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Do you always get "Disk Not Ejected Properly"?

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stanleystf

macrumors regular
Original poster
Apr 24, 2022
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I've bought a 16inch Macbook pro m1. Whenever I plug in a flash drive or an external hard drive I get this error: disk not ejected properly

I did some searching and found out it's a very common problem. I tried some of the solutions that were put out there but none worked for me.

Do you have the same problem?

Should I worried about the external drives' health?
 
stanleystf said:
Whenever I plug in a flash drive or an external hard drive I get this error: disk not ejected properly
Click to expand...
If you didn't have the problem with different flash or hard drives, I would have suggested the usual: an active USB hub and other cables. Do you by any chance always use the same adapter (a.e. from type C to A)?
stanleystf said:
Should I worried about the external drives' health?
Click to expand...
That's the main reason I'm commenting: YES, definitely.
Well, not the drive per se, but the stored data. Every time storage gets disconnected improperly, there's a (mid to high) chance of corrupted files or the filesystem itself. It doesn't even have to be during a writing operation.
Speaking from experience, I had it all, Windows/Mac, NTFS/APFS, USB/SATA.
The problem is, it is far from obvious which files are affected. I had pictures corrupted that still showed the exact same size (to the last bit) and date as on the backup but contained wild pixel clutter.
Another time Disk Utility afterwards was unable to even check the drive.
It might as well go without any repercussions, but definitely try to get to the bottom of the issue. Sorry I can't contribute anything in this regard.
 
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stanleystf said:
I've bought a 16inch Macbook pro m1. Whenever I plug in a flash drive or an external hard drive I get this error: disk not ejected properly

I did some searching and found out it's a very common problem. I tried some of the solutions that were put out there but none worked for me.

Do you have the same problem?

Should I worried about the external drives' health?
Click to expand...
I always eject discs corectly and yes I occasionally see this message.
Possibly due to defects (contamination?) of the gold contacts of the flash drive or dust/debris on the internal MacBook contacts - although admittedly one wouldn't expect the latter condition on a new laptop.
I have one mini flash drive - a tiny 16Gb Ryval Elf, same alluminium colour which not only matches my ancient MacBookPro perfectly but is very inobtrusive when installed. Frequently when this is snugly installed some time later I get the message you noted. I've cleaned the gold contacts of this flash drive but it continues to frequently flag the message 'Disc not ejected properly'. I rarely if ever see the same message with other makes of flash drive.
 
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For what I know this is the difference between MacOS and Windows. I'm not sure how/why but windows makes sure that all writes are made to the USB, and its powered down to a point where you can pull it out whenever you want, where as macOS keeps everything powered and may even cache the writes so that just pulling a thumb drive out, could cause corruption.

With that said, I've pulled my share of thumb drives out of my macs without ejecting and haven't had an issue - I've done that more absent mindedly and not due to an overt decision, so I certainly don't recommend doing that
 
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If you get the "disk not ejected properly" alert, does it offer the "initialize/eject" options?

If it does, choose EJECT.

When the alert closes, remove and re-insert the flashdrive.

Any better?
 
The "Disk Not Ejected Properly" notification that shows up on your Mac indicates that there are errors in your operating system, on the connected external drives, or in the connections between your external drives and the Mac. More specifically, the reasons for the issue are:

1. Errors in the operating system
2. Problems with the removable hard drive
3. Failing external drive cable
4. The USB or other ports on the Mac computer are defective

Further, to fix the issue you can try the below DIY methods:

1. Check the connections
2. Reset the Energy Saver settings on your Mac
3. Reset SMC on Mac
4. Reset NVRAM on Mac
5. Run First Aid to check your external hard drive
6. Reformat the external hard drive
7. Update macOS

Hope it helps!
 
I always just go Finder and eject my Time Machine drive from there. It's probably the dumbest thing you have to remember to do in macOS.
 
Whenever my 2020 iMac goes to sleep I often get ‘Not ejected properly‘ messages for all connected drives (when I wake the machine up) which is odd given that it is the OS that is instigating the sleep state. The drives are fine and no corruption appears to occur (I have run integrity checks). I also note when I eject disks on all my machines it can take quite a while for them to be ejected (10 to 20 seconds) which has got longer with each version of the OS starting with Big Sur. BTW this is the same whether the drives are USB or Thunderbolt. I think there is a systemic OS issue at work here as I am very careful to eject my disks before removal but it can take a while!
 
whitby said:
Whenever my 2020 iMac goes to sleep I often get ‘Not ejected properly‘ messages for all connected drives (when I wake the machine up) which is odd given that it is the OS that is instigating the sleep state. The drives are fine and no corruption appears to occur (I have run integrity checks). I also note when I eject disks on all my machines it can take quite a while for them to be ejected (10 to 20 seconds) which has got longer with each version of the OS starting with Big Sur. BTW this is the same whether the drives are USB or Thunderbolt. I think there is a systemic OS issue at work here as I am very careful to eject my disks before removal but it can take a while!
Click to expand...

This is my world exactly.

stanleystf said:
Whenever I plug in a flash drive or an external hard drive I get this error: disk not ejected properly
Click to expand...

Does it happen immediately after plugging it in? My disconnects are related to sleep so might be completely unrelated.
 
With 11 years of experience on my iMac, I was never able to make sense of this error message. I had a big JBOD connected via hubs and I rarely got the message but I got it and for no apparent reason. And it was random among the disks too. Sometimes after waking from sleep, sometimes not. I also never lost a Drive in 11 years including the still-functioning stock HDD.

My new M1 16” pro has done the same a few times, although not enough to make any conclusions about the reasons why, but there have otherwise been no negative effects.

I only ever remove drives intentionally after ejecting.

Personally, I’d write it off as just one of those things.
 
On three Minis (1 Intel w/Catalina, 2 M1s w/Ventura) over 10 years, all with different cables and across 5 or 6 ports, "Disk Not Ejected Properly" warnings are common. "Disks" have included 3 different high-end brands of external HDs and SSDs and an iPod shuffle. The Shuffle actually is removed often, but the external drives are just for Time Machine and are never touched. The storage drives show up on my screen, but the Shuffle may or may not show so half the time I don't have the option of ejecting it before unplugging it.

Sounds like a long-standing multi-OS issue to me.

However, I fixed it, sort of: Whenever the warning shows up, I delete it. I've observed no consequences yet, but the problem is much worse (many times every day) with my newest combination: 16GB Mini M1 Silicon w/Ventura and SanDisk SSD. Utilities > Disk Aid says the SanDisk is fine.

I have no choice but to presume it's a harmless false alarm, but it's hogging my notifications box and some day its smoke may indicate a real fire.
 
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