How do I disconnect a thunderbolt 4 dock from a 2021 16" MacBook Pro properly?

Hello Paul Oldewurte,

1. If you have external hard drives connected, you would want to eject those before disconnecting. You can either select the item from your desktop then choose File > Eject or go into Finder and click the eject button next to the item in the sidebar. An external monitor should not have an eject function. If the other accessories you have connected have an eject function, you'd want to eject them as well. (the eject function typically only applies to external storage devices like a hard drive or flash drive)

2. If the dock you're using has a singular "unmount" function, then you'd want to use that before physically disconnecting it.

3. If the dock has a power button, it's a good idea to turn it off before physically disconnecting it. You may want to check directly with the dock manufacturer to see what their recommendations are regarding the power button when disconnecting. They can confirm if it's required, or fine to disconnect without first powering it off.

4. You should not have to turn off the computer in order to eject or disconnect items. However, given the amount of items you have connected to the dock, that may be a simpler process for you. Since powering down the computer will essentially eject all accessories as part of the shutdown process, turning it off and then physically disconnecting the dock will save you the steps of individually ejecting all the hard drives.

5. When it comes to the hard drives, that can be true. A hard drive or flash drive should never be disconnected without ejecting it or turning off the computer first. Disconnecting a drive without first ejecting it can cause the files or drive to become damaged and you may need to completely format the drive to get it working again which would cause you to lose the data on it.

Cheers!

re: connected drives:

when your computer 'Mounts' a drive, it copies the Directory into the computer's RAM for really fast updates, and writes a marker to the directory on the drive that says, essentially "directory on the drive has been checked out (like you would check out a library book) and the copy on the drive is officially 'stale'".

if you disconnect the drive suddenly, without checking the directory back in and marking it checked in, the computer knows the directory is stale, and the drive may need to be repaired before it can be used. if the repairs go badly, the drive can be unmountable.

The worst case is when a write was in progress to the drive as it is being disconnected. The data may be written badly, and more serious damage may result.