Encrypting a portable USB flash drive is a great way to prevent sensitive data falling into the wrong hands, preventing data breaches and security incidents. This guide will demonstrate how to securely encrypt a USB flash drive within macOS so that the data stored on it cannot be read nor accessed without entering a secure password.
If you have an old flash drive or one that was formatted to work with Windows or another operating system, you can still format your flash drive to work on a Mac. Volume Format Most manufacturers use the FAT 32 or MS-DOS (FAT) volume format. Attach the drive to your Mac. Launch Disk Utility (from Applications Utilities Disk Utility). Select the drive in the left-hand sidebar.
Requirements
This guide applies to encrypting a flash drive on macOS El Capitan and Sierra using the built in encryption tool known as FileVault.
- Drives encrypted with FileVault CANNOT be opened by Windows.
- The password you choose to protect your USB flash drive CANNOT be changed once it is configured.
Follow the steps below to encrypt a USB flash drive using macOS.
- Insert your USB flash drive into your Mac.
- When the icon appears on your desktop, right click on it and select Encrypt.
- You will then need to enter and confirm a password (as well as a password hint). This password CANNOT be changed.
- Encryption should only take a few minutes; once complete, you USB flash drive will be fully protected.
How to use your newly encrypted USB flash drive
To securely use your encrypted USB flash drive, simply plug it into your computer. You will be prompted to enter the password you used to encrypt your drive.
Your macOS computer will automatically manage encrypting and decrypting your information while it is plugged in to your computer. When you are done working on your data, simply unplug it from your computer.
How to disable encryption
If you no longer wish to utilize encryption on your USB flash drive, you can permanently disable it. This action will remove the encryption and allow you to use the drive on computers that do not support FileFault, and will permanently stop securing the data on your USB Flash Drive.
Find Thumb Drive On Mac
To disable encryption, right-click on the drive in Finder and select Decrypt.
You will be prompted for your encryption password. Once you confirm your action, macOS will remove encryption from the USB flash drive; this action will take some time. Once complete, you can remove your USB flash drive and use it normally without restriction.
Just like most storage mediums, partitioning a flash drive is also possible. There may be a number of reasons why you would want to partition a flash drive. If you have never partitioned a flash drive before, then don't worry; this article will help you. Read on to find how to partition a flash drive.
Partition with Diskpart
Partition with an USB Flash Drive Partition Tool
Bonus Tip 1. Best Way to Recover Files from Flash Drive after Partition or Format
1How to Partition Flash Drive on Windows10/8.1/8/7?
Although it is possible to create multiple partitions on a flash drive via third-party tools, Windows will only read and show the first/primary partition. If you want the Windows to read a certain partition of the flash drive, then you will need a third-party tool to set that partition as primary.
Backup Your Data
Partitioning a flash drive will erase all data stored on it. That's why it is highly recommended that you back up all the important data before proceeding. The backup process is quite easy as all you need to do is connect the flash drive to your computer and copy the desired data to a location of your choice. Follow these instructions:
1. Connect your flash drive to your computer. Then open This PC on your Windows and find your flash drive.
2. Double-click on it to see its contents. Select the files that you want to back up and right-click on them and click Copy.
3. After that, navigate to the folder on your computer's hard drive where you want to store those files, right-click and select the Paste option. The transfer process will begin and your selected files will be copied to that folder.
Now that you have backed up your data, you can proceed to partition your flash drive. Following are some methods to do this:
1Partition a Flash Drive Using Diskpart
You can easily partition a flash drive via the Diskpart utility of Windows. The utility is run through Command Prompt. Follow these instructions:
Step 1. Press Windows and R key on your keyboard at the same time and type 'diskpart' in the Run pop-up window and then press Enter to launch it. A command prompt window will open.
Step 2. On that window, input 'list disk' to see which number your connected flash drive has.
Step 3. Next, input 'select disk X (X here is the number for your flash drive). It will be selected.
Step 4. Now input 'clean' and press enter to clean the device.
Step 5. Now enter 'list part' and then input 'create partition primary'. After that, input 'list part' and then input 'select partition 1'. Set this partition as active by inputting 'active'.
