Secure erase options are available only for some types of storage devices. (Optional) If available, click Security Options, use the slider to choose how many times to write over the erased data, then click OK. To change the password later, select the volume in the sidebar, then choose File > Change Password. In the sidebar, select the storage device you want to encrypt.Ĭlick the Scheme pop-up menu, then choose GUID Partition Map.Ĭlick the Format pop-up menu, then choose an encrypted file system format.Įnter and verify a password, then click Choose. If Disk Utility isn’t open, click the Launchpad icon in the Dock, type Disk Utility in the Search field, then click the Disk Utility icon. In the Disk Utility app on your Mac, choose View > Show All Devices. Please follow iClarified on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or RSS for more Apple news, videos, and tutorials.If the device contains any files you want to save, copy them to another storage device or volume. Notice your drive will have a Conversion Status of 'Converting', a Conversion Direction of 'forward', and a Conversion Progress percentage indicator. Input the following command into the Terminal window: diskutil cs list To check the progress of the encryption, launch Terminal from your Applications:Utilities folder. Estimate roughly 4.5 hours per TB on a disk that is not in use. Please note, this could take a VERY VERY long time. The drive will be remounted and if you right click or CTRL-click the disk in Finder, you'll notice a message that says Encrypting. **Please note that if you forget this password, you won't be able to retrieve any data from your drive.

Input your desired encryption password, verify it, and add a password hint. Right click or CTRL+Click the drive you would like to encrypt and select Encrypt ''. Launch a new Finder window by clicking its icon in the dock. As usual, remember to backup critical data before performing this procedure.

Macos encrypt external drive