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External SSD boot disk - problems

A

ajhard

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 26, 2012
58
4
A while back I was running a Samsung 830 SSD as an external boot disk for my iMac 27", using a GoFlex TB adapter - this worked flawlessly but I didn't really like the lack of a proper housing. So recently I bought a USB 3.0 casing and have put the SSD in there...at the same time I did a clean install of the OS. Now I am seeing issues with waking from sleep, beechball etc...

Any ideas why this is and what I can do to get back to a stable setup?

Thanks!
 
[[ ...So recently I bought a USB 3.0 casing and have put the SSD in there...at the same time I did a clean install of the OS. Now I am seeing issues with waking from sleep, beechball etc...
Any ideas why this is and what I can do to get back to a stable setup?]]

My guess is that it's the enclosure.
They are not all equal.

This may have to do with the controller chip that is _in_ the enclosure.
Which enclosure are you using?

I've had great results using an SSD (Intel 520 series) in a "lay-flat" USB3/SATA docking station by plugable.com. No sleep issues, no hangs, and it supports UASP (USB Attached SCSI Protocol). They also have a "stand up" type of dock which takes up less space on your desktop.

Again, I'll guess that it could be the enclosure. Before you swap that out, try replacing the cable first, just to see if that makes a difference.
 
Thanks - I took a look at the plugable...I was hoping to find something where the SSD was fully housed, it just seems more robust that way.

Is that me being paranoid? It's the main reason I switched away from the GoFlex Thunderbolt one.
 
ajhard said:
Thanks - I took a look at the plugable...I was hoping to find something where the SSD was fully housed, it just seems more robust that way.

Is that me being paranoid? It's the main reason I switched away from the GoFlex Thunderbolt one.
Click to expand...
I would consider the GoFlex adapter as a temporary solution. The plugable is reasonable as you would be using it as it was designed to be used.
 
Thanks all for your help. I got the plugable one which seems to have solved the wake from sleep problem...

however i have a new problem. the iMac will not now shutdown - it just sits on a grey screen until i force it to shutdown by holding the power button

Any ideas...?
 
ajhard said:
A while back I was running a Samsung 830 SSD as an external boot disk for my iMac 27", using a GoFlex TB adapter - this worked flawlessly but I didn't really like the lack of a proper housing. So recently I bought a USB 3.0 casing and have put the SSD in there...at the same time I did a clean install of the OS. Now I am seeing issues with waking from sleep, beechball etc...

Any ideas why this is and what I can do to get back to a stable setup?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

You can usually find new GoFlex enclosures on eBay which will give your drive a "finished" look, plus it has internal magnets which hold it to the TB adapter better. The TB interface won't have the sleep issues often encountered with USB 3.0 external drives.
 
ajhard said:
Thanks all for your help. I got the plugable one which seems to have solved the wake from sleep problem...

however i have a new problem. the iMac will not now shutdown - it just sits on a grey screen until i force it to shutdown by holding the power button

Any ideas...?
Click to expand...
Something to try... toggle the 'Reopen windows when logging back in' check box. Whatever it's currently set to do, do the opposite and then try the shutdown.
 
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