File vault hung decrypting...

I was turning off file vault on my MacBook pro (10.7.3), and it seems to be hung. After turning off file vault it said that it was decrypting my home folder. I knew this could take some time, so I left the machine for a while.
It has now been stuck at the same screen for over 12 hours.
It says:
File Vault
Decrypting<username>'s home folder
Preparing...
What will happen if I power cycle the device? Is there a good chance of losing all my data?

Back up all data before proceeding. There are ways to back up a computer that isn't fully functional. Ask if you need guidance.
Start up in Recovery mode. When the OS X Utilities screen appears, select Disk Utility.
In the Disk Utility window, select the icon of the startup volume from the list on the left. It will be nested below another disk icon, usually with the same name. Click the Unlock button in the toolbar. When prompted, enter the login password of a user authorized to unlock the volume, or the alternate decryption key that was generated when you activated FileVault.
Then, from the menu bar, select
File ▹ Turn Off Encryption
Enter the password again.
You can then restart as usual, if the system is working. Decryption will be completed in the background. It may take several hours, and during that time performance will be reduced.
If you can't turn off encryption in Disk Utility because the menu item is grayed out, you'll have to erase the volume and then restore the data from a backup. Select the Erase tab, and then select
Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
from the Format menu.
You can then quit to be returned to the main Recovery screen. Follow these instructions if you back up with Time Machine. If you use other backup software, follow its developer's instructions.
Don't erase the volume unless you have at least two complete, independent backups. One is not enough to be safe.

Similar Messages

File Vault decryption problem

Hi guys,
I'm running 2013 2.6GHz i5 13' MBP on 10.9
I have trouble unlocking my 2TB WD external drive.
I have encrypted it with disk utilities when i formated it 4 months ago.
Everything worked fine up to this moment.
I cannot unlock it, but my pasword is 100% fine.
It keeps on shacking on me like the password is wrong.
I used terminal to unlock it, and it seemd like the passphrase was fine, but there is some sort of error.
MacBook-Pro-Jan:~ JRK$ diskutil cs unlockVolume 105D836C-7502-43AF-A779-88A6A2D4039D
Passphrase:
Started CoreStorage operation
Logical Volume successfully unlocked
Logical Volume successfully attached as disk2
Error: -69842: Couldn't mount disk
I have tried to unlock it on other machine running 10.8 but it kept on disregarding my passcode.
Is there a way I can have my data back?
I tried to repir the disk with diskutil, but it didn't work out.
Please help

Why do you have to turn off file vault encryption? Log into the old machine. Boot the new machine in Target Disk Mode and connect it. Copy your files to the new machine. You may have to repair permissions when you are done, but it shouldn't be too bad. Don't try to copy directly into your home directory. Copy the files to a neutral place, then log into the new machine, and copy them to where they should go.
But, before you do this, are you running file vault on your new machine? If so, stop now and turn that off. It sounds like your files are important. You don't want to trust them to FileVault.
Filevault is a clever hack - no more. It got out of control and people started putting Music libraries and iMovie productions in it and it just can't handle that.
Create an encrypted disk image on your new machine for your sensitive files. Copy all those files into that image. If the names of the files aren't sensitive, you can even create aliases to the files inside the disk image. Then, when you double-click on the alias, it will prompt you for a password, mount the disk image, and open the file.

File Vault Won't Decrypt - operation fails in final minutes

I'm trying to turn off file vault. File vault said I didn't have enough room on my hard drive so I followed Apple's instructions to go into safe mode, make a sparse disk image on an ext drive and then drag and drop the encrypted home folder into the disk image. At the last moment I get an error code -50 which says the operation couldn't be completed b/c of an unexpected error. I've retried this on other ext. drives, USB2 and FW just to eliminate some variables. They all failed in a similar manner
Next I cloned the entire HD to the ext. Then I booted from the ext and tried to turn off file vault that way. The clone went fine, and I went through the steps to turn off file vault. File vault started to unencrypt then with about 10 min until finished I get the same -50 error.
Is there anything left to do here? Is there some file that is tripping the process up?