Step 6. Next, input 'format fs=fat32' to format the partition. After that, your newly created flash drive partition will be ready to use.
2Partition a Flash Drive with an USB Flash Drive Partition Tool
If the method to partition a flash drive via diskpart seems complicated, then there is another easier way to partition a flash drive. You can partition the USB flash drive via a flash drive partition tool called Bootit. Follow these instructions to partition a flash drive via Bootit:
Fist, you should install and launch Bootit software on your computer.
Step 1. Connect your flash drive to your computer and make sure it is detected by the operating system.
Step 2. Now open Disk Management on your computer. You can launch it from the Start Menu.
Step 3. Now select the current partition shown on the flash drive and delete it via the software.
Step 4. After that, right-click on the unallocated space of flash drive and click on New Simple Volume to create a partition. You can specify the size, label, etc. for the new partition according to your preferences.
Step 5. You can create multiple partitions on your flash drive by repeating the above step.
2How to Partition a Flash Drive on Mac?
If you want to partition your flash drive on your Mac, then you will be glad to know that it is possible. On Mac, you can do this via Disk Utility.
Steps to Partition Flash Drive on Mac
Follow these instructions to partition flash drive on Mac:
Step 1. On your Mac, open Disk Utility. And connect your flash drive to your Mac.
Step 2. Once the Disk Utility is opened, select your flash drive from the sidebar and click the Erase button.
Step 3. On the newly opened window, select OS X Extended (Journaled) from the Format menu.
Step 4. Make sure to click on Scheme > GUID Partition Map. Next, format the drive via the Erase option.
Mac Thumb Drive Not Recognized
Step 5. After formatting, click the Partition button and then use the '+' button to create and add additional partitions. Add as many partitions as you like.
Step 6. After setting the sizes, labels, etc. to partitions, click Apply to confirm your action. Partitions will be created.
Bonus Tip 1. Best Way to Recover Files from Flash Drive after Partition or Format
Find Thumb Drive On Mac
To disable encryption, right-click on the drive in Finder and select Decrypt.
You will be prompted for your encryption password. Once you confirm your action, macOS will remove encryption from the USB flash drive; this action will take some time. Once complete, you can remove your USB flash drive and use it normally without restriction.
Just like most storage mediums, partitioning a flash drive is also possible. There may be a number of reasons why you would want to partition a flash drive. If you have never partitioned a flash drive before, then don't worry; this article will help you. Read on to find how to partition a flash drive.
Partition with Diskpart
Partition with an USB Flash Drive Partition Tool
Bonus Tip 1. Best Way to Recover Files from Flash Drive after Partition or Format
1How to Partition Flash Drive on Windows10/8.1/8/7?
Although it is possible to create multiple partitions on a flash drive via third-party tools, Windows will only read and show the first/primary partition. If you want the Windows to read a certain partition of the flash drive, then you will need a third-party tool to set that partition as primary.
Backup Your Data
Partitioning a flash drive will erase all data stored on it. That's why it is highly recommended that you back up all the important data before proceeding. The backup process is quite easy as all you need to do is connect the flash drive to your computer and copy the desired data to a location of your choice. Follow these instructions:
1. Connect your flash drive to your computer. Then open This PC on your Windows and find your flash drive.
2. Double-click on it to see its contents. Select the files that you want to back up and right-click on them and click Copy.
3. After that, navigate to the folder on your computer's hard drive where you want to store those files, right-click and select the Paste option. The transfer process will begin and your selected files will be copied to that folder.
Now that you have backed up your data, you can proceed to partition your flash drive. Following are some methods to do this:
1Partition a Flash Drive Using Diskpart
You can easily partition a flash drive via the Diskpart utility of Windows. The utility is run through Command Prompt. Follow these instructions:
Step 1. Press Windows and R key on your keyboard at the same time and type 'diskpart' in the Run pop-up window and then press Enter to launch it. A command prompt window will open.
Step 2. On that window, input 'list disk' to see which number your connected flash drive has.
