External Hard Drives - What to avoid?

[g4cube]

Take a look at Apple's online store for external storage products. You'll find a nice selection of Apple approved products.

Sure, knowledgeable people can stuff any old SATA drive into cheap, unbranded chassis at low prices. Your success may vary.

Even branded external drives, not specifically stated as Mac compatible may have issues. Combine that with various OSX releases and it's amazing that things work as well as they do, if at all.

 

[FrtzPeter]

About a month ago I started a thread on what externals do work with newer Mac's. The last time I looked, there was one response and that was a usb2 response.

My experience is the entire usb3 standard is a mess as well as Apple's implementation of sleep mode. I've been through 4 different usb3 enclosures, installed a variety of Hitachi's and Samsung's I know work just fine in 3 of them, and all were problematic. Improper ejects with sleep, spontaneous ejects, can't be mounted without a reboot, don't show up in DU, wifi issues. On the same MacBook Air, FireWire drives operate just fine.

This is another thread where there's a conspicuous absence of people with late model Mac's and no problems with external usb3 drives.

For now, I've decided to go with large ssd internals and keep using my old FireWire drives. Cheaper and I have speed where I want it.

I'm more than welcome to hear some specific success stories with specific current gen Mac's and specific usb3 externals. Stories that don't require crippling sleep mode or installing software to eject drives as OSX appears unable to.

From what I've read, the "solution" to ejection and sleep problems is to get a third party USB hub and place it between the system and the drive. As one guy put it, he called it a "Mavericks USB adapter." Apple support people are apparently now using this trick at the Genius Bar.

There's either an OS or a hardware compatibility problem somewhere. I"m not convinced it's with all systems. Seems to me it's mostly laptops. I never had any problems with anything at all until I got ML, then Mavericks. ML was worse. The only problem I've seen is with my external unit ejecting itself when sleeping, but when I wake it up everything just reconnects, and that only happens rarely.

 

[Ray2]

From what I've read, the "solution" to ejection and sleep problems is to get a third party USB hub and place it between the system and the drive. As one guy put it, he called it a "Mavericks USB adapter." Apple support people are apparently now using this trick at the Genius Bar.

There's either an OS or a hardware compatibility problem somewhere. I"m not convinced it's with all systems. Seems to me it's mostly laptops. I never had any problems with anything at all until I got ML, then Mavericks. ML was worse. The only problem I've seen is with my external unit ejecting itself when sleeping, but when I wake it up everything just reconnects, and that only happens rarely.

I'd just like to see an approach that operates like every Mac I've owned since 1984. That's not asking for too much as obviously Apple felt reliable I/O was desirable for a long time. This problem has been around for more than 2 years (my experience is with a laptop) yet it lingers on. WTF? Either Apple really blew it somewhere or the USB spec and/or its implementation is a mess.

 

[ColdCase]

This is another thread where there's a conspicuous absence of people with late model Mac's and no problems with external usb3 drives.

For now, I've decided to go with large ssd internals and keep using my old FireWire drives. Cheaper and I have speed where I want it.

I'm more than welcome to hear some specific success stories with specific current gen Mac's and specific usb3 externals. Stories that don't require crippling sleep mode or installing software to eject drives as OSX appears unable to.

Folks without issues typically won't find the thread or post.

I have an early 2014 rMBP and a recent Mini (2012 model) both running Mavericks. I also had a early 2013 rMBP and my experience was similar.

I've heavily used two $12 Ornico USB3 and a $24 Startec USB3 enclosure with both rotational and SSD for 6 months now without connection or sleep issues. I have had an OWC envoy USB3 enclosure for over a year that has been issueless. I've been using two Seagate 4TB backup plus USB3 drives for a year as well as two HGST HGTBDX34 4TB Touro Desk DX3. I have a couple year old Newertech Guardian USB3 that has never been a problem. The Newer Voyager S3 has been flawless. I had one HGST drive failure but otherwise connections, sleep, data transfer has not been an issue. I used a Belkin USB3 hub for awhile but found it caused more sleep and wake problems than it was worth. I also experience a couple flakey cables. Recently I installed a Startech Thunderbolt dock and connect my less portable USB3 drives to it. My portables are still using the rMBP ports.

The original Startech enclosure experienced a failure and was replaced under warranty, the Oricos needed a firmware update to disable sleep before they would work well with my rMPB, ACER windows 7 box, or UNIX machine.