Try these:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=1872713
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25773
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301416
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303617
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=305454
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.4/en/mh1908.html
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.4/en/mh1877.html
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1166826&tstart=0
http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20050326041757989

Lion OSX File Vault and filesharing with unencrypted users/computers

How does File Vault 2 work in the following Use-Case?
User A, has full disk encryption through File Vault enabled on a MacBook Air.
User A has an Microsoft Excel file that has been stored in his/her Documents Folder on their encrypted drive.
User A wants to share this file with User B so that User B can finish entering data and adding some calculations.
User B is a Windows 7 PC with no disk encryption.
User A drops this file on a WIndows file server that both User A and User B has access to.
This file server is not an encrypted system.
Will the act of User A dropping the file on the file server automatically unencrypt the file so the User B can open the Excel file and work with it?

The files don't get passed as an encrypted object. They get passed as files. The encryption/decryption works at a level that is transparent to just about everything, includingthe file system.
So, no, the file is not encrypted when you drop it onto a file server.

What to do if you simultaneously run Time Machine and File Vault

Never do what is mentioned in the subject line; even if you decrypt your drive, it does not spread to Time Machine, and so if you ever need to do a system restore, File Vault will forget your password and lock you out of your own system.
Thankfully, I ended up having recourse. The solution is to log in as root and create a disk image from the last Time Machine backup, "latest," and then duplicate that disk image. Having done that, paste the files into the user folder of your choice, recreating the account you have lost.

Realistically, your only option is to upgrade to an Intel-based Mac.
There is no way to use iCloud on a Mac running anything lower than OS X 10.7.2 - not even Snow Leopard.
You can access iCloud.com through a web browser on your current computer, but you'd need a Mac running 10.7.2 to move to iCloud and it wouldn't sync anyway...

File Vault issues. How can I turn it off?

After reading all about the issues people have been having with File Vault and because the constant encrypting-decrypting is slowing down my computer, I decided to turn File Vault off.
There's just one problem. I can't. Every time I try to turn off File Vault, the computer logs off, starts the operation, then I get the following error message:
"An error occurred during decryption ( An error occurred during copying ), FileVault will be turned on for this home folder and the home folder will still be encrypted."
In seeing explanations in other discussions regarding File Vault, the first thing I noticed was that I may not have had enough space to do the decryption, so I got an external hard drive, copied the contents of each of the folders inside my encrypted hard drive to the external drive (thus decrypting them), then deleted them from the internal hard drive. Then I shut the computer down to allow File Vault to re-claim the disk space. I was ultimately able to bring the free space on my hard drive to about 195 GB, with only about 35 GB in use. I continued to get the error.
Next, I repaired permissions, then verified the disk. I found a volume structure error which could not be repaired by Disk Utility, but I had Disk Warrior, which had no problem repairing it. Unfortunately, I still get the error when trying to turn File Vault off.
At this point, it is pretty safe to assume that the initial Volume Structure error caused the File Vault decryption error, and repairing it will not fix the issue. From continued reading, it would seem the next course of action is to completely back up my home folder, install the OS fresh, then manually import the data. Is there an easy way to do this? I have a lot of installed applications and settings that I don't want to go through the trouble of re-installing and re-setting.
Would it work if I set up a new user account, manually migrated the data copied to the external drive, tested to see if the new user account was working, then deleted the encrypted one?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Would it work if I set up a new user account, manually migrated the data copied to the external drive, tested to see if the new user account was working, then deleted the encrypted one
I think that's worth trying first - you could always fall back on the OS erase and install if it doesn't work out.
I would do a GetInfo on the external drive and check the Ignore Ownership box at the bottom, in order to avoid any permission problems when copying back.

How do I turn off file vault when my hard drive is full?

