How to password protect a portable hard drive which has files on it with OSX Big Sur
MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 11.2
If it's not your start-up-disk, but just an external drive with files on it:
Ctrl-click on the disk and choose "Encode". Enter a password and click "Encrypt Disk". If you connect the drive, you will need this password. Take care: To undo the password-protection for this disk, you will need to erase the disk.
It must be formatted with a GUID partition table in order to encrypt it. You won’t get an option to encrypt it if it isn’t.
It will be formatted APFS when encrypted.
There isn’t a way to set a password other than encryption.
Its a Samsung portable hard drive when you control click it does not show “encode” only open in tab eject get info rename add to dock Have Macbook pro on Big Sur
It should be “encrypt,” not “encode.” But, see my post for why it doesn’t allow you to encrypt.
PASSWORD PROTECT PORTABLE HARD DRIVE
