I've been search the web and see that this is a persistent issue and has been for some time. It started after upgrading to a Mac mini M4 a couple of days ago. The external drive is a Seagate HDD for Time Machine.
I'm on the latest OS.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks.
Kevin
iMac (M4)
So that ext drive is bus powered. It gets it power from the USB bus. Drives like this can be finicky when it comes to power requirements. If you have other devices connected to the computer's USB ports at the same time, that can complicate matters.
Some things to try:
• Use this drive by itself w no other devices connected to the computer.
• Change the USB cable that you use. Try to find a good quality replacement.
• If possible, connect through a hub/dock that has its own AC power adapter.
You can check what System Information has to say about the drive's power draw by looking at the USB section of the report.
You're welcome.
🤞🏽
Please tell us exactly which Seagate this is.
If it was a bare drive that you put into an external case, please tell us about that as well.
How do you connect it to the Mac? Directly or through a hub or dock?
This problem is often caused by allowing the Mac mini to enter sleep mode. The fix for that is to disable that feature. Sleep is unnecessary for the mini and this problem is often seen as a side effect.
Another typical cause is that the external drive and case try to draw more power than the USB bus can deliver so the drive disconnects.
Thanks for all of that.
This is the drive in question. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07CRGSR16?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_1&th=1
So, it's this old fashioned mechanical drive. It's plugged directly into the Mac
That sleep feature was disabled by default. However, I have been selecting sleep from the apple menu when I leave the machine. Is it best to allow the screen to turn of by itself?
Thanks again, really appreciate your input.
Thanks again. I checked power draw and it is the same as yours. 896
I've stopped manually putting the machine to sleep and so far so good. I did happen once or twice in the middle of a session prior to my posting here. I think Seagate are okay, although I'm no expert. Amazon have sold a quarter of a million of them.
I'll see how it goes. Take care.
It came back again. The guy at Apple support suggested trying another cable. I've done that and will see how that goes. I have the previous drive I used to use for Time Machine, I'll give that a go if necessary. I have an SSD coming today for photos storage. Will see how that goes.
He also said selecting sleep from the Apple menu will not affect anything. He said the disks stay mounted even in sleep. Which made wonder why the Jettison app had been created. It unmounts the external disks automatically on sleep.
Oh well.
Have a great day, thanks again.
Errors regarding disk not ejected properly on random basis
