryption Type:         AES-XTS
|       Conversion Status:       Complete
|       Conversion Direction:    -none-
|       Has Encrypted Extents:   Yes
|       Fully Secure:            Yes
|       Passphrase Required:     Yes
|       |
|       +-> Logical Volume C207E3E4-B7A5-4440-A786-34251950978C
|           ---------------------------------------------------
|           Disk:               disk7
|           Status:             Online
|           Size (Total):       1999719411712 B (2.0 TB)
|           Size (Converted):   -none-
|           Revertible:         Yes (unlock and decryption required)
|           LV Name:            LaCie Porsche 2TB Time Machine
|           Volume Name:        LaCie Porsche 2TB Time Machine
|           Content Hint:       Apple_HFS
|
+-- Logical Volume Group 1D616DCF-5201-4DF4-AF4F-4D8574ADA3AF
|   =========================================================
|   Name:         OWC 750 GB Archive
|   Status:       Online
|   Size:         749812400128 B (749.8 GB)
|   Free Space:   16777216 B (16.8 MB)
|   |
|   +-< Physical Volume 67B9DE8F-CEB9-47E7-92AD-9C0F2D02ED66
|   |   ----------------------------------------------------
|   |   Index:    0
|   |   Disk:     disk3s2
|   |   Status:   Online
|   |   Size:     749812400128 B (749.8 GB)
|   |
|   +-> Logical Volume Family 84C4B3C3-63DE-4487-A285-79733D638B14
|       ----------------------------------------------------------
|       Encryption Status:       Unlocked
|       Encryption Type:         AES-XTS
|       Conversion Status:       Complete
|       Conversion Direction:    -none-
|       Has Encrypted Extents:   Yes
|       Fully Secure:            Yes
|       Passphrase Required:     Yes
|       |
|       +-> Logical Volume 9B356069-1F11-44B5-A419-D395B9E5D9F6
|           ---------------------------------------------------
|           Disk:               disk8
|           Status:             Online
|           Size (Total):       749476851712 B (749.5 GB)
|           Size (Converted):   749476851712 B (749.5 GB)
|           Revertible:         Yes (unlock and decryption required)
|           LV Name:            OWC 750 GB Archive
|           Volume Name:        OWC 750 GB Archive
|           Content Hint:       Apple_HFS
|
+-- Logical Volume Group 9FD47542-59CC-4A5F-B2D6-4D58B15F4DEC
    =========================================================
    Name:         OWC 500 GB
    Status:       Online
    Size:         499763888128 B (499.8 GB)
    Free Space:   16777216 B (16.8 MB)
    |
    +-< Physical Volume A52C4498-4C0A-47FB-A8AD-A16F1A1FAAA5
    |   ----------------------------------------------------
    |   Index:    0
    |   Disk:     disk4s2
    |   Status:   Online
    |   Size:     499763888128 B (499.8 GB)
    |
    +-> Logical Volume Family 9C908835-59DB-4B08-AF44-E85E05135A37
        Encryption Status:       Unlocked
        Encryption Type:         None
        Conversion Status:       Converting
        Conversion Direction:    backward
        Has Encrypted Extents:   Yes
        Fully Secure:            No
        Passphrase Required:     No
        |
        +-> Logical Volume 79B8EE82-FCD9-4EDC-A7D7-C321A7CED24B
            Disk:               disk5
            Status:             Online
            Size (Total):       499428339712 B (499.4 GB)
            Size (Converted):   333646397440 B (333.6 GB)
            Revertible:         Yes (unlock and decryption required)
            LV Name:            OWC 500 GB
            Volume Name:        OWC 500 GB
            Content Hint:       Apple_HFS

Encrypting external Hard drive not working

Hello I am trying to encrypt my external hard drives but I am getting that message A Recovery System for the targeted disk is required. and I can not find anything saying how to properlly do that. When I serach how to encrypt the drives it is said just right click on the drive and choose encrypt and put the password and thats it, Nothing is said how to propverly format the drive before hand etc .
any help appricated
bernd
just a update on another drive i get that message " A partition, not a whole disk, is required for this operation."

You're trying to encrypt a bootable volume. To do that, boot from it and activate FileVault in the Security & Privacy preference pane. It's only possible if the OS X version is 10.7 or later.

Encrypted external hard drive fail to unlock

Hi,
My external hdd is few months old, I'm using Lion's encryption from release day. Only today, when I tried to connect my ext hdd, I typed the password. and from now on, the hdd led on the external is blinking. the password window is gray (like waiting for authorize) but its like that for several minutes, until I manually disconnect the hard drive.
Have no idea what to do,
Any terminal commands that can scan and fix corruptions on the external hdd ?
Any other tips for encryption failures ?
Thanks!

