JimInNVusa

Q: My Disk Utility doesn't have encryption option.

I'm trying to format a thumb drive that I can encrypt.  But my disk utility doesn't have the drop down option for encryption. Do I have an outdated utility? OS X El Capitan 10.11.5

In Finder, when attempting to encrypt, I get an error message saying "A GUID Partition Table (GPT) partitioning scheme is required".

Suggestions please.

iMac, OS X El Capitan (10.11.5)

Posted on May 28, 2016 2:39 PM

Close

Q: My Disk Utility doesn't have encryption option.

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

  • by Barney-15E,

    Barney-15E Barney-15E May 28, 2016 2:42 PM in response to JimInNVusa
    Level 9 (50,401 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 28, 2016 2:42 PM in response to JimInNVusa

    You must format the drive with a GUID Partition Table.

    You can do that if you Erase the drive with Disk Utility. Choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled, Encrypted) as the format.

    If you are trying to encrypt the drive without erasing the contents, it cannot be done since it is not already formatted with a GUID Partition Table.

  • by JimInNVusa,

    JimInNVusa JimInNVusa May 28, 2016 2:51 PM in response to Barney-15E
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 28, 2016 2:51 PM in response to Barney-15E

    Thanks for quick response but I guess I wasn't clear.

    My Disk Utility, after selecting "Erase" only has Format options:

    OS X Extended (Journaled)

    OS X Extended (Case-sensitive, Journaled)

    MS-DOS (FAT)

    ExFAT

    None of the drop down choices include ...."Encrypted"

    That's why I'm wondering if my Disk Utility is outdated. But I can't find any information regarding Disk Utility version number.

  • by bigschwabbel,

    bigschwabbel bigschwabbel May 29, 2016 12:56 AM in response to JimInNVusa
    Level 3 (808 points)
    May 29, 2016 12:56 AM in response to JimInNVusa

    There is no encryption option in Disk Utility anymore. Format your drive GPT and start encryption in Finder.

  • by Barney-15E,

    Barney-15E Barney-15E May 29, 2016 6:26 AM in response to bigschwabbel
    Level 9 (50,401 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 29, 2016 6:26 AM in response to bigschwabbel

    No, it's still there.

    Screen Shot 2016-05-29 at 8.25.38 AM.png

  • by Barney-15E,

    Barney-15E Barney-15E May 29, 2016 6:42 AM in response to JimInNVusa
    Level 9 (50,401 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 29, 2016 6:42 AM in response to JimInNVusa

    Perhaps you need to first get it into GPT beforehand. As you can see above, it is possible to encrypt from Disk Utility.

     

    EDIT:

    I found a spare Flash drive to test on and you do need to get it into OS X Extended with GPT before you can encrypt.

    You could likely do it all in one step in Terminal with diskutil, but it doesn't appear that is possible in Disk Utility.

  • by JimInNVusa,

    JimInNVusa JimInNVusa May 29, 2016 8:57 AM in response to Barney-15E
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 29, 2016 8:57 AM in response to Barney-15E

    Thanks for the help. I found my beginner's mistake.  I'll post it here in case my mistake will help someone else.

     

    When I attempted to format the thumb drive for encryption I encountered the following. Note there is no option for encryption.

    Screen Shot 2016-05-29 at 8.48.24 AM.png

    After reading replies and searching support for a while I tried a friends MAC and got the same result.  Hmmm...

    THEN THE LIGHTBULB CAME ON...

     

    I was making the wrong selection on the sidebar.

    Once I notice "4700PHOtTOS" was subordinate to "SanDisk Ultra Me..." all was well.

    Screen Shot 2016-05-29 at 8.49.06 AM.png

    Experienced users must get tired of us novices after a while.

  • by leroydouglas,Solvedanswer

    leroydouglas leroydouglas May 29, 2016 9:03 AM in response to JimInNVusa
    Level 7 (23,796 points)
    Notebooks
    May 29, 2016 9:03 AM in response to JimInNVusa

    JimInNVusa wrote:

     

    Experienced users must get tired of us novices after a while.

     

    A storage device divides  into individual partitions,

    which are listed as separate volumes under the Devices section in the Finder sidebar or in  Disk Utility.

  • by Ziatron,

    Ziatron Ziatron Sep 22, 2016 7:20 PM in response to leroydouglas
    Level 4 (3,930 points)
    Apple Watch
    Sep 22, 2016 7:20 PM in response to leroydouglas

    I'm having the exact same problem as the original poster. However in my disk utilities I am ONLY showing the USB flash drive in the sidebar with NO partitions shown, Just the drive only.  None of the drop down choices include ...."Encrypted"

     

    Under "Scheme" I used "GUID Partition Map".   How can I encrypt my USB flash drive?

     

    I tried to encrypt by using the Finder, and I get the following message.  "A partition, not a whole disk, is required for this operation."

     

    Using OS 10.11.6 on a Mac Pro tower.

  • by Barney-15E,

    Barney-15E Barney-15E Sep 23, 2016 4:18 AM in response to Ziatron
    Level 9 (50,401 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 23, 2016 4:18 AM in response to Ziatron

    However in my disk utilities I am ONLY showing the USB flash drive in the sidebar with NO partitions shown, Just the drive only.  None of the drop down choices include ...."Encrypted"

     

    If you only see the drive listed, it is in MBR (DOS) format. You must first format it OS X Extended with GUID.

    You can then try again, and should have the options to encrypt.

  • by Ziatron,

    Ziatron Ziatron Sep 23, 2016 6:45 PM in response to Barney-15E
    Level 4 (3,930 points)
    Apple Watch
    Sep 23, 2016 6:45 PM in response to Barney-15E

    If you only see the drive listed, it is in MBR (DOS) format. You must first format it OS X Extended with GUID.

    You can then try again, and should have the options to encrypt.

     

    I did the above several times before I posted. When I do a, "get info"on this drive it shows it to be OS X Extended (Journaled).  I did use GUID.  ONLY the the drive listed. 

     

    Other suggestions appreciated.