File vault - can't turn it off / encryption stopped

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File vault - can't turn it off / encryption stopped

Hello,

I recentl upgraded to Yosemite on my Macbook Air and File Vault seems to have been turned on by default. I want to turn it off, but I can't until encryption is finished. The problem is that encryption seems to have got stuck. When I open the security/privacy section of System Preferences it estimates the time remaining for encryption to be anything from 600 to 2000 days.

I've tried turning encryption off by running disk utility, selecting the volume and then holding down the 'alt' key when accessing the file menu to select the 'turn off encryption' option, but it doesn't seem to do anything.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

MacBook Air, OS X Yosemite (10.10.1)

Posted on Nov 25, 2014 2:58 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,547 points

Nov 25, 2014 6:03 PM in response to _seagull___

Back up all data before proceeding. There are ways to back up a computer that isn't fully functional. Ask if you need guidance.

Start up in Recovery mode. When the OS X Utilities screen appears, select Disk Utility. In the Disk Utility window, select the icon of the startup volume from the list on the left. Then, from the menu bar, select

File ▹ Turn Off Encryption

Enter the login password of a user authorized to unlock the volume, or the alternate decryption key that was generated when you activated FileVault.

You can then restart as usual, if the system is working. Decryption will be completed in the background. It may take several hours, and during that time performance will be reduced.

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Answer 2

_seagull___ Author

Level 1

5 points

Nov 26, 2014 2:22 AM in response to Linc Davis

Hello Linc,

Thanks for your reply. The only problem is... it doesn't seem to work. I can restart in Recovery mode without trouble, and run the disk utility. However, when I click File-Turn Off Encryption nothing happens. No response from the machine at all.

I'm a bit stumped.

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Answer 3

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,547 points

Nov 26, 2014 6:54 AM in response to _seagull___

This procedure is a diagnostic test. It makes no changes to your data.

Please triple-click anywhere in the line below on this page to select it:

diskutil cs list | pbcopy

Copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C.

Launch the built-in Terminal application in any of the following ways:

☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)

☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.

☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Terminal in the icon grid.

Paste into the Terminal window by pressing the key combination command-V. I've tested these instructions only with the Safari web browser. If you use another browser, you may have to press the return key after pasting.

Wait for a new line ending in a dollar sign ($) to appear below what you entered.

The output of the command will be automatically copied to the Clipboard. If the command produced no output, the Clipboard will be empty. Paste into a reply to this message.

The Terminal window doesn't show the output. Please don't copy anything from there.

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Answer 4

_seagull___ Author

Level 1

5 points

Nov 26, 2014 9:10 AM in response to Linc Davis

Okay Linc - here's the output:

CoreStorage logical volume groups (1 found)

|

+-- Logical Volume Group FA6B74B0-5673-4DBA-84C8-694C7B5E6814

=========================================================

Name: Local file store

Status: Online

Size: 250140434432 B (250.1 GB)

Free Space: 35651584 B (35.7 MB)

|

+-< Physical Volume A256DA0F-69A8-45D1-BBA3-3F3646950653

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

| Index: 0

| Disk: disk0s2

| Status: Online

| Size: 250140434432 B (250.1 GB)

|

+-> Logical Volume Family 3CD2CAF9-9542-44CC-8CCC-C97FE4AB9B35

----------------------------------------------------------

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 BAD21590-B89D-433D-8FF5-B772541D9674

---------------------------------------------------

Disk: disk1

Status: Online

Size (Total): 249769230336 B (249.8 GB)

Conversion Progress: Failed

Revertible: No

LV Name: Local file store

Volume Name: Local file store

Content Hint: Apple_HFS

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Answer 5

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,547 points

Nov 26, 2014 9:21 AM in response to _seagull___

Start up in Recovery mode, launch Disk Utility, select the startup volume ("Macintosh HD," unless you gave it a different name), and run Repair Disk (not Repair Permissions.) If any problems are found, repeat. Then restart as usual.

If you don't already have a current backup, you must back up your data before you take the above step. You may be able to back up, even if the system isn't fully functional. Ask if you need guidance.

Directory corruption in a MacOS journaled volume is always the result of a drive malfunction. It's not caused by power failures, system crashes, or anything else. You might choose to tolerate such a malfunction once in the life of a drive. If it's repeated, the drive must be replaced, or there is some other hardware fault that needs to be corrected. Ignoring repeated directory errors will result in data loss.