I am trying to migrate all my files onto a new MacBook Pro but my current computer has file vault turned on. To turn it off and decrypt my user home folder I need more space on my hard drive. I have tried cloning my MBP onto a larger external drive and starting up from there but every time I try to shut off file vault I get an error after about a half hour of the process.
What should I try next?

Hi Jeremy,
Could be many things, we should start with this...
"Try Disk Utility
1. Insert the Mac OS X Install disc, then restart the computer while holding the C key.
2. When your computer finishes starting up from the disc, choose Disk Utility from the Installer menu at top of the screen. (In Mac OS X 10.4 or later, you must select your language first.)
*Important: Do not click Continue in the first screen of the Installer. If you do, you must restart from the disc again to access Disk Utility.*
3. Click the First Aid tab.
4. Select your Mac OS X volume.
5. Click Repair Disk, (not Repair Permissions). Disk Utility checks and repairs the disk."
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106214
Then try a Safe Boot, (holding Shift key down at bootup), run Disk Utility in Applications>Utilities, then highlight your drive, click on Repair Permissions, reboot when it completes.
(Safe boot may stay on the gray radian for a long time, let it go, it's trying to repair the Hard Drive.)
If perchance you can't find your install Disc, at least try it from the Safe Boot part onward.
If 10.7.0 or later...
Bootup holding CMD+r, or the Option/alt key to boot from the Restore partition & use Disk Utility from there to Repair the Disk, then Repair Permissions.

I tried to encrypt using file vault but it froze slowing my macbook pro, how can i get things moving or stop the encryption

i tried to encrypt using file vault but it froze slowing my macbook pro, how can i get things moving or stop the encryption

Back up all data before proceeding. There are ways to back up a computer that isn't fully functional. Ask if you need guidance.
Start up in Recovery mode. When the OS X Utilities screen appears, select Disk Utility.
In the Disk Utility window, select the icon of the startup volume from the list on the left. It will be nested below another disk icon, usually with the same name. Click the Unlock button in the toolbar. When prompted, enter the login password of a user authorized to unlock the volume, or the alternate decryption key that was generated when you activated FileVault.
Then, from the menu bar, select
File ▹ Turn Off Encryption
Enter the password again.
You can then restart as usual, if the system is working. Decryption will be completed in the background. It may take several hours, and during that time performance will be reduced.
If you can't turn off encryption in Disk Utility because the menu item is grayed out, you'll have to erase the volume and then restore the data from a backup. Select the Erase tab, and then select
Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
from the Format menu.
You can then quit to be returned to the main Recovery screen. Follow these instructions if you back up with Time Machine. If you use other backup software, follow its developer's instructions.
Don't erase the volume unless you have at least two complete, independent backups. One is not enough to be safe.

File Vault problem!! Help!!

Ok I'm not entirely sure how file vault works or even what it's exact purpose is! All I know is that is seems to free up some space on my hard drive!
My problem is that my file vault doesn't seem to be working anymore. I've checked to make sure that it's turned on but after that I'm lost.
I'm running Leopard (latest version), but using Time Capsule or anything like that.
File Vault used to come up when I was turning off my Macbook off, it no longer does! I want it back!!! Help!!!

Shane,
Why would you mess with a feature without understanding what it's for? Filevault is a form of disk encryption. It protects your home folder by encrypting and decrypting the contents on the fly, as your computer needs it.
It does not "free up disk space." And if FileVault is on in system preferences, then it's working. It runs in the background, so you shouldn't see any indication that it's running as you use your computer. It should simply prompt you for a password at login, and after that, it just works.
Be forewarned: if you forget your password, your data will be unrecoverable. Be careful with FileVault.

File vault stuck on encryption paused.

