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Encrypting a SD card

Avatar Richard I
I have a new SD card which I have formatted to Mac OS Extended (Journaled).

I am trying to encrypt it.
The Apple support page says this for Monterey:

"
If the device contains any files you want to save, copy them to another storage device or volume.
In the Disk Utility app on your Mac, choose View > Show All Devices.
If Disk Utility isn’t open, click the Launchpad icon in the Dock, type Disk Utility in the Search field, then click the Disk Utility icon .
In the sidebar, select the storage device you want to encrypt.
Click the Erase button in the toolbar.
Enter a name for the volume.
Click the Scheme pop-up menu, then choose GUID Partition Map."

But there is no 'Scheme pop-up menu'!!!
What am I doing wrong??
Thanks

Re: Encrypting a SD card

Avatar Barry Guyer
In Ventura, after selecting the Erase option, a menu appears with entries for Name, Format and Scheme. The defaults are Format: APFS, Scheme:GUID Partition Map

Is Monterey that different? I seem to remember this is the same that I saw with that OS version.

Re: Encrypting a SD card

Avatar Tony Still
Are you trying to erase the right thing? The physical media appears in the sidebar with a disclosure triangle against it. It's the next level down that you want to erase (reformat).

On Ventura here, the 'scheme' appears as a pop-up under the new name. If you don't see what you want, try holding Option when you click it.

Re: Encrypting a SD card

Avatar Richard I
yes I am at the right level.
There is no reformat button.
Under 'erase', the format options are MACOS extended (both Journaled and case sensitive journaled)FAT and EXFAT.
If instead I right click the device, I get the option to convert to APFS. Would this later allow encryption?
I would experiment, but it is easy to 'brick' an SD card - and this one is expensive!!

Re: Encrypting a SD card

Avatar Richard I
Update: I have been successful.
You have to select the top level of the device tree, eg the card reader, if it is an SD card.
Then, after clicking erase...
(all in the same dialog box)
You then can select the scheme, which is 'GUID'.
Then you select the formatting and the only one that allows encryption is APFS, therefore select 'APFS encrypted'


And lo! I have an APFS SD card with encryption that can only be read by an Apple device and only if you can remember the password!!!

-looks like Apple have dropped support for new MACOS extended encryptions

Thanks for those who have helped. Hopefully this info is useful to someone -maybe me one day!
 
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