Take the computer to an Apple store. See if they can duplicate the issue. If not and you have AppleCare or computer is still under warranty, discuss your concerns with tech support.
This happens on my system (late 2008 MBP) as well. It happens even when the system has been put into sleep mode, thus preventing the sleep from taking effect (and resulting in some very warm laptop bags).
greanias wrote:
This happens on my system (late 2008 MBP) as well. It happens even when the system has been put into sleep mode, thus preventing the sleep from taking effect (and resulting in some very warm laptop bags).
I have yet to check if it happens when attempting to sleep the machine (lid open or closed) but I'm getting the phantom eject every 5 minutes or so too. Loads of people seem to have the issue based on what I've come across here but I have yet to see a solution.
Updating the system to 10.5.6 and applying the firmware patch for the new MacBooks has resolved the issue on my end. I'm guessing it was the firmware part of the equation since it specifically called out fixes for sleep mode which looked to be the root of the problem.
In my case the noise is not random. It happens every time OS X polls the drive interfaces for one reason or another. For example, when mounting a disk image, or when starting Disk Utility. You all might think it's random, but that might be because you aren't using a notifier for disk activity (I use Growl).
I managed to stop it using jhatton's tip, but instead of deleting diskutil outright I am keeping a copy in another folder in case it's needed for something in the future.
Over the past several months, my MacBook developed your same empty-drive, repeated-eject problem whenever I closed the lid. Also, the fan would sometimes run on and on, for no discernible reason. Whenever I reopened the lid, the laptop was sluggish to awaken; and when it finally reactivated, it made an ejection noise (embarrassing in client meetings!) It may have been a coincidence, or not, that Bluetooth became unavailable, while Airport connectivity diminished.
I tried all the usual solutions (run the repair permissions/drive utility, take battery out, hold down button, restart, reset PRAM, play a CD, play a DVD, trash Bluetooth preferences, etc.) with no success.
Yesterday, the ejection cycle became so frequent that the laptop basically refused to go to sleep. It overheated, causing the fan to run continuously; so, out of sheer necessity, I had to shut down the MacBook completely instead of leaving it in sleep mode.
I left the MacBook off, unplugged, all night long. This morning, all the problems had disappeared. I can't remember when the computer ran this quietly and smoothly. In retrospect, I realize now that I had been living with a problem which had grown stealthily over a span of several months.
Update: two days ago, my MacBook automatically downloaded two updates from Apple (a Java update and a security patch).
I installed the updates and rebooted the laptop. The "dry eject" problem returned.
Once again, I shut down the laptop completely and let it rest overnight, unplugged. Sure enough, the problem disappeared, and has not returned since. In fact, the laptop runs much cooler than ever, and the fan rarely activates.
While I can't be sure what caused the problem or why this solution works, I do wonder about a build-up of static electricity. Until I discovered the shut-down solution, the laptop screen used to make an annoying buzzing sound whenever I unplugged it. Perhaps the electricity build-up also caused the other symptoms.
At any rate, I now make it a practice to completely shut down the laptop each night before I go to bed.
Unplug and take out battery after shutting down. Hold down the power button for at least 5 seconds. Then put it all back together and press the button to start up while holding down command-option-p-r until it chimes twice to reset the PRAM.
Laptops will do this each time they awake from sleep as they scan the available drives to check for device changes.
Thus it's not the
noise that's causing your laptop to wake from sleep, but rather it's something that's causing your laptop to wake from sleep that's causing your laptop to poll the drive,
resulting in the noise.
I've been experiencing the 'dry-eject' noise as well.
Although, the drive makes this noise, which is an actual eject attempt, when my PowerBook (or the table it's sitting on) gets bumped, shaken, or tapped.
Perhaps it's due to a failing sensor?
It's becoming more and more sensitive to these jolts, and therefore more frequent.
It's to the point where setting an object down on the table sets it off!
Is this similar to what anyone else is experiencing as far as the cause of the 'dry-eject' noise?
After doing some more research on the web, I found many other users find that the dry-eject problem correlates with Bluetooth becoming unavailable.
Like you, I find that the problem is getting worse and worse. Where a few weeks ago the problem would go away all day long after a night of leaving the computer in Shut Down mode, now the problem is becoming more aggressive.
I believe I have found a partial solution to the problem. The following post gives guidelines on changing the default Sleep settings. Now that I've implemented the instructions, I find that my MacBook is sometimes able to go to Sleep peacefully, after a few attempts at dry-ejecting. This in and of itself is a good step forward, since it seems to prevent my MacBook from overheating.