Start with http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4790

Encrypt the hard drive on the iphone?

I am lobbying my organization to support the iphone for mobile users. Justifiably, there is concern about security. Most questions are answered by all of the FAQ available...there is one question I still need an answer to. "Can the hard drive on the iphone be encrypted? This is how we protect our laptops.
Thanks in advance.

I think the concern is that someone can crack open an iphone, pull out the flash storage, hook it up to a reader of sorts, and just read all the data...
I think the answer is, don't store confidential data on the phone.
You can use the iphone to VPN into your corporate network and access the confidential data via a web app... Then you would need to clear out the cache when done...
I would think that email would be the biggest concern... that is why remote wipe exists.. don't lose your phone.. if you can't find it, know how to get it wiped ASAP.
or... don't access your sensitive email on your phone...
Peter

Error when encrypting external hard drive

When I tried to encrypt my external harddrive I get the message "Core storage volume is already encrypt". And it isnt. It has been but i decrpyted it for a couple of days, and no I cannot encrypt the disk. Can any1 help me?

Triple-click anywhere in the line below to select it:
{ diskutil list; echo; diskutil cs list; } | open -f -a TextEdit
Copy the selected text to the Clipboard (command-C).
Launch the Terminal application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Terminal in the icon grid.
Paste into the Terminal window (command-V).
A TextEdit window will open with the output of the command. Post the contents of that window, if any — the text, please, not a screenshot. The title of the window doesn't matter, and you don't need to post that.

Unable to Unlock External Hard Drive w/ Correct Password

Specs
Retina MacBook Pro
Mac OS 10.9.4
Encrypted External Hard Drive with Time Machine application
Issue
I’m not able to unlock my ext. hard drive with the password stored in Keychain Access or by manually entering the password. When I plug my ext. hard drive on another computer the password works just fine.
I also noticed that when unlocking the ext. hard drive with an incorrect password the window will shake. When I unlock using the correct password it'll stall for about 10 seconds before it shakes. I’m not sure if that’s an indication of anything.
I formatted the ext. hard drive and encrypted it again. It works fine for a little bit before the same issue crops up again and the same password no longer unlocks the external hard drive. Again, it’ll unlock just fine on another computer.
Steps I've done so far in attempt to resolve the issue:
Keychain First Aid
Reset My Default Keychain
Repaired Disk Permission
Unlocking via Disk Utility
Formatting the external hard drive
Help!
I’ve come to the conclusion that it must be related to Keychain Access, the OS, or something else on my computer that’s preventing me from unlocking it. Does anyone have any clue why this is happening and what I can do to repair the issue?

Hi Kevin,
Its "Mac OS Extended (Journaled, Encrypted)" and its partitioned
kind regards,
thanks

My disk utility refuses to erase my hard drive

I've been trying for a few years to find some way to reset my mac to factory settings. Every last thing I've tried has failed. I was hoping the disk utility thing to erase it would work but the erase button never lets me to click on it

If you previously encrypted your hard drive (FileVault2) then your drive was enrolled in apple's CoreStorage format. If so, diskutility won't let you perform certain operations, and you'd first need to use advanced diskutil options from the command line ( $ diskutil cs delete ... ) to trash the CoreStorage volume.

HELP: How do you make a hard drive password on my T61?

I want to encrypt my hard drive with a password. Can someone give me a source on how to do it or step by step instructions. I have a Lenovo T61.

You can with the chmod and chown Terminal commands. For the former, see http://www.dzinemaster.com/chmod.html. The rest is left as an exercise.

T43 motherboard damage cant access hard drive

Hello, I wonder if anyone to there could advise me.
I have a T43 with finger print reader, I was shoved on the train and dropped my bag
which resulted in it hitting the floor and the plug punched through the back into the
motherboard. The laptop was in standby at the time.
I have brought a USB 2.5 hard drive connector to try and recover my data but cannot
access it.
Is the hard drive encrypted if the finger print reader is used.
Can the hard drive be crashed so badly by the mother board being damaged that
you cant access it anyway?
Many Thanks
Dave

davidadams, welcome to the forum,
ouch! sorry to hear about your bad luck.
The fingerprint doesn't encrypt the hard drive, Client Security does if you configured it to do so.
If you had the finger print configured with a hard drive password set in bios you will not be able to access the hard drive in an usb enclosure. As long as you know the password it is possible to remove the password in another ThinkPad, preferably another T43.
As your T43 was in standby, it is possible that the drop also damaged the hard drive. This would have been less likely if it had been in hibernation mode or turned off as the heads would have been properly parked.
There are ways to recover files from a damaged hard drive, some less costly than others; it depends on how badly it is damaged, if it is damaged.
Andy ______________________________________
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Hard Drive Encryption Issue

