New to Mac, new external hdd self-ejects

[sppunk]

I have a brand new 27" iMac and a brand new WD My Passport 2.0 hdd. I plugged it in, formatted as a mac format, didn't install any WD software/drivers and then set the drive in 2 partitions, one for TM and the other for storage.

The drive randomly self ejects. There is no rhyme or reason as to when, but it's always seemingly within 30 minutes. Sometimes it immediately reconnects but other times I have to unplug and plug it back in. I've tested on a work MacBook and it had no issues and stayed connected.

I have switched USB ports several times with no differing results.

I'm new to mac so unsure if this is a setting I need to change or what. Any tips/advice is greatly appreciated, thanks!

 

[Fishrrman]

First, do you have another USB cable you could try?
It could be a marginal connection.

Next, go to the "Energy Saver" preference pane.
Try UNchecking the option to "put hard disks to sleep when possible".

 

[sppunk]

First, do you have another USB cable you could try?
It could be a marginal connection.

Next, go to the "Energy Saver" preference pane.
Try UNchecking the option to "put hard disks to sleep when possible".

Fishrman, I do indeed have "put hard disks to sleep when possible" unchecked - that was instantly what I imagined was the issue.

I unfortunately have no other WD USB 3 cables that fit the external hdd connector. I assume a call into WD warranty is in order? I have read online this happening to tons of Mac users with all different drives - is it true Macs are not reliable with external HDDs connected directly to the machine? That seems very weird to me if true.

 

[Fishrrman]

I don't have any WD external drives, but I recall there was some kind of conflict between some WD software that is bundled with their drives, and Mavericks.

Perhaps checking WD's website is in order...

 

[sppunk]

Those issues were with using the WD software, which I never installed. I guess I'll return the drive for a new one and see if it works better.