[iDriveX]

So I just finished upgrading my cube with a 120 GB Hard Drive. Here are the stats

Hard Drive Size: 120 GB
Home Folder Size: 42.31 GB
Remaining Hard Disk Size: 41.28 GB

When I go to turn on FileVault is says the following:

"There is not enough room on your hard disk to turn on FileVault."

and then in small writing:

"Turning on FileVault requires an additional 5449585 KB of free disc space to create an encrypted copy of the home folder. Try emptying the trash or deleting files you don't need"

Correct me if I am wrong but that is saying that it needs an additional 5,321 MB or an additional 5 GB (roughly). So if I was able to clear out 5 GB of Disc Space by moving some of my music to another drive, would I have the room to put it back?

Should I even worry about enabling FileVault? This seems like more hassle than it is worth.

[cybergoober]

It needs the space to create a sparse image of your Home directory. So basically you need at least the size of your Home directory as available space...

HTH

[iDriveX]

That's horrible, so I need to at all times own a hard drive that is twice as big as what I need? Sounds very wasteful. Is it worth it?

[Randman]

Use Disk Utility to create an encrypted disk on your hard drive, then store sensitive files in there. You get the benefits of FileVault without the extra hassle of needing extra space and potential system slowdowns of having everything encrypted.

[msuper69]

Originally posted by iDriveX:
That's horrible, so I need to at all times own a hard drive that is twice as big as what I need? Sounds very wasteful. Is it worth it?

No you don't. Once filevault is enabled, the unencrypted files are deleted. However, unless other people have physical access to your non-laptop Mac, filevault is overkill. An encrypted disk for your sensitive files would make more sense, as others have pointed out.