I have an external hard drive that I use for the time machine. I’m finding recently that it will just not shut off. Even when time machine is not running it continues to spin. Is there a way to find out why it won’t shut off and what it is doing?
What external drive and how is it connected to your Mac?
That behavior sound correct for a USB drive that is running Time Machine and other drives that are being indexed by Spotlight.
One thing that you might want to check on, is put Disks to sleep in the Energy Saver Preference. see > https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202824
Another thing to consider. Is that there is less wear n tare on a drive motor just sitting there running, than there is to stop and start it a hundred times a day.
What external drive and how is it connected to your Mac?
That behavior sound correct for a USB drive that is running Time Machine and other drives that are being indexed by Spotlight.
One thing that you might want to check on, is put Disks to sleep in the Energy Saver Preference. see > https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202824
Another thing to consider. Is that there is less wear n tare on a drive motor just sitting there running, than there is to stop and start it a hundred times a day.
Hello Moeller1983 and welcome to Apple Support Communities.
I see you have a question about hard drive activity (specifically with the drive spinning) when Time Machine does not appear to be running.
Back up your Mac with Time Machine - Apple Support
It's important to keep in mind that there are Time Machine tasks that are not specifically backing up. This would include things such as identifying older backups which can be deleted if the drive is starting to get low on space.
If you want to get a snapshot of all the processes underway at any time on your Mac, you can get that via the Console app.
Console User Guide for Mac - Apple Support
Cheers.
I have a Porsche Design P'9227 2T external hard drive. There is only about 500G on the drive currently and about 1.5T free. The put disks to sleep when possible was selected on my energy saver preferences.
I do appreciate all the help you have given.
You're welcome!
FWIW to be extra safe, I use CarbonCopyCloner and run Time Machine on several different types of external drives. I was using CarbonCopyCloner years before Apple's invention of Time Machine and continue using it today because you can startup from a Clone and continue working if and when an internal drive ever does fail...
Thanks. I found that app and checked it out but not sure if I can tell what is engaging the external hard drive. So many lines of code are going by as it runs. Is there a way to narrow it down?
External hard drive for time machine