Step 3. Next, input 'select disk X (X here is the number for your flash drive). It will be selected.
Step 4. Now input 'clean' and press enter to clean the device.
Step 5. Now enter 'list part' and then input 'create partition primary'. After that, input 'list part' and then input 'select partition 1'. Set this partition as active by inputting 'active'.
Step 6. Next, input 'format fs=fat32' to format the partition. After that, your newly created flash drive partition will be ready to use.
2Partition a Flash Drive with an USB Flash Drive Partition Tool
If the method to partition a flash drive via diskpart seems complicated, then there is another easier way to partition a flash drive. You can partition the USB flash drive via a flash drive partition tool called Bootit. Follow these instructions to partition a flash drive via Bootit:
Fist, you should install and launch Bootit software on your computer.
Step 1. Connect your flash drive to your computer and make sure it is detected by the operating system.
Step 2. Now open Disk Management on your computer. You can launch it from the Start Menu.
Step 3. Now select the current partition shown on the flash drive and delete it via the software.
Step 4. After that, right-click on the unallocated space of flash drive and click on New Simple Volume to create a partition. You can specify the size, label, etc. for the new partition according to your preferences.
Step 5. You can create multiple partitions on your flash drive by repeating the above step.
2How to Partition a Flash Drive on Mac?
If you want to partition your flash drive on your Mac, then you will be glad to know that it is possible. On Mac, you can do this via Disk Utility.
Steps to Partition Flash Drive on Mac
Follow these instructions to partition flash drive on Mac:
Step 1. On your Mac, open Disk Utility. And connect your flash drive to your Mac.
Step 2. Once the Disk Utility is opened, select your flash drive from the sidebar and click the Erase button.
Step 3. On the newly opened window, select OS X Extended (Journaled) from the Format menu.
Step 4. Make sure to click on Scheme > GUID Partition Map. Next, format the drive via the Erase option.
Mac Thumb Drive Not Recognized
Step 5. After formatting, click the Partition button and then use the '+' button to create and add additional partitions. Add as many partitions as you like.
Step 6. After setting the sizes, labels, etc. to partitions, click Apply to confirm your action. Partitions will be created.
Bonus Tip 1. Best Way to Recover Files from Flash Drive after Partition or Format
It's wise to backup the data on your flash drive before partitioning or formatting it. So, what to do if you forgot this or some important files were left when made a backup? Don't worry, a powerful data recovery tool can help you find them back!
iMyFone AnyRecover is one of such popular data recovery tools. It can help you find all your lost files no matter how you lost them. Files recovery at a formatted or partitioned USB flash drive is easy as 1-2-3 with AnyRecover.
Key FeaturesRecover lost files from different data loss scenarios, including formatted data recovery, deleted files recovery, formatted device recovery, etc.
Recover over 1000 type of files, including photos, videos, audios, emails, documents, archives and more.
Recover files from various storage mediums, such as USB flash drive, hard drive, SD card, digital camera, computer, etc.
Differing from other recovery tools, AnyRecover is 100% safe to use, it won't do any damage to your existing data.
One of the most reliable data recovery software with high data recovery rate - Up to 98%.
Steps to Recover Files from Flash Drive after Partition or Format
Step 1. Open AnyRecover on your computer, then connect your Flash Drive to your computer, select it.
Play pokemon emerald on mac. Step 2. After selecting the location, hit 'Start' button to start the process.
Step 3. After scanning, preview and select the files, then click on Recover button to get the lost files back.
Best Flash Drive For Mac
Bonus Tip 2. Best USB Flash Drive for Windows & Mac
Mac Thumb Drive Format
Among many quality flash drives, SanDisk Extreme PRO 128 GB Drive is considered the most popular USB flash drive for Windows and Mac. Following are the top features of this USB flash drive:
Blistering speeds: 380 MB/s write, 420 MB/s read.
Durable, sleek, and eye-catching aluminum casing design.
AES, 128-bit file encryption for excellent security for sensitive files.
USB 3.0 as well as backward compatibility with USB 2.0.
Lifetime warranty.