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Answer 6

_seagull___ Author

Level 1

5 points

Nov 26, 2014 9:43 AM in response to Linc Davis

Okay - done that. No problems found on the disk; problem with stalled encryption still not resolved.

The laptop contains a subset of data that lives on my desktop machine (which is itself backed up onto an external drive) so I'm not worried about data loss. The problem is that the battery life on the laptop has gone through the floor, and it gets very hot - I assumed that it was the encryption process that was the problem.

I guess I could take it in and get the hardware checked. Or I could do a clean install - I've just made a bootable USB drive with the Yosemite installer on it. Worth trying, do you think?

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Answer 7

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,547 points

Nov 26, 2014 11:17 AM in response to _seagull___

Follow the instructions in this thread to erase and decrypt the FileVault volume, then restore from a backup. You'll have to start in Recovery mode to do it.

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Answer 8

_seagull___ Author

Level 1

5 points

Nov 26, 2014 11:32 AM in response to Linc Davis

Okay. I'm just backing it up. Once that's done I'll erase the File Vault volume as you suggest. Just to be sure, with reference to my earlier post with the results of the diagnostic test, the volume to delete is this one?

3CD2CAF9-9542-44CC-8CCC-C97FE4AB9B35

Thanks.

And thanks for all your help so far.

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Answer 9

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,547 points

Nov 26, 2014 11:49 AM in response to _seagull___

You need to enter the UUID of the logical volume group, which in your case is FA6B74B0-5673-4DBA-84C8-694C7B5E6814.

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Answer 10

_seagull___ Author

Level 1

5 points

Nov 26, 2014 11:54 AM in response to Linc Davis

Okay thanks. The backup still has two hours to run. Watch this space ;-)

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Answer 11

_seagull___ Author

Level 1

5 points

Nov 26, 2014 3:30 PM in response to _seagull___

Right - backup complete. I'm not going to take the next step now - it's time for bed. I'll have a go in the morning. But can I just confirm:

I start the computer as normal.

I run the terminal app

At the command line I type:

sudo diskutil cs deleteLVG FA6B74B0-5673-4DBA-84C8-694C7B5E6814

... and hit return. This will delete everything on my hard drive.

I then restart the computer in recovery mode, and run a restore from my new backup.

I guess the thing that seems surprising is that the computer will restart in recovery mode once everything has been wiped. Do please let me know if I have this wrong!

Thanks.

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Answer 12

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,547 points

Nov 26, 2014 3:51 PM in response to _seagull___

It will erase the startup volume, not everything on the drive (which includes the Recovery system.) "sudo" is not needed. I suggest that you copy and paste the command, rather than trying to type it. You can do that by selecting Get Help Online from the main Recovery screen and loading this web page.

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Answer 13

_seagull___ Author

Level 1

5 points

Nov 27, 2014 1:03 AM in response to Linc Davis

Morning.

I'm sorry, but now I'm confused. You directed me towards the instructions in another thread which included "sudo" - but I think you've just told me that I don't need to use "sudo"?

It sounds like the set of steps I wrote out in my last message is wrong?

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Answer 14

_seagull___ Author

Level 1

5 points

Nov 27, 2014 1:29 AM in response to _seagull___

Okay - I tried it anyway. Here's the output from terminal:

diskutil cs deleteLVG FA6B74B0-5673-4DBA-84C8-694C7B5E6814

The Core Storage Logical Volume Group UUID is FA6B74B0-5673-4DBA-84C8-694C7B5E6814

Started CoreStorage operation

Ejecting Logical Volumes

The volume "Local file store" on disk1 couldn't be unmounted

Error: -69888: Couldn't unmount disk

Ruths-Macbook:~ ruthkelly$

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Answer 15

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,547 points

Nov 27, 2014 5:53 AM in response to _seagull___

The other thread was about a secondary volume, not the startup volume. To erase the startup volume, you need to boot into Recovery, and then you'll automatically have a root shell, so "sudo" isn't needed. You can include it if it makes you feel better. It will have no effect. Running the command with or without sudo while booted from the volume to be erased will only produce the error message in your last comment.

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