"StarTech.com 2.5-Inch USB 3.0 External SATA III SSD Hard Drive Enclosure with UASP Portable External USB HDD and Tool-Less Installation (S2510BPU33)"

"Tool Free Screw-Less ORICO 2588US3 USB 3.0 2.5-inch SATA External Hard Drive Enclosure Adapter Case for HDD SSD SATA Drive - Blue"

I've had issues with rMBP sleep only with a LG display port monitor. That was corrected after I inserted a TB LaCie RAID between the monitor and rMBP. Seems like TB devices can clean up that interface too There was one of the Mavericks dot releases that broke the wake function, but the next dot release fixed it.

It does seem to me that both ML and Mavericks have more of these nagging issues since than just about any OS since 8.6. My MacPro running 10.6 just works... then its only USB2, firewire and eSATA. USB2 was a lot simpler than USB3. Perhaps Apple is not devoting as much development time, or they were sold a development environment that turns out to have plenty of issues.

 

[Ray2]

Folks without issues typically won't find the thread or post.

I have an early 2014 rMBP and a recent Mini (2012 model) both running Mavericks. I also had a early 2013 rMBP and my experience was similar.

I've heavily used two $12 Ornico USB3 and a $24 Startec USB3 enclosure with both rotational and SSD for 6 months now without connection or sleep issues. I have had an OWC envoy USB3 enclosure for over a year that has been issueless. I've been using two Seagate 4TB backup plus USB3 drives for a year as well as two HGST HGTBDX34 4TB Touro Desk DX3. I have a couple year old Newertech Guardian USB3 that has never been a problem. The Newer Voyager S3 has been flawless. I had one HGST drive failure but otherwise connections, sleep, data transfer has not been an issue. I used a Belkin USB3 hub for awhile but found it caused more sleep and wake problems than it was worth. I also experience a couple flakey cables. Recently I installed a Startech Thunderbolt dock and connect my less portable USB3 drives to it. My portables are still using the rMBP ports.

The original Startech enclosure experienced a failure and was replaced under warranty, the Oricos needed a firmware update to disable sleep before they would work well with my rMPB, ACER windows 7 box, or UNIX machine.

"StarTech.com 2.5-Inch USB 3.0 External SATA III SSD Hard Drive Enclosure with UASP Portable External USB HDD and Tool-Less Installation (S2510BPU33)"

"Tool Free Screw-Less ORICO 2588US3 USB 3.0 2.5-inch SATA External Hard Drive Enclosure Adapter Case for HDD SSD SATA Drive - Blue"

I've had issues with rMBP sleep only with a LG display port monitor. That was corrected after I inserted a TB LaCie RAID between the monitor and rMBP. Seems like TB devices can clean up that interface too There was one of the Mavericks dot releases that broke the wake function, but the next dot release fixed it.

It does seem to me that both ML and Mavericks have more of these nagging issues since than just about any OS since 8.6. My MacPro running 10.6 just works... then its only USB2, firewire and eSATA. USB2 was a lot simpler than USB3. Perhaps Apple is not devoting as much development time, or they were sold a development environment that turns out to have plenty of issues.

Very much appreciate the post. My wife's on a 2014 MBA, her current drive enclosure is a few month old Envoy, one of the 3 bare enclosures I purchased. It displays every problem I listed above. Consistently. And your's works on a 2014 rMBP. In it is a 7,200 rpm HGST. Been through 3 cables so far. A fresh install is all I can think of.

 

[ColdCase]

I have the Envoy "upgrade kit" that accepts the MBAir OEM SSD, not the larger enclosure. Dunno if that makes a difference.

 

[Ray2]

I have the Envoy "upgrade kit" that accepts the MBAir OEM SSD, not the larger enclosure. Dunno if that makes a difference.

My mistake, its an Express. I have a couple of ssd's I'm about to order. I think I'll stick one into the Express and see what happens. The Envoy uses a different ASM chipset than the Express. Depending on how the ssd works out, that may eliminate or narrow down the source of the problem.

Again, thanks.

 

[ZVH]

A lot of these drive problems seem tied to hardware. Most of the ejection problems etc. seem to occur on laptops. I have no proof of that, it's just an observation.

 

[B-Eugen]

A lot of these drive problems seem tied to hardware. Most of the ejection problems etc. seem to occur on laptops. I have no proof of that, it's just an observation.

There was a guy on the MacNN site reporting the same problem with ejections and freeze ups. An iMac owner got on the thread and swore up and down the problems didn't exist on Mac's. I guess his logic is "It doesn't happen to me, therefore it doesn't happen, period."

