roundthehorn

Q: How to stop my USB storage from disconnecting when my laptop sleeps

Greetings,

I am new to this support forum.

My USB storage device disconnects whenever my laptop sleeps.  When i open the lid and it wakes up I always see an error message saying i have unexpectedly disconnected my USB device.  I have to unplug it and plug it back in to access my USB storage again.  Is there a way to keep this connection alive?

 

USB Storage:

Elago USB microSD

 

Laptop:

2005 Apple iBook

1.33 GHz PowerPC G4

1.5 GB RAM

 

OS:

OSX v10.5.8

iBook, Mac OS X (10.5.8)

Posted on Aug 8, 2015 5:40 PM

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Q: How to stop my USB storage from disconnecting when my laptop sleeps

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  • Helpful answers

  • by a brody,Helpful

    a brody a brody Aug 8, 2015 6:11 PM in response to roundthehorn
    Level 9 (66,781 points)
    Classic Mac OS
    Aug 8, 2015 6:11 PM in response to roundthehorn

    Alas not all USB storage devices respond to this, but there is a checkbox in Apple menu -> System preferences -> Energy Saver for it to prevent from happening.   http://www.macsales.com/ can probably sell you a hard drive that doesn't disconnect upon sleep.

  • by roundthehorn,

    roundthehorn roundthehorn Aug 8, 2015 6:54 PM in response to a brody
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 8, 2015 6:54 PM in response to a brody

    Thanks for your prompt reply.  I did not see a check box in energy saver for this but I will try some different USB drives.  Thanks for your advice. 

  • by K Shaffer,Helpful

    K Shaffer K Shaffer Aug 9, 2015 12:59 PM in response to roundthehorn
    Level 6 (14,244 points)
    Desktops
    Aug 9, 2015 12:59 PM in response to roundthehorn

    You could try & see if by using a card reader and a self-powered USB hub, if the

    card would remain visible to the computer in that situation. The power interruption

    to the USB bus in the computer may be sufficient enough to affect the card.

     

    While I use card readers on occasion, mostly for camera images when I don't want

    to attach the camera to a computer (and don't use native OS X photo application)

    these are not left attached when the computer is powered off or let go asleep. I use

    them and then unmount the card (by eject menu option or drag icon to trash.)

     

    At some point, if the card becomes invisible to the computer due to improper use

    or accidental disconnect without correct unmount procedure, you may have to see

    if the Disk Utility may be able to attempt a repair. This may include reformat. But

    note, that several cameras or devices that rely on the card to have a specific format

    would need to then reformat it again before it would be useful to said device.

     

    And you may need to finally replace the USB storage flash memory or other, should

    it continue or get worse in this regard. Some issues represent defective hardware.

     

    Good luck!

  • by Ronda Wilson,

    Ronda Wilson Ronda Wilson Aug 19, 2015 12:22 AM in response to roundthehorn
    Level 8 (41,527 points)
    Aug 19, 2015 12:22 AM in response to roundthehorn

    The easiest answer is don't let it sleep; leave it open and set it in System Preferences for the hard drive to never sleep.

     

    You can set the display to sleep without sleeping the computer.