Drive shows as Virtual Whole Disk in Disk Utility

I am trying to start using Time Machine and I selected a USB drive. I want to make the backups encrypted, so I turned FV2 on and encrypted my SSD.

When I turn on TM (I have never ran TM before), and select my USB drive, and then check the box for encryption, and putting my password in, the encryption fails. I cant get the error message back up now as when the USB drive wont mount, and when I view the drive in Disk Utility, the drive simply says "Virtual Whole Disk" in red text.

I have tried to repair the USB disk but whenever I do, I get an alert saying that the disk needs to be repaired.



Can anyone suggest how I can mount the drive and fix it please?

Managed to fix the Virtual Whole Disk with
Now when I try to setup TM with the fixed drive, and select for encryption, the encryption fails with the error "Preparing disk 'untitled 1' for encryption failed", and then it turns the drive into the Virtual Whole Disk again.

How can I setup an encrypted TM backup?

I believe you first have to invoke the Time Machine backup and then encrypt the drive with File Vault 2. In other words, make the backup first before encrypting.

Oh, thanks for that. I'm running the initial backup now so that will take a while but hopefully afterwards, I'll be able to encrypt.

I have ran a full TM backup for the first time tonight, but I can't encrypt it. I was told to run TM first and then encrypt, but when I select the TM disk, and choose encrypt, I get the following error:

Merged your posts together, as there is no need to start a separate thread.

I have a question for you.... Are you using your SD card to make the Time Machine backup?

Yes, I'm using a MicroSD card that is plugged into a Nifty MiniDrive adapter.

imfromwales said:

Yes, I'm using a MicroSD card that is plugged into a Nifty MiniDrive adapter.

Click to expand...

That's what I was thinking when I saw your last reply. There is no reason why an external USB drive which has been used for a Time Machine backup can't be encrypted with FileVault 2. I suspect the error you're getting has to do with the Nifty MiniDrive adapter and not necessarily the SD card itself.

A problem with the adapter in what way? The drive works fine so I don't see why I shouldnt be able to encrypt with FV2?

We can't be sure that the drive isn't the problem until you test the card by itself. See if you can encrypt the 128 GB SD using FileVault 2 without inserting the card in the Nifty MiniDrive.

I am running another full backup, so I will try this after it's finished, thanks

My word, this has been an ordeal trying to sort it out. I stupidly unplugged the drive while the initial TM backup was running, and put the MicroSD card in the SD adapter (to see if it's the Nifty drive).

Now I cant mount the card, DU can see it, but it won't let me do anything at all to it. I cant erase the drive, nor partition it. I have tried in both DU at terminal, but nothing works. I am the only admin on the computer.

DU tells me to repair the disk in First Aid, but the "repair" button is always greyed out, even when it displays an alert saying the drive needs to be repaired!

I have FV2 turned off also

Well, let's hope you didn't damage the card. I had the same thing happen to a 500 GB Toshiba USB 3 drive I was using for Time Machine. My cable was defective and the drive ejected before it spun down. I eventually was able to repair it by being persistent with Disk Utility but it took the better part of two days - trial and error.

Try to run First Aid on the card over again several times to see if it will respond. SD cards are somewhat more fragile than hard drives and seem to get damaged more easily.

I'd skip the repair and see if you can re-partition and re-format the card as if new. Then start over.

I cant erase or partition the card, all options are greyed out.

Just keep trying with DU to get it to repair, even though it's greyed out?

I feel an absolute tool here. Sorry for wasting people's invaluable time but I had the MicroSD card in the SD card adapter, and had accidentally flicked the switch on the side of the adapter, so it was locked! flicked the switch again, and it allowed me to repair the disk!

Now when I select the disk for encryption, get the old error back:

Keep trying to repair the card or at least be able to access it. I'm not sure it's going to work since SD cards are more fragile than a spinning hard drive. I have had several fail on me for no reason that I could determine. I was going to suggest trying to repair it when it was inserted in the Nifty Mini Drive to see if that made a difference.

It's fixed now, I just cant encrypt my TM backups. TM always throws an alert saying it "Couldn't bring the new core storage volume online", like in my previous post's image.

How about trying to encrypt the SD card without it being in the Nifty Mini Drive?