I have an old MacBook mid 2009. I can have 2 externals attached to it sometimes. One is a Maxtor FireWire and the other is a USB WD 2GB MyBook (sorry, no performance problems or lockups with it. ) In any case, if the MacBook running Mavericks goes to sleep I can just about count on the USB WD MyBook being ejected when I wake the unit up while the Maxtor hums along fine. When waking it just remounts the USB drive and no harm is done, but this isn't right, never the less.

I have another boot partition with Snow Leopard on it. I use it so I can use old apps and PPC apps via Rosetta. None of these sleep or ejection problems exist on Snow Leopard. None of them!

 

[matreya]

The problem with Macs sleeping and drives ejecting improperly was introduced with 10.8.5, and also exists in Mavericks... I've never experienced it because I don't sleep my iMac....

 

[OldGuyTom]

The problem with Macs sleeping and drives ejecting improperly was introduced with 10.8.5, and also exists in Mavericks... I've never experienced it because I don't sleep my iMac....

But is the problem tied to specific units or specific drives?

I've never had this problem.

 

[matreya]

But is the problem tied to specific units or specific drives?

I've never had this problem.

Judging from the apple discussion fora, it's happening with most brands of USB drive..

 

[Mr. Retrofire]

But is the problem tied to specific units or specific drives?

Yes and no. This happens usually, if the users use enclosures with ASMedia bridge chips together with older firmware or defective cables. Sharkoon has always the newest firmware for ASMedia ASM1051 and ASM1051e bridge chips:
http://www.sharkoon.com/?q=en/node/1582

Newer firmware supports better power management for USB 3.0 devices and bigger HDD sizes.

Plugable writes here, that you can update the firmware via a Virtual Machine (VM):
http://plugable.com/2013/03/05/usb3-sata-u3-firmware-update

 

[ZVH]

Yes and no. This happens usually, if the users use enclosures with ASMedia bridge chips together with older firmware or defective cables. Sharkoon has always the newest firmware for ASMedia ASM1051 and ASM1051e bridge chips:
http://www.sharkoon.com/?q=en/node/1582

Newer firmware supports better power management for USB 3.0 devices and bigger HDD sizes.

Plugable writes here, that you can update the firmware via a Virtual Machine (VM):
http://plugable.com/2013/03/05/usb3-sata-u3-firmware-update

Any idea how many USB 3.0 drives and/or enclosures are problematic. I seem to be seeing a fair number of problems with USB 3.0, but maybe it's yet another Yosemite problem. Appearance problems aside, Yosemite seems to have a lot of other bugs, but are these leftovers from previous OS releases?

Is it just me, or is the world of Apple products and compatibility getting very, very confusing?

 

[larrysing1963]

There is no magic or scientific way to pick a suitable, trouble-free, always compatible, fast, reliable, bullet-proof external drive.

They will ALL fail at some point.

My advice is to buy from someone who has a simple return policy, and to buy extended warranties, and to have multiple devices on which you rely for backups and external storage.

Right now, I have a 256 GB SSD connected with TB, a 500GB USB 3.0 drive, a 128GB SD card, and a 4TB LaCie BladeRunner attached to my 15" rMBP.

Run the gamut and hope for the best !!

 

[SteelBlueTJ]

I am currently trying to decide which external drive to get as well. My iMac has 256Gb internal SSD for just OS and Apps. I want to keep everything else on an external. I initially purchased a WD 3TB My Book at best buy, reformatted it to Mac and it works great and has plenty of room for my growing iTunes library. The only thing I kind of don't like is waiting for it to spin up when its not being used. It's a good 5 second delay with the spinning beachball. Also I can hear it running. It's not loud, but I know its on by the quiet fan noise. I would love to buy a 1TB SSD and put it into a 2.5" USB 3 portable enclosure and use that instead. Do you think that would be worth it? I currently only have about 200GB of data in everything. I'm sure it would be quieter and faster, but I just don't know if its worth spending $400 for only 1TB of data? I don't know if I can justify the cost just yet. What do you think?

 

[larrysing1963]

I am currently trying to decide which external drive to get as well. My iMac has 256Gb internal SSD for just OS and Apps. I want to keep everything else on an external. I initially purchased a WD 3TB My Book at best buy, reformatted it to Mac and it works great and has plenty of room for my growing iTunes library. The only thing I kind of don't like is waiting for it to spin up when its not being used. It's a good 5 second delay with the spinning beachball. Also I can hear it running. It's not loud, but I know its on by the quiet fan noise. I would love to buy a 1TB SSD and put it into a 2.5" USB 3 portable enclosure and use that instead. Do you think that would be worth it? I currently only have about 200GB of data in everything. I'm sure it would be quieter and faster, but I just don't know if its worth spending $400 for only 1TB of data? I don't know if I can justify the cost just yet. What do you think?

