I have a Late 2013 27" iMac with 256Gb internal SSD. I also have a WD 4TB My Book desktop external HD that I use for mostly all my iTunes media, photos, etc. Every time it spins up and down, it slows down my mac considerably for about 3-5 seconds - almost to the point of freezing the machine. I don't understand why it will randomly spin up when I'm not accessing files on the drive. For example, if I simply launch Chrome browser to visit a webpage, it will spin up and I have to wait 5 seconds for it to finish. It's so annoying. Is there a way to limit when it spins up/down? In the Energy Saver settings, should I have the "Put the hard drives to sleep when possible" checked or unchecked? I want to buy a 3TB or 4TB SSD, but they are so expensive still. I have been thinking about getting a 1TB SSD for now just for my iTunes media, which is about 700Gb alone. Or just start streaming my iTunes media from the cloud. I don't really see a huge need for downloading everything nowadays. My internet connection is very stable and fast. Then just keep everything else on the internal SSD, which isn't much. My iTunes media library doesn't grow that fast anymore, so I think 1TB SSD might hold me over for awhile until the prices comes down on the larger ones. Thanks for any advice or help!
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External Hard Drive is Slowing Down My iMac!
- Thread starter SteelBlueTJ
- Start date
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A few thoughts.
You could use the free app "Keep Drive Spinning":
http://jon.stovell.info/software/
Then, it will never "spin down", and of course, won't have to spin up again.
The downside is the drive is always running.
There is also a free app called Semulov:
https://www.kainjow.com
... This permits you to eject drives, and also to remount the [previously] ejected drive -- from the menu bar.
I'm not sure if the OS will try to "probe the bus" and re-mount the ejected drive on its own.
It might be worth trying to see if it makes a difference for you (but no promises on this one).
If the drive has files on it that you routinely access during normal usage -- such as the iTunes music folder -- probably the best solution will be to keep the drive spinning all the time.
You could use the free app "Keep Drive Spinning":
http://jon.stovell.info/software/
Then, it will never "spin down", and of course, won't have to spin up again.
The downside is the drive is always running.
There is also a free app called Semulov:
https://www.kainjow.com
... This permits you to eject drives, and also to remount the [previously] ejected drive -- from the menu bar.
I'm not sure if the OS will try to "probe the bus" and re-mount the ejected drive on its own.
It might be worth trying to see if it makes a difference for you (but no promises on this one).
If the drive has files on it that you routinely access during normal usage -- such as the iTunes music folder -- probably the best solution will be to keep the drive spinning all the time.