Slow disk error in Logic on Mac mini with Thunderbolt 4 connection

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Level 1

4 points

Slow disk error in Logic on Mac mini with Thunderbolt 4 connection

I've been using Logic on an iMac with an external SSD system for several years, and never had a slow disk error. These errors are common since upgrading to a Mac Mini, and connecting the same external drive - now via Thunderbolt 4 vs 3. I've followed all the Apple guidance re optimization, and I can see that cpu usage is not a problem.

Sequoya 15.6, LP 11.2.2

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Original Title: logic slow disk

HomePod mini, 18

Posted on Aug 8, 2025 09:55 AM

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Answer 1

Johne154

Level 2

303 points

Aug 8, 2025 12:59 PM in response to JikBoSanMun

As Eddie suggested, install Logic on your Mac mini, except for the Sound Library. Install the Sound Library on your external drive. Your drive should be using one of the 3 Thunderbolt ports on the rear of the Mac Mini. Your drive will be slow if connected to one of the 2 front slower USB ports.

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Answer 2

JikBoSanMun Author

Level 1

4 points

Aug 8, 2025 05:12 PM in response to Johne154

Doing all that, but no joy.

I store all the loops that I am using within the project, so I am not sure why it would ever need to access either disk just to play back a few software tracks. I have 32G of ram, and sixteen are sitting unused.

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Answer 3

yoyoBen

Level 4

3,329 points

Aug 8, 2025 11:42 PM in response to EddieGrey

I have been running many projects on an external hard drive for years without any problems. I sometimes use my old spinning drives for that without any issue. However, if the disk is to slow because the session contains 100 tracks, then I move the stuff to my internal drive.

I've never installed my Logic library on en external drive and I won't do so in the future because of the inconvenience of management/handling but all my third party libs are on a fast external SSD.

Question to OP:

What kind of adapter/hub you are using?

What kind of external drive are you using? Important here are the cycles per minute (RPM).

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Answer 4

JikBoSanMun Author

Level 1

4 points

Aug 9, 2025 07:03 AM in response to yoyoBen

I'm using a OWC Thunderbay 4 Mini enclosure, holding WD SSD's. I still have 700G left on the internal drive, but I have many large projects going and it will not work to keep them all on the internal drive, and moving them around to work on them is not the good way. Apple recommends keeping large projects on an external drive, and I had never had problems doing that.

I can reconnect the drive enclosure to the iMac and can play back the project with no problems.

I did notice that on both machines, when playback begins the Performance Meter shows the Disk I/O going to maybe 60%. I still don't see why the disk would be repeatedly accessed for a project already loaded into memory, but I guess that's a programmer's decision.

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Answer 5

JikBoSanMun Author

Level 1

4 points

Aug 9, 2025 01:03 PM in response to JikBoSanMun

I moved the project to the internal drive. That did not help, although the Performance Meter did show some improvement in Disk I/O.

Next, I moved the Sound Library to the internal disk. It has been playing back for an hour without a crash, so I'm hoping that solves the problem.

I am not using any Apple loops, only some user-created loops, which I think are kept on the internal drive anyway.

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Answer 6

JikBoSanMun Author

Level 1

4 points

Aug 9, 2025 02:16 PM in response to JikBoSanMun

Nope. Still crashes, this time while editing a midi file. I'm not sure what to try next - all project and sound library are on the internal drive.

The Performance Meter does not indicate any increased amount of disk activity immediately prior to the crash.

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Answer 7

yoyoBen

Level 4

3,329 points

Aug 9, 2025 02:22 PM in response to JikBoSanMun

I didn't know WD has SSD's in their stock. I'm using spinning WD drives only for backup and only trust SSD's from Samsung, Crucial and Lacie.

I also don't know OWC Thunderbay 4 Mini enclosure, which seems to be a thunderbolt 2 version, but should still be fast enough. Have you activated RAID? If you still have issues, I would connect the ssd directly with the computer.

Still crashes, this time while editing a midi file. I'm not sure what totry next - all project and sound library are on the internal drive.

Look at Utilities > Console > Crash reports

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Answer 8

JikBoSanMun Author

Level 1

4 points

Aug 9, 2025 05:18 PM in response to yoyoBen

You're right, the OWC enclosure is Thunderbolt 2, but should still be fast enough. I have a WD HDD in the same enclosure for backup. I'm not using RAID.

The Crash Reports don't show anything. It's not a full system crash, but is all internal to Logic. Logic keeps running once I press OK. I wonder if it's a spurious error message, since the meter shows nothing bad happening.

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Answer 9

JikBoSanMun Author

Level 1

4 points

Aug 10, 2025 05:27 PM in response to yoyoBen

Yes, the autosave feature is on. I understand there is a way to turn it off using the Console.

I let it play through a cycle area overnight, and had no failures, and I have edited for an hour or so.

But I cannot say the problem is solved, because I haven't changed anything regarding disk storage since the last time it did quit.

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Answer 10

yoyoBen

Level 4

3,329 points

Aug 11, 2025 03:43 AM in response to JikBoSanMun

I you are talking about time machine, then you don't need Console for switching to manual backup. You can simply do it in the time machine settings. I never use automatic backups, I do it manually. You could also set a certain time.

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Answer 11

EddieGrey

Level 4

2,000 points

Aug 8, 2025 11:58 AM in response to JikBoSanMun

Certainly not good practice to run sessions or applications on an external drive. Why don't you simply move them? Storage issue? Should instantly fix the issue.

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Answer 12

yoyoBen

Level 4

3,329 points

Aug 9, 2025 12:18 AM in response to yoyoBen

Edit: RPM applies only to spinning drives.... My fault.

Another question is, how many free space do you have on your internal drive, even your are using the external SSD to work with Logic.

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Answer 13

yoyoBen

Level 4

3,329 points

Aug 10, 2025 02:56 AM in response to JikBoSanMun

Are you running automatic backups at the same time?

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