Systemic Thunderbolt External Hard Drive Sleep Issue with MBP or Thunderbolt 2 specs?

[Vigi1ant]

Problem Summary:
Externally connected LaCie thunderbolt v2 raid 1 array will not sleep when computer sleeps

Notes:
I'm sensing there is a systemic issue here that either lies directly with Apple or the with the Thunderbolt spec itself... There are numerous posts on this issue on various forums concerning Firewire and USB and many Thunderbolt. Interestingly I did not find anything that referenced Thunderbolt 2 or v2 exhibiting symptoms of this on latest version of Mavericks (10.9.5). Wanted to post to see if anyone else is seeing this? I'm honestly surprised given the designed use for this technology that this problem even exists. Seems like this issue would have been a release blocker for both LaCie (in my case) and Apple unless (1) it was never tested (2) go to market strategy override vs QA or (3) supporting HDD expansion is really just an afterthought to the primary objective of supporting higher resolution displays with this technology. What are your thoughts?

My Configuration Specifics:
- MacBook Pro 11,3 (Latest 2014) | Retina Display| Intel Core I7 2.5GHZ | 16GB RAM | Dual Graphics
- Mac OS X 10.9.5 (Mavericks)
- LaCie 6TB 2big Thunderbolt 2 (configured for Raid 1)
- Apple wireless keyboard
- Logitech M705 wireless mouse
- Dell U2713HM (Display port connected)

Detailed Description:
Setup works fine as it applies to disk recognition, mounting, boot-up, etc.. However, when I sleep the MBP laptop the connected LaCie 2big TBT storage array never sleeps. The drives continues to cycle whirling up and down every 30 seconds or so... Unplugging the drive enclosure while the computer is asleep will stop it just as a point of interest.

Unsuccessful Steps Taken so Far:
(1) Contacted LaCie: Summary response... not our problem contact Apple. May not be your problem LaCie but I assure you the product is going back to Amazon if I can't get resolution... gotta love vendor finger pointing vs. cooperation and collaboration to better both products.
(2) Selected "Put hard disks to sleep when possible"
(3) Turned off "Wake for Wi-fi access"
(4) Turned off "Enable power nap"
(5) Replaced LaCie supplied cable with Apple Thunderbolt cable (MD861ZM/A)
(6) Removed External Dell Monitor connected via 2nd Thunderbolt Display Port

Wrap Up:
Not sure what else to try at this point. Functionally it's all good... but I'm certain this behavior can not be good for the longevity of the raid hardware, and it's persistently annoying as you sit next to it working on a second computer station.... Anyone? Thoughts?

Thanks in advance for any and all responses. Cheers.

 

[Freyqq]

When I plug in external monitors (mini-displayport), my late 2013 rmbp does not sleep either in OSX. It will sleep for about 5 seconds and then immediately wake up. When unplugged, it sleeps just fine. In a windows 8.1 bootcamp partition, it also sleeps fine. So, i'm thinking it's an OSX driver issue as well.

 

[Vigi1ant]

Thanks for reply... To be clear I have no issue with the rmbp sleeping.. The computer is functioning perfectly. It's just the externally connected thunderbolt LaCie raid that will not sleep when the rmbp is placed in sleep mode.

Cheers

 

[Vigi1ant]

For those interested... the culprit in this case appears to be the Dell connected monitor. (U2713HM) The monitor is connected to the other TB port via DP to TB adapter. When I was previously trouble shooting this I thought by simply turning the monitor off it would eliminate it as a potential source of the problem. Turns out if I physically unplug it from the TB port on the rMBP the problem goes away and everything works, sleeps, as expected... for some reason the Dell is keeping the TB chain active when connected even if it is turned off... go figure!

Cheers

 

[Vigi1ant]

Yosemite has corrected this issue

Hopefully my last post to this thread. Upgrading to Yosemite has completely corrected this issue....

 

[SunbeamRapier]

Non-sleep Problem is caused by Dell Monitor

Have a look at this thread: http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/peripherals/f/3529/t/19602656

The problem you are having is caused by the Dell monitor. remove the monitor and you should find the drives sleep properly. I have no problem with drives sleeping - but they don't wake up properly...