Keep HDs Unmounted Till Needed

[danqi]

I have two external drives with several partitions that I want to use for SuperDuper! clone backups. I have scheduled the backups in SuperDuper!, but would like to start them manually instead of at a specific time. It seems to me that an elegant way to do this would be to somehow keep the drives from mounting by themselves and instead mount them all on my command when I want to (with an AppleScript?) and have SD set up to start syncing when the drives are connected/mounted.

This would allow me to A: Start all the backups manually with a single click. And B: Keep the drives out of the way when they are not needed. This way they won't clutter my desktop and would also be somewhat protected from unintentional alterations.

The only problem is that I have not idea how to keep the drives from auto-mounting and even less of an idea how to create an AppleScript to mount them (I know literally nothing about Apple Script).

Is there a simple enough way to do what I want, or is it not worth the hassle?

 

[maflynn]

You can set up a shell script to mount or unmount them. Check this article out.
http://osxdaily.com/2013/05/13/mount-unmount-drives-from-the-command-line-in-mac-os-x/

A quick google came up with this link
http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20120211184732735

I'd say the information is out there, if you wish to do the leg work.

Your idea seems like a good idea in theory and would be interested to see if it works in practice.

 

[danqi]

I had also come across that hint. Unfortunately, it goes a bit over my head. But I guess there is no simpler way.

 

[Macman45]

I had also come across that hint. Unfortunately, it goes a bit over my head. But I guess there is no simpler way.

I'm not sure it is worth the hassle...You can certainly write a simple script to coincide with the timing you have set for backups, but I think it's probably safer, and easier to leave them mounted. If they have independent power switches ( some do) then you could safely eject them and re-power when needed, but I think in your case it might be better to leave them as they are.

 

[Fishrrman]

Try the little app called "Semulov":
https://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/23347/semulov

How it might be useful for you...

Once you put Semulov into the Applications (or Utilities) folder, just lauch it and it will appear in the right-hand area of the menu bar. There is a preference to have it launch automatically when the Mac starts up, if you wish.

Once running, a list of all mounted volumes will appear under Semulov's menu icon.

Choosing a volume from the mounted drives list should UNmount it, if it can be unmounted (with some volumes, the finder may object if you try to umount/eject them).

Once unmounted (the volume will no longer be visible on the desktop), you can remount it by choosing it from Semulov's "Unmounted" list, and it will re-mount on the desktop.

Granted, all this has to be done "manually" (I'm not aware of how it might be "automated"). But it may be useful to you, and worth trying...