No progress on encryption in FileVault

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Level 1

8 points

No progress on encryption in FileVault

I did a factory restore on my MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2012) running OS X El Capitan this morning.

I turned on FileVault when I was setting up my Mac, but it is still stuck on encrypting my files but it is making no progress.

I sometimes try "Turn Off FileVault" but it tells me to "wait until my disc is fully encrypted".

Immediately after, underneath the progress bar it tells me "5 days remaining" and then the number of days just keeps increasing and increasing until it goes to "Estimating time remaining...".

When I run the command "fdesetup status" in terminal, it says:

FileVault is On.

Encryption in progress: Percent completed = 0.50"

Which I guess is progress because about 3 hours ago, the Percent completed was at .44.

I have not yet rebooted or restarted my MacBook since the factory reset this morning.

I don't have any important files on my MacBook except for my Pictures which are also up in iCloud.

I apologize if this is in the wrong category.

I am not very tech-savvy, but any help would be appreciated. Thank you for your time.

~ Brandon (PS, when I try highlighting text in this textbox, the page automatically scrolls down..)

MacBook Pro, OS X El Capitan (10.11.3), FileVault, Factory Restore

Posted on Jan 23, 2016 2:17 PM

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Answer 1

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,739 points

Jan 23, 2016 3:52 PM in response to brndnlks

A

Please open the Security & Privacy pane in System Preferences and select the FileVault tab. If the status shown is "Encryption Paused," do whichever of the following applies:

1. If you have a portable Mac (MacBook, MacBook Air, or MacBook Pro), disconnect the power adapter and reconnect it.

2. If you have a desktop Mac (iMac, Mac mini, or Mac Pro) connected to an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) with USB functionality, disconnect the USB cable from the UPS, then restart.

Check the encryption status again. If it's still paused, or if there is no progress after an hour or so, continue.

B

If you don't already have a current backup of all data, back up 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. It will be nested below another disk icon. Select Unlock from the File menu. When prompted, enter the login password of a user authorized to unlock the volume, or the alternate decryption key that was generated when you activated FileVault.

Then, from the menu bar, select

File ▹ Turn Off Encryption

Enter the password again.

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.

If you can't turn off encryption in Disk Utility because the menu item is grayed out, you'll have to erase the volume and then restore the data from a backup. Select the Erase tab, and then select

Mac OS Extended (Journaled)

from the Format menu.

You can then quit to be returned to the main Recovery screen. Follow these instructions if you back up with Time Machine. If you use other backup software, follow its developer's instructions.

Don't erase the volume unless you have at least two complete, independent backups. One is not enough to be safe.

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