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New to external HD with M1 Mac - Do I "Force Eject?" in Finder??

M

Marty_Macfly

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 26, 2020
963
273
Hi All,

Ok, want to pull out cables and put stuff away.

Ahh... But 1 item is my new HDD connected to powered USB-C Hub, connected to M1 Mac. I've just set it up for Time machine.

The HDD has finished its 1st bulk backup, 170gb in 35 minutes. Not Bad.
Next hourly backup is 7.03pm. in say 20mins time.


EJECT FROM FINDER:
I've just tried to eject the HDD. It tried and come back with the below screenshot.
I've tried it twice and got the same results.

1611427073242.png



Listening to the HDD - I hear it clicking away, so not keen on just pulling the cable out.


Do I chose the "FORCE EJECT"??

Will this cause issues?


hope you can advise

Regards
Martin
 
Hi all,

I found this:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3619092


Will the last chaps advise work?


[IMG alt="MIK53"]https://discussions.apple.com/public/assets/avatars/SYSTEM_DEFAULT_AVATAR_EN_8999.png[/IMG]
MIK53

User level:Level 1
(1 points)
Feb 21, 2016 1:32 AM in response to lyartetc
Hi, It may be a bit late but for the benefit of others who have the same problem which appears to happen all too often, here is the solution I found that works.

I went into Utilities/Disc Utilities/Repair Disc for the external drive. It repaired the disc permissions and I was able to eject the external drive in the usual way once that was done. The repair report showed that the reboot permission on the drive had been repaired so that may have been the cause of the problem in the first place.

I was using a 2TB Western Digital Passport Ultra that I had reformatted for Mac on my MacPro running 10.7.5 The drive was reformatted because it was shipped by the seller with the original Windows MS-dos32 format.

Hope this helps.
 
Try unticking the automatic backup box in TM settings. It might consider TM to be still using the drive.
If you get it sorted and you can eject the drive I would be grateful if you report back whether your machine gives a kernel panic when the HDD is physically removed.
 
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Looks like something on the external drive is still running or active.
That's why the drive won't eject properly.

When that happens, I suggest you try either of the following:
1. Log out.
2. Log back in.
3. NOW try ejecting the drive from the menu (or right-click and choose eject).

Second option (if the first doesn't work):
1. SHUT DOWN the Mac -- power all the way OFF
2. Physically disconnect the drive.
3. Reboot the Mac.
 
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Hi All again,


I've sorted this! :)


My hunch was correct:


The issue:
1. The Ext HDD was connected to a Powered Hub, and not directly to the Macbook
2. Something in-between was keeping the HDD "connected" and fully powered up.



The Solution.
1. I bought a USB-C cable that connected the MacBook directly to the WD HDD

2. The Ex HDD now ejects fine in Finder every time.

3. NOTE:
- You NEED wait a while, for the drive to finally spin down and go to sleep.
- The Drive will go dead silent eventually, with only a bleeping Power LED showing it is connected.
- At that point - I'm happy to disconnect


Phew! Got there!


Regards
Martin
 
I've gotten the same error message on my M1 mini one time. I quit all applications and still got the same error. The advice I found was to log out. That worked for me. I was connected directly via USB-C.

I have two volumes on mine, one for Time Machine and one for storage. The storage volume would eject, only the Time Machine volume was stuck. TM was not running, and not scheduled to run anytime soon, but the fact that only that volume would not eject leads me to suspect it has something to do with TM. FWIW
 
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Kudos Macfly for doing your research, figuring it out and sharing with the Forum. You know that saying, “Give a man a fish and you’ve fed him for the day. Teach him to fish and you’ve fed him for life.” You’re well on your way to becoming a “Fisher of Macs” (sorry, couldn’t resist the biblical reference).
 
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Marty_Macfly said:
Hi All again,


I've sorted this! :)


My hunch was correct:


The issue:
1. The Ext HDD was connected to a Powered Hub, and not directly to the Macbook
2. Something in-between was keeping the HDD "connected" and fully powered up.



The Solution.
1. I bought a USB-C cable that connected the MacBook directly to the WD HDD

2. The Ex HDD now ejects fine in Finder every time.

3. NOTE:
- You NEED wait a while, for the drive to finally spin down and go to sleep.
- The Drive will go dead silent eventually, with only a bleeping Power LED showing it is connected.
- At that point - I'm happy to disconnect


Phew! Got there!


Regards
Martin
Click to expand...

Hi All,


I've narrowed down the issue further:

It was the USC-A connector on the Dell hub, that was not allowing the HDD to be ejected by the MacOS.

I have since tried a few times with the USB-C connector on the hub, and the HDD ejects fine each time.
- This is a much better solution for me, as the tiny HDD is not precariously positioned with the MBA on the stand, and instead is plugged into the front of the Hub, securely sitting on the desk top, and easy to plug in and out.



H/W setup:
1. M1 MBA

2. Dell USB-C hub.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dell-Acces...p/B07RF9FZCS/ref=psdc_430482031_t2_B00O0M46KO

3. USB-C to WD HDD cable.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07K8BLCRV/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Hope that helps!
 
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Hi All,



As per the advise from the bottom left "?" - logging out then back in again also helps ejection of the locked drive as well.


1612115836123.png




With the M1 it only takes seconds to log out, then back in again, when you are all up and running, rather than a cold startup. Wow! :)



Right I'm going to put the external HDD away now and stop fiddling! :p




Regards
Martin
 
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Just in case you don't know, you only have to eject the drive when physically disconnecting. Mac OS will take care of connection when turning machine on/off.

more info
 
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