External drive ejects by itself in SL

[Morod]

Hi everybody,
This problem has just started happening. No new apps or software added lately to the iMac to cause it.
Using a 2007 iMac running Snow Leopard 10.6.8. I use a G-Tech external drive for Time Machine. Lately I've been getting this alert:

Any ideas on what could be causing my external drive to eject itself?
I guess it's time to get a new external drive.

 

[BrianBaughn]

A faulty hard drive could cause this but I'd bet that the G-Tech enclosure/electronics are going bad. Could be just the cable...can you try a different one? I'm not familiar with G-Tech and you didn't say which model you have.

If you decide that it's the electronics of the enclosure you should be able to remove the drive and put it in a new housing. It's an inexpensive solution and your TM backups should resume right where they left off.

 

[Fishrrman]

Could be

- bad connecting cable
- bad connection at either USB port (loose, not all contacts mating, etc.)
- bad controller card on external drive
- bad core drive (inside external drive)
etc. ...

 

[Morod]

Thanks for the replies!
I have the G-Tech 913003-01 G-Drive 500GB Quad-Interface External Hard Drive, connected to the iMac via FW800.
It's five years old, getting a little long in the tooth. I'll probably break down and buy a new one. No spare cables to try.
About every 20 seconds, with my hand on the enclosure, I can feel a noticeable "klunk" coming from inside. So I'm guessing I got my money's worth out of this drive.
I'm just glad no one said it could be a problem with the iMac. The HD and motherboard were replaced in it 2 years ago under Applecare.
Thanks again!

 

[chown33]

I'm just glad no one said it could be a problem with the iMac.

It could be. The other possibilities are simpler and cheaper to isolate and eliminate. Try them first.

If the problem persists, and the replaced components (i.e. cable, case, etc.) have also tested good elsewhere, then it could well be the iMac.

Without doing any isolation or elimination, it's all guessing.

 

[Morod]

Thanks for your help, everyone!
It may have been the cable, but we went and got a news external drive (it came with new cables). The G-Technology G-DRIVE 2 TB. Problem solved.
My wife would kill me if we lost our personal stuff on the iMac, so I see it as cheap insurance.
Thanks again,
Morod

 

[LungTom]

The disk was not ejected properly

I have an Imac and it is less than 1 year old. I use both a Seagate and a Buffalo Hard Drives. Periodically one of them will "eject by itself" and I will get the notice that "The disk was not ejected properly" The Seagate is connected to the back port of the iMac and the Buffalo is connected through a hub. Both the Seagate and the Buffalo are less than a year old as well.
Any suggestions on how to fix this?
Apple?? Can you help??

 

[benwiggy]

Apple?? Can you help??

Apple does not respond to this forum. (They don't even respond to problems on the their own discussion forum!)

I've noticed this behaviour too, recently, with a G-drive on FireWire. It never used to be a problem, but I'm wondering if the fact that the Mac goes to sleep and it's a bus-powered drive is relevant.

If your drives have their own power supply, then something else is at play. Check the log messages in Console utility to see if anything relevant is written at the time that the drive ejected itself.