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User profile for user: jascha57
jascha57 Author
User level: Level 1
4 points

External drive randomly ejects on Mojave - is upgrading to an SSD a solution?

Mac Mini (2018) | 3.2 GHz i7 | OS 10.14.6

external drive = OWC miniStack USB 3.1 Gen 1 | 2TB HD


I keep my working files on the miniStack, including my Dropbox folder, so there's a fair amount of Dropbox activity running in the background from time to time.


This setup *mostly* works fine, but in December the miniStack started to randomly eject. I had recently installed BitDefender and thought maybe it was that, so I uninstalled it. Back to fine for a while, then it started randomly ejecting again, so I bought a new cable - this one goes from the USB 3.1 Gen 1 port on the miniStack to regular USB-C (the original cable terminated in USB-A).


Fine for a while, then it started happening again.


I'm wondering: has anyone had success with upgrading their external HD to an SSD? I'd be willing to spend the money if that was going to help!


thanks,


-j-






Mac mini, macOS 10.14

Posted on Jan 20, 2020 5:49 AM

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User profile for user: Barney-15E
Barney-15E
User level: Level 10
116,260 points

Posted on Jan 20, 2020 6:05 AM

Whether the drive spins or not would not affect it ejecting.

Does it drop off when the Mac goes to sleep or tries to put the drive to sleep? Some drive controllers do not process the sleep command correctly and end up ejecting themselves. I set Energy Saver to not put the drives to sleep.

It could be something with the drive controller. Contact OWC to see if they have a firmware update.


Being that you are actually using files off of the external, an SSD might give you better performance. However, that isn't the cause of your problem.

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User profile for user: Barney-15E
Barney-15E
User level: Level 10
116,260 points

Jan 20, 2020 6:05 AM in response to jascha57

Whether the drive spins or not would not affect it ejecting.

Does it drop off when the Mac goes to sleep or tries to put the drive to sleep? Some drive controllers do not process the sleep command correctly and end up ejecting themselves. I set Energy Saver to not put the drives to sleep.

It could be something with the drive controller. Contact OWC to see if they have a firmware update.


Being that you are actually using files off of the external, an SSD might give you better performance. However, that isn't the cause of your problem.

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External drive randomly ejects on Mojave - is upgrading to an SSD a solution?

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