I see what you are going for here with this request, but in reality, no one but YOU can determine if the cost is justified.

I will tell you that the external SSD drives I own do not take long to spin up at all on my late 2013 rMBP.

You can get a 512GB external USB 3.0 SSD which scores well by the reviewers for just over $210. If you don't need 1TB, then start smaller and save some money.

Best of luck !!!

 

[Drewski]

There is no magic or scientific way to pick a suitable, trouble-free, always compatible, fast, reliable, bullet-proof external drive.

They will ALL fail at some point.

My advice is to buy from someone who has a simple return policy, and to buy extended warranties, and to have multiple devices on which you rely for backups and external storage.

Right now, I have a 256 GB SSD connected with TB, a 500GB USB 3.0 drive, a 128GB SD card, and a 4TB LaCie BladeRunner attached to my 15" rMBP.

Run the gamut and hope for the best !!

Yes, run the gamut is right. Try out different drives as the need arises; don't get hung up on just one. I've got a crazy 8TB JBOD mishmash from my most recent 512GB SSD all the way down to a couple WD5000 from 2008 (yes, still works fine!) Heck, I even have an old WD IDE drive from 2003 in an enclosure, but I can't bring myself to connect a 80GB drive. Knock on wood, I haven't had any hardware difficulties, but then again, I don't abuse the hardware and I'm quite thorough about my backups, both at home and in the cloud.

 

[WorkerBee2015]

The problem with Macs sleeping and drives ejecting improperly was introduced with 10.8.5, and also exists in Mavericks... I've never experienced it because I don't sleep my iMac....

Does this problem exist in Yosemite, too, or is it fixed? Is it USB drives only or is it FireWire and Thunderbolt as well? Is it limited to USB 2 or 3, or do they both do it?

Finally, is there any real fix for it?

 

[matreya]

Does this problem exist in Yosemite, too, or is it fixed? Is it USB drives only or is it FireWire and Thunderbolt as well? Is it limited to USB 2 or 3, or do they both do it?

Finally, is there any real fix for it?

I believe the bug extends to Thunderbolt as well, and no, there is no fix for it, that I know of.

I don't experience the bug because I don't sleep my iMac.

 

[BradHatter]

Considering HDs, I assume externals have the same brand disk in them as their manufacturer. With that in mind, you might find this interesting, [updated 03/03/15 you may want to see some of the posts on 03/02/15 before you take this graph that seriously as there is some dispute to the "researchers" methodology]:

The source of the article is InfoWorld, here's a link to that article:

http://www.infoworld.com/article/28...n-digital-hgst-most-reliable-hard-drives.html

 

[matreya]

Personally, I'm a big fan of HGST drives.

 

[ColdCase]

Considering HDs, I assume externals have the same brand disk in them as their manufacturer. With that in mind, you might find this interesting:

Image

The source of the article is InfoWorld, here's a link to that article:

http://www.infoworld.com/article/28...n-digital-hgst-most-reliable-hard-drives.html

That report is very misleading and has been soundly criticized by those that should know.. of very little use to the average joe. Just the worse of the worse advertising campaign

----------

Personally, I'm a big fan of HGST drives.

I have had nothing but trouble with the three HGST 4TB drives I purchased over the las 6 months. Two have already been RMA's. My 2.5 portable 1TB HGST drives have been excellent, however.

 

[matreya]

I have had nothing but trouble with the three HGST 4TB drives I purchased over the las 6 months. Two have already been RMA's. My 2.5 portable 1TB HGST drives have been excellent, however.

Sorry to hear. I've got 12 HGST Deskstar/Deskstar NAS drives in capacities from 3 to 4TB, and they're all running perfectly. The 3TB Deskstars I've had since April 2013, running inside an OWC RAID5 Mercury Rack Pro.

 

[ZVH]

Statistics are statistics. Everyone has bad luck, or good luck. However, Seagate sort of stands out there. Wouldn't you agree?

One point: How many drive manufacturers are really left, excluding SSDs? WD bought Hitachi, Fujistsu was also consumed, Maxtor is now part of Seagate (I think) etc. etc.

I'm not really sure this "consolidation of numerous companies into one" is a good idea. Just an opinion, of course.