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User profile for user: Gribouille
Gribouille Author
User level: Level 1
4 points

FileVault won't encrypt a previously decrypted system volume.

When trying to install 10.8 (Booting from a key) I encountered an error and assumed that it was caused by my FileVault volume.

There was only one hard drive (SSD, 256Gb), and one volume on it encrypted with FileVault 2, so I decrypted it using the preference pan, and installed 10.8 Lion (After reseting the PRAM, there was my previous issue).


Now that 10.8 is installed I want to re-encrypt my SSD but when I try to activate it back again, the preference pan tells me that


FileVault Failed The target Core Storage volume is already encrypted.


and diskutil in command line tells me :


macbook-air:~ someone$ diskutil cs decryptVolume 9D59BA0A-0F9B-499D-9B0B-77397FB8D5F1

Passphrase:

Error beginning CoreStorage Logical Volume decryption: The target Core Storage volume is not encrypted (-69755)


One is telling me that the volume is already encrypted (but the password is prompted at login time, not by the EFI as it should if it was crypted).

And the other is telling me that it's not crypted.


When I try to encrypt using command line, it gets ridiculous


macbook-air:~ someone$ diskutil cs decryptVolume 9D59BA0A-0F9B-499D-9B0B-77397FB8D5F1

Passphrase:

Error beginning CoreStorage Logical Volume decryption: The target Core Storage volume is not encrypted (-69755)


macbook-air:~ someone$ diskutil cs encryptVolume 9D59BA0A-0F9B-499D-9B0B-77397FB8D5F1

New passphrase for existing volume:

Confirm new passphrase:

Started CoreStorage operation on disk1 SSD

Error: -69696: The target Core Storage volume is already encrypted


I guess there is some kind of bug, any idea how to circumvent it ?

Thanks.


***


Here is a full list of corestorage volumes.

macbook-air:~ someone$ diskutil cs list

CoreStorage logical volume groups (1 found)

|

+-- Logical Volume Group EB5FE5BE-190A-4248-9F39-F595B268BEB3

| =========================================================

| Name: Macintosh HD

| Size: 250140434432 B (250.1 GB)

| Free Space: 0 B (0 B)

| |

| +-< Physical Volume C96F284D-285F-4948-9800-5ECF4E3453F0

| | ----------------------------------------------------

| | Index: 0

| | Disk: disk0s2

| | Status: Online

| | Size: 250140434432 B (250.1 GB)

| |

| +-> Logical Volume Family C7AC841C-21C1-4AC8-A372-7A0C154F7F16

| ----------------------------------------------------------

| Encryption Status: Unlocked

| Encryption Type: None

| Conversion Status: Complete

| Conversion Direction: -none-

| Has Encrypted Extents: Yes

| Fully Secure: No

| Passphrase Required: No

| |

| +-> Logical Volume 9D59BA0A-0F9B-499D-9B0B-77397FB8D5F1

| ---------------------------------------------------

| Disk: disk1

| Status: Online

| Size (Total): 250140434432 B (250.1 GB)

| Size (Converted): 249821663232 B (249.8 GB)

| Revertible: No

| LV Name: SSD

| Volume Name: SSD

| Content Hint: Apple_HFS

Posted on Jul 29, 2012 12:41 AM

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6 replies
User profile for user: arimareiji
arimareiji
User level: Level 1
13 points

Aug 14, 2017 2:10 AM in response to Gribouille

Thank you so much, Gribouille. (^_^)


For the sake of people like me who have trouble following instructions literally: I ran into the same problem, and tried to go straight to Disk Utility and then Repair Permissions. It repaired a few files, then ran into one it said couldn't be repaired, then repaired a LOT of other files. But when I tried to re-encrypt, it let me go through all the steps to where it asks you to restart (but without actually restarting) before it stopped after saying a Core System file was already encrypted. XP Going back to Disk Utility and running Repair Permissions again, it repaired a few files then ran into one it said couldn't be repaired.


I finally restarted while holding down the Option key (one page said you can do the same with command{apple}-R). I went to Disk Utility and ran Repair Permissions. Again, it repaired a few files then ran into one it said couldn't be repaired. But this time after I restarted into normal mode, it let me complete the process. My disk is now busy re-encrypting. (^_^)


Best regards to all.

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User profile for user: Gribouille
Gribouille Author
User level: Level 1
4 points

Jul 29, 2012 1:06 AM in response to Gribouille

I just solved the issue above by rebooting on the installation key, and using Disk Utility to « Repair the disk », which apparently changed some boot information as it said it did in the log window.


Everything works fine now and the preference pan accepted to encrypt the volume again after a formal reboot.


+-> Logical Volume Family BF79782B-FBFX-4EC8-A155-6CC460C676E4

| ----------------------------------------------------------

| Encryption Status: Unlocked

| Encryption Type: AES-XTS

| Conversion Status: Converting

| Conversion Direction: forward

| Has Encrypted Extents: Yes

| Fully Secure: No

| Passphrase Required: Yes

| |

| +-> Logical Volume D840A0E6-56CB-4902-AC19-0C5924AC10DC

| ---------------------------------------------------

| Disk: disk1

| Status: Online

| Size (Total): 249804886016 B (249.8 GB)

| Size (Converted): 34651242496 B (34.7 GB)

| Revertible: Yes (unlock and decryption required)

| LV Name: SSD

| Volume Name: SSD

| Content Hint: Apple_HFS


I'm amazed to see that the only two problems I encoutered this year with this Mac have been solved by common maintenance and well known operations (PRAM reset and now Disk repair).

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User profile for user: kioomars
kioomars
User level: Level 1
0 points

May 25, 2013 6:53 AM in response to Gribouille

Hey Gribouille,

I'm having a similar, I thought you may be able to help me out, since I couldn't figure it out myself and nothing came upin google search.


I'm using an early 2011 MBP, OS X 10.8.3 and a LaCie 2TB external HDD.

here's the problem:

I wanted to try and encrypt my external hdd for the first time, so I did it by right clicking on the drive and setting up a password, and then as I didn't want it to still be encrypted I decrypted it. But now when i'm trying to encrypting it again it says: "The target Core Storage volume is already encrypted.", although it doesn't require password and when I go to disk utility>File> the "change password" is not highlighted (meaning that it doesn't have a password). on the other hand when I go to "Get Info" of the drive in the format it says: Mac OS Extended (Journaled, Encrypted).

Do you have any suggestions to fix the problem?


By the way I have a very precious 1.7 TB data on the drive and I don't want to risk losing them in the process, and as I'm relatively new to Mac please explain step by step (for example I have no idea about the stuff in the grey boxes you've written above).


P.S. I tried repairing the disk from disk utility and rebooting my laptop, but that didn't work.


Thanks in advance.

Reply

FileVault won't encrypt a previously decrypted system volume.

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