Hi all
Recently bought a Macbook Air and decided to use file vault, things seemed ok at first but when file vault was about to finish it became stuck on "encryption paused".
Even with the power adapter connected it still will not continue, also i have found that it will cause "system preferences" to stop responding requiring me to force quit the application.
I have spoke to a very helpful Apple support adviser who said it was a "cosmetic issue" and i should try a PRAM reset but this has not resolved the problem.
Is anybody else experiencing similar problems?
Thanks

Back up all data before proceeding. There are ways to back up a computer that isn't fully functional. Ask if you need guidance.
Start up in Recovery mode. When the OS X Utilities screen appears, select Disk Utility.
In the Disk Utility window, select the icon of the startup volume from the list on the left. It will be nested below another disk icon, usually with the same name. Click the Unlock button in the toolbar. When prompted, enter the login password of a user authorized to unlock the volume, or the alternate decryption key that was generated when you activated FileVault.
Then, from the menu bar, select
File ▹ Turn Off Encryption
Enter the password again.
You can then restart as usual, if the system is working. Decryption will be completed in the background. It may take several hours, and during that time performance will be reduced.
If you can't turn off encryption in Disk Utility because the menu item is grayed out, you'll have to erase the volume and then restore the data from a backup. Select the Erase tab, and then select
Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
from the Format menu.
You can then quit to be returned to the main Recovery screen. Follow these instructions if you back up with Time Machine. If you use other backup software, follow its developer's instructions.
Don't erase the volume unless you have at least two complete, independent backups. One is not enough to be safe.

File Vault all messed up - Yosemite

Note that I am running OS X Yosemite on a 13 inch MacBook Air (early 2014).
I did a restart on my MBA. When it restarted and I attempted to type my password, certain keys on the keyboard no longer worked and I was unable to type my password. I'm not talking unusual characters here - while my password is a combination of capital and small letters, numbers, punctuation marks, the ones I'm unable to type are common things like "c" or "k". This does not work with either the MBA's own keyboard or my external Apple keyboard. I tried unplugging the external keyboard from the USB port but that made no difference.
So I did the restart in recovery mode. I selected "keyboard not working" when time to enter password. I got the message that my keyboard may not be compatible with File Vault, which I think we can accept that since it's the MBA's own keyboard that should not be possible. I was then prompted to enter my password so that File Vault could be turned off. I entered my password very slowly and carefully but it was not accepted.
I then (I forget the exact steps) managed to reset my login password and was able to login to the machine. I went to System Preferences and File Vault. I could not turn off File Vault because "encryption in progress". Except that encryption is paused, "connect power adapter to resume encryption." Except that power adapter IS connected.
So I'm kind of stuck here. If Fire Vault isn't encrypting and isn't resuming encryption and its blocking recognition of my keyboard when attempting to log in, what can I do to get back to "normal"?
Note that my MBA was purchased in Hong Kong but I am currently in Manila.
thanks!

Back up all data before proceeding. There are ways to back up a computer that isn't fully functional. Ask if you need guidance.
Start up in Recovery mode. When the OS X Utilities screen appears, select Disk Utility.
In the Disk Utility window, select the icon of the startup volume from the list on the left. It will be nested below another disk icon, usually with the same name. Click the Unlock button in the toolbar. When prompted, enter the login password of a user authorized to unlock the volume, or the alternate decryption key that was generated when you activated FileVault.
Then, from the menu bar, select
File ▹ Turn Off Encryption
Enter the password again.
You can then restart as usual, if the system is working. Decryption will be completed in the background. It may take several hours, and during that time performance will be reduced.
If you can't turn off encryption in Disk Utility because the menu item is grayed out, you'll have to erase the volume and then restore the data from a backup. Select the Erase tab, and then select
Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
from the Format menu.
You can then quit to be returned to the main Recovery screen. Follow these instructions if you back up with Time Machine. If you use other backup software, follow its developer's instructions.
Don't erase the volume unless you have at least two complete, independent backups. One is not enough to be safe.

