Can't create a new CoreStorage Logical Volume on an External SSD

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Level 1

5 points

Can't create a new CoreStorage Logical Volume on an External SSD

Hi,

I have an external SSD (240 GB Kingston SV300) in an enclosure (NexStar3 SuperSpeed USB / eSata) that I attach to my late 2013 MacBook Pro 15". It works just fine as a journaled HFS+ disk. Quick and effective. I just can't seem to encrypt it. When I try, I get this:

sh-3.2# diskutil cs convert /dev/disk2s2

Started CoreStorage operation on disk2s2 External

Resizing disk to fit Core Storage headers

Creating Core Storage Logical Volume Group

Unable to create Core Storage Logical Volume Group

A problem occurred; undoing all changes

Reclaiming space formerly used by Core Storage metadata

Error: -69784: Unable to create a new CoreStorage Logical Volume Group

I can't seem to find anything out there that suggests why this might be happening. Oddly enough, anything else I've tried to attach and encrypt seems to work just fine. I'm starting to suspect it's something to do with either the enclosure or the drive, but that seems quite odd to me.

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Mavericks (10.9.1)

Posted on Jan 28, 2014 10:06 AM

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Answer 1

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,649 points

Jan 28, 2014 11:07 AM in response to sdeaner

Have you tried to encrypt it in the usual way, through the GUI?

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Answer 2

sdeaner Author

Level 1

5 points

Jan 28, 2014 12:20 PM in response to Linc Davis

Hi,

I probably should have said that, eh? Yes, I tried the UI first and it gave me the following text:

Unable to create a new Core Storage logical volume group

This was in a nice little dialog that gave me one choice "Ok". I started looking into the command line stuff in order to see more of what the issue is.

Thanks.

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Answer 3

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,649 points

Jan 28, 2014 12:46 PM in response to sdeaner

Core Storage is undocumented and the meaning of the error message is unknown outside Apple. I can find no similar reports. What I would do in your place is to try to encrypt another device. If that works, you can assume that there's a problem with the SSD or the enclosure.

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Answer 4

sdeaner Author

Level 1

5 points

Jan 31, 2014 2:38 PM in response to Linc Davis

Hi,

So I decided that another external enclosure would be something to try. Note that the enclosure I was using seemed to work fine (ie, data transferred from the SSD I had put in the enclosure and I saw no other errors), but failed to allow me to encrypt with the error noted above.

The other enclosure works just fine for encryption. So, if you want to use an external USB 3.0 enclosure on a Macbook Pro, don't go for the NexStar3 SuperSpeed USB / eSata. I purchased a StarTech.com USB 3.0 to 2.5" SATA Hard Drive Enclosure (PN SAT2510BU32) which is currently working fine.

Thanks for the help!

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