This is in regard to hard drive encryption issues in my USB Hard drive. I have Windows 7. I was encrypting my USB hard drive and
was able to enter a password. However, I did not receive any prompt to save the Bitlocker recovery key. During encryption process, I received an error. The encryption process was unsuccessful. However, now when I plug-in the hard drive, I receive the
following message on the status bar:
Application and Device Control rule Block writing to removable media. Unencrypted drive found (No_Encrypted_Found) has blocked edpa.exe trying to access Volume
{e3901a75-f1ff-11e1-817c-806e6f6e6963 alpha-numeric number appearing here}
When I try to open the drive, it asks for a password. When I enter the password, I am receiving the following error message:
Bitlocker Drive Encryption failed to recover from an abruptly terminated conversion. This could be due to either all conversion logs being corrupted or the media
being write-protected.
I have read that Bitlocker repair tool can help resolve this issue.
However, I just have the password that I had set to encrypt the drive and Bitlocker recovery key identification. Can this help to get access to my hard drive data using the Bitlocker tool.

Checked this ?
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-security/bitlocker-drive-encryption-failed-to-recover-from/232e812b-4f7a-e011-9b4b-68b599b31bf5
Arnav Sharma | http://arnavsharma.net/ Please remember to click “Mark as Answer” on the post that helps you, and to click “Unmark as Answer” if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading
the thread.

Greeting, I want to reformat my external hard drive using Mac OS Extended (Journaled, Encrypted ) but before formatting it, I want to make sure that if I loose the hard drive or the hard drive get stolen, no one will be able to retrieve or recover the in

Greeting,
I want to reformat my external hard drive using Mac OS Extended (Journaled, Encrypted ) but before formatting it, I want to make sure that if I loose the hard drive or the hard drive get stolen, no one will be able to retrieve or recover the information on it so could you tell me what kind of encryption will be used or is there any way to recover the information?
Thanks!

I think FileVault is used to encryp internal hard drive but I wanna encrypt an external hard drive with Mac OS Extended Journaled Encrypted which is completely different!

Can I Encrypt My 2nd Hard Drive Without Screwing Up Data Access?

I have 2 hard drives in my machine, one is a SSD boot drive and the other is a traditional mechanical hard drive. I have the boot drive encrypted using FileVault but would also like to encrypt my mechanical drive as well. When you right click on a drive in Mountain Lion there is the option to encrypt the drive. I want to know if I do this will it screw up access to the data I have stored in there or can I still access everything normally if I unlock it after booting up?
On a side note: I also use Bootcamp and was wondering if encrypting the mechanical drive would make it impossible to access this drive while in Windows 7 or can I unlock it in Windows 7 as well? I am curious about this because I use iTunes to access my media from this hard drive. It isn't a deal breaker and I'd rather have my data encrypted.

I want to know if I do this will it screw up access to the data I have stored in there or can I still access everything normally if I unlock it after booting up?
Encrypted HFS is transparent to the user. Once mounted, the volume will work in the same way as before. Of course, if something goes wrong and you don't have backups, you'll lose all your data.
I also use Bootcamp and was wondering if encrypting the mechanical drive would make it impossible to access this drive while in Windows 7
Yes.

How do I access my encrypted User Account files from my Back Up hard drive? Time Machine was used to create the back up disk; File Vault was used to encrypt the files.

How do I access my encrypted User Account files from my Back Up hard drive? Time Machine was used to create the back up disk; File Vault was used to encrypt the files.

Thanks. I will try going through TM. Since my Simpletech is on the way out, I'll be plugging in a new external hard drive (other than the back-up drive) and trying to restore the library to the new drive. Any advice or warning if this is NOT the right thing to do?
Meanwhile, that is a great tip to do an alternate back-up using a different means. It's been tough to figure out how to "preserve access" to digital images and files for posterity, knowing the hardware will always fail/obsolesce sooner or later, and that "clouds" are only as good as their consistent and reliable accessibility. Upping the odds with redundancy will help dull the edge of my "access anxiety", though logically, it can never relieve it. Will look into
Carbon Copy Cloner.

Encrypting a Hard Drive

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