File Vault encryption

File Vault encryption is stuck on Pause on intial start up of machine

Back up all data before proceeding. There are ways to back up a computer that isn't fully functional. Ask if you need guidance.
Start up in Recovery mode. When the OS X Utilities screen appears, select Disk Utility.
In the Disk Utility window, select the icon of the startup volume from the list on the left. It will be nested below another disk icon, usually with the same name. Click the Unlock button in the toolbar. When prompted, enter the login password of a user authorized to unlock the volume, or the alternate decryption key that was generated when you activated FileVault.
Then, from the menu bar, select
File ▹ Turn Off Encryption
Enter the password again.
You can then restart as usual, if the system is working. Decryption will be completed in the background. It may take several hours, and during that time performance will be reduced.
If you can't turn off encryption in Disk Utility because the menu item is grayed out, you'll have to erase the volume and then restore the data from a backup. Select the Erase tab, and then select
Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
from the Format menu.
You can then quit to be returned to the main Recovery screen. Follow these instructions if you back up with Time Machine. If you use other backup software, follow its developer's instructions.
Don't erase the volume unless you have at least two complete, independent backups. One is not enough to be safe.

Upgraded to Lion. Error turning off Legacy File Vault

I want to use the new file vault so homefolder files are encrypted in my time machine backup. When I was prompted in System Preferences, I chose to "turn off legacy file vault." After the passwords, etc., the system works for a while and has just returned an error message, something to the effect "an error has occured. Legacy File Vault will not be turned off." How do I get Legacy File Vault turned off (e.g, unencrypt the drive?)
Thanks.

- open the account (so that the Home is decrypted)
- make a copy of Home folder
- set a new temporary account (Admin)
- restart with this new temporary account
- remove the original Home folder, then remove the original account (via System Preferences - Users & Groups)
- rename the copy with the original name
- add a new account with the same original name via Users & Groups), that is recreated the deleted account
The system ask you if you want to use the existent Folder with the same - OK
At voila you have the account decrypted

File Vault and Shutdown

I am required to use file vault to encrypt my home directory at work. Often, during shut down, I get a message that says "...recovering disk space..." and I have to wait for several minutes before the system will shut down. This is usually not a problem, but I noticed that it becomes a problem if I do anything with my external hard drive.
If I work with files on my external hard drive, and then I eject the drive and shut down, the system shut down gets hung up trying to recover disk space, and never shuts down (even after > 8 hours). However, if I leave the external hard drive plugged in during shut down, everything seems to be OK. Then I can disconnect the drive after shut down and carry on with my life.
It would be great if an apple engineer would read this, and figure out why the system is getting hung up during shut down when the hard drive has been ejected. Maybe before ejecting, the there should be a "recovering disk space on the external hard drive" routine.
If anyone out there has any other thoughts, they are appreciated.

These are user to user forums. Apple engineers don't normally reply here.
If you want to report this issue to Apple's engineering, send a bug report or an enhancement request via its Bug Reporter system. To do this, join the Mac Developer Program—it's free and available for all Mac users and gets you a look at some development software. Since you already have an Apple username/ID, use that. Once a member, go to Apple BugReporter and file your bug report or enhancement request. The nice thing with this procedure is that you get a response and a follow-up number; thus, starting a dialog with engineering.

HT3275 How do I find/restore files from items in secure home folder? How do I find/restore files that crashed when in finder of secure (File Vault) home folder?

How do I find/restore files from items in secure (File Vault) home folder? How do I find/restore files that crashed when in finder of secure (File Vault) home folder? When I go into Time Machine, I see earlier dates but can't see files in my User File. I have File Vault turned on and see my home folder as a sparsebundle. Do I neede to restore this in order to see files in my home folder. When I click on it to restore it gives me an estimated time of over 2 hours. Also tried to restore an Excel file I was working on when computer hung, so lost it without saving or naming it. Does it exist anyplace and can I restore it?

Thanks. I had pretty much figured out from other posts that I had better turn off File Vault for my home folder and use a disk utility sparse bundel for little information I wanted to secure. The information about File Vault 2 in Lion was new and useful though.

File vault hung decrypting...

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