How to Set a Password for an External Hard Drive

Don’t forget to protect it as well

Your phone and computer are most likely secured with a PIN, password, or biometric authentication, right? It’s also good practice toprotect your storage device, especially if it contains confidential or private files. That way, you can prevent unauthorized access to your files—even when you lose the drive or it gets stolen.

All you need to protect your hard drive is your personal computer or laptop. Windows and Mac have built-in encryption tools that let you set a password on your storage devices. Proceed to the sections below to learn how to set a password on an external hard drive on your computer.

Encrypt an External Drive on Windows 10

Encrypting an external storage device on a Windows 10 computer requires you to manually choose an encryption method, encryption mode, backup a recovery key, and create a perfect (read: secure) password. It may seem like a lot of work, but it’s very easy. We’ll walk you through the entire process from start to finish.

First, you need to enableBitLocker—Windows built-in encryption tool—on your computer. Plug the hard drive into your PC and follow the steps below.

Note:You can’t encrypt a drive on PCs running Windows 10 Home edition because the operating system doesn’t support BitLocker. Upgrade to Windows 10 Pro, Enterprise, or Education to use BitLocker.

Launch the File Explorer, right-click the external drive, and selectTurn on BitLocker.

Do not unplug or remove the drive from your PC while Windows starts the BitLocker encryption window.

Check the box that reads “Use a password to unlock the drive” and enter your preferred password. Re-enter the password in the provided dialog box and selectNextto proceed.

Your password must fulfill the criteria listed below, or else you’ll get an error message:

Windows will automatically generate a recovery key for the external drive. The recovery key is a spare key that unlocks your encrypted drive if you ever forget the password.

The “Print the recovery key” option will launch a new window where you’ll be able to print the recovery key on paper. If you choose the “Save to a file” option, Windows will encode the recovery key in a text file. Save the file in your preferred folder/location on your PC and selectSave.

When you get a success message that “Your recovery key has been saved” or “Your recovery key was printed,” selectNextto proceed.

BitLocker has two encryption methods:Used Disk Space EncryptionandFull Disk Encryption.

Select “Encrypt used disk space only” if your external drive is new and has never been used on another computer. BitLocker will encrypt a sector on the drive such that new data copied to the drive in the future is automatically encrypted. However, if you encrypt a previously-used drive (even if it’s empty) using this method, someone could gain access to deleted or moved data.

That’s because the BitLocker encryption engine doesn’t recognize sectors containing deleted data as used disk space. Hence, it wouldn’t encrypt such sectors.

If you want to set a password on an external drive that’s already in use, selectEncrypt entire drive. That’ll prompt BitLocker to encrypt all the sectors and data on the drive—even files that you deleted.

Note that Used Disk Space encryption is generally faster; it takes a couple of seconds or minutes, depending on how much data is on the drive. Full Disk Encryption, on the other hand, could run for hours before completion.

SelectNew encryption modeif you’ll be using the external drive only on your computer, or on devices running Windows 10 (version 1511 or later).

If you’re unsure, or you think you may need to access the drive on devices running older Windows versions, selectCompatible modeand proceed.

BitLocker will start the encryption of the drive when you select theStart encryptingbutton.

As mentioned earlier, the operation could run into minutes or hours, depending on the size of the drive and data it holds.

Do not remove the drive from your PC without pausing the encryption. Doing so could damage the drive. If you need to urgently use the drive during the encryption process, selectPauseand unplug the drive.

Note that your files and the drive aren’t protected until the encryption is complete. Wait until you get an “Encryption complete” success message like the one below.

When you eject the encrypted drive on your PC or try to access it on another PC, a BitLocker window prompting you to enter the drive’s password will appear on the screen.

Encrypt an External Drive on macOS

Setting a password on an external drive on macOS is the easiest thing you may ever have to do. Plug the drive into your Mac and follow these steps:

Right-click the drive (check the Locations section) and selectEncryptorEncrypt .

Note:If the external drive isn’t showing up on your Mac, or the Encrypt option is missing, you may need to format the drive to afile system that macOS supports. Refer to this external hard drive troubleshooting guide to learn more.

Enter a password, re-enter the password, and type in a password hint.

Pro Tip:Click the key icon next to the Encryption password dialog box to launch theEncryption Password Assistant. The tool will suggest random passwords or help you create a strong custom password.

SelectEncrypt Disk.

The macOS encryption engine will start encryption on the drive. This operation may take a couple of seconds or minutes, depending on the drive’s content and size.

When the encryption is complete, eject and reinsert the encrypted drive, or plug it into another Mac. A password entry window will pop up on the screen; enter the password and selectUnlockto gain access.

What Happens When You Forget The Encryption Password

Strong passwordsare pretty secure but often easy to forget. If you can’t remember the password to your encrypted drive, you can still very much access the content. We’ll show you how to go about it on Windows and macOS.

Remember the recovery key that you printed or saved to your PC while encrypting the drive? That’s all you need to access the drive if you forget the encryption password.

Head to the location where you saved the recovery file, double-click the text file to access its content, and copy the numbers in theRecovery Keysection.

Plug the drive into your PC and wait for the BitLocker password entry window to appear on the screen. SelectMore optionsand selectEnter recovery key.

Finally, paste the recovery key in the dialog box and selectUnlock. If you printed the recovery key, retrieve the printout, type the recovery key, and selectUnlock.

You should now be able to access the drive in File Explorer. If you still can’t remember the password, you’ll have to create a new one. Right-click the drive and selectManage BitLocker.

[19-manage-bitlocker-windows-10.png]

Locate the external drive in the “Removable data drives” section and selectTurn off BitLocker.

Afterward, encrypt the drive from scratch and use a new password.

Unlike Windows, you can’t access an encrypted drive on macOS with a recovery key. The only workaround is to turn off FileVault—the macOS encryption engine. Head toSystem Preferences>Security & Privacy>FileVaultand selectTurn Off FileVault.

That temporarily disables any encryption on all internal and external drives. Launch Finder and you’ll have access to the drive without entering a password. But you won’t be able to decrypt or create a new encryption password without the old password. Re-enabling FileVault will automatically re-encrypt the drive with the forgotten password.

Third-Party Software and Hardware Alternatives

If you’re having difficulties using these built-in tools, resort to reliable third-party solutions likeVeraCrypt. Alternatively, you could buy hardware-encrypted storage devices orexternal drives with fingerprint readers. These drives offer an equally secure form of password-free biometric encryption that’s way easier to use and set up.

Sodiq has written thousands of tutorials, guides, and explainers over the past 4 years to help people solve problems with Android, iOS, Mac, and Windows devices. He also enjoys reviewing consumer tech products (smartphones, smart home devices, accessories, etc.) and binge-watching comedy series in his spare time.Read Sodiq’s Full Bio

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How to Set a Password for an External Hard Drive#

Encrypt an External Drive on Windows 10#

Encrypt an External Drive on macOS#

What Happens When You Forget The Encryption Password#

Third-Party Software and Hardware Alternatives#