my macbook pro keeps ejecting my seagate external hard drive

I am another person having similar problems. Here's my situation:

I have 2 drives - a 1TB Seagate Expansion Drive and a 2TB Seagate Expansion Drive. (Both USB Connected)

The 1TB way bought Christmas 2009 and the 2TB Christmas 2010.

Both drives have been split up in to 3 partitions, for simplicity let's say the 1TB has partitions A,B,C and the 2TB has D,E,F.

Partitions A and D are formated Mac OS Extended to work with Time Machine

Partition B is NTFS for extra Windows (boot camp) storage

Partitions C,E,F are formatted FAT32 for general storage.

Now here's where it gets into the weird ejecting:

Only Partition F is affected by the random ejecting. It will eject every 5-10 minutes when data is not being read or written and give the "Improper Eject" message box. The drive also never seems able to power down or go to sleep.

I have tried different ports and reformatting to fix this but no success. I am currently trying the "Never put drives to sleep" suggestion from this thread and we'll see if that is a permanent fix.

I should note that all though the problem drive is half a year old i just started using it this past week because i had no need for the space before then.

Also i am running a 2007 21"iMac (core 2 Duo).

if anyone comes up with anything or has questions just let me know.

I believe the problem is a crummy connection to the hard drive the interface wobbles, and disconnects when you move the drive. I just looped the cable and rubber banded it to the box. Fixed 90%

Definitiely a low tech solution

I had the same problem with my Western Digital Drive.

My solution was to erase the drive using Disc Utility and then go to the Wester Digital Web Site/downloads and dowload and install the latest firmware on its own, without the Wester Digital software package. After installing the latest firmware the drive behaves as it should and does not eject itself. Hope this helps others affected. It seems that the WD software clashes with Max OSX somehow.

I'm having a similar problem with a Seagate Expansion 2TB/USB3.0. And the beauty of it is that my drive isn't connected directly to my mac, it's attached to a NAS. The drive ejects and remounts every hour, only when leave the Time Machine to work, and I think the computer or something goes to sleep. I've tried to disable sleeping, still the same issue. Didn't Apple products supposingly just work?! 😐

To thos whose Seagate drives are self ejecting, I have three external Seagate GoFlex desk drives, one is used as Time achine, the other two are used with older operating systems and will also be used to store the data now on MobileMe when that has its funeral in June. I was having the same ejecion problem with all three drives, but I trashed the Seagate installed software and used disk tools to erase and reformat the drives. Then I downloaded the software program from the Seagate website that is designed to stop the auto-eject feature. Once that was installed the problem was gone. One drive is connected via Firewire 800, the other two are just plain vanilla USB connections.Go to this page and read about half way down. http://seagate.custkb.com/seagate/crm/selfservice/search.jsp?DocId=207851&NewLan g=en

Well, yesterday I tried some new things, and hopefully it will stop the HDD from sleeping, at least for some Seagate Expansion external drives.

Here are the steps you have to do:

1. Get into a Windows machine (it can be your Mac, but Windows is necessary for the software)

2. Connect you Seagate HDD

3. Install the following software:

- HDD Scan for Windows from hddscan.com

- Seagate Drive Settings from http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.jsp?locale=en-US&name=drive-settings&vgnextoid =d548712f10e5e210VgnVCM1000001a48090aRCRD

4. Launch HDD Scan.

4.1. Select the Seagate External Drive.

4.2. Click the "New Task" button (the round button), and select Features > IDE Features.

4.3 In the Power Management pane make sure Idle Timer is set to "Disable" (my HDD was already set this way).

4.4 In the Advanced Power Management pane, click "Disable" (this was enabled on my drive).

4.5 Close HDD Scan.

5. Launch Seagate Drive Settings

5.1. Select the Seagate external drive.

5.2. Click the "Settings" button.

5.3. Select "Ajust Power Settings", if it's not the default selected item. In the right hand side, select Never, then click "Save".

5.4. Close the application.

6. Put you HDD back in the Mac or NAS.

I thinks the apps are changing a different values of the HDD, so that's why I used both.

Let me know if it worked for anyone.

Okay, so I've also experienced this, however, I did get around it - but the solution is less than ideal for most people. I had gotten a great deal on the Seagate 1.5t drive for $100 at Microcenter, but it started this ejection thing right after I'd re-formatted it for my wifes Mac. Once there, it would dismount mid-time machine, Etc. Terrible. Saw that they had a utility that "fixed" this, and I tried it, and it did not.

The reason it didn't work hadn't dawn on my until after I'd re-cased the original drive in a cheap $21 external drive case (which works perfectly for her).

You see, we had similar, but not identical issues with another soft-powered 1T drive from Toshiba, which would also just shut itself down - but my primary gripe with that was the soft power switch - and you had to keep it near enough to press the button from time to time. When I got this seagate, I chose it because there was no power button - but they decided that they can manage power better than Apple can (a common PC-land mistake when mapped into Mac-Land) - and when that happens, things break. The power management on this drive can be controlled, however, I'd bank that track 0 of the FAT drive (it's original format) likely contains the drive settings - and once I'd reformatted it for MacOS - Seagates ability to read that "control" track was done.

So these drives aren't the blame - it's the firmware on the USB-SATA interface that's lame. I'll bet this firmware reads a track on the drive for it's settings, and that first partition has to be FAT or NTFS or whatever it was for this drive to store, and function correctly.

Folks in MacLand aren't buying this as PC drives and using them with the original PC OS are they? We're all reformatted this to MacOSX - and that step might be the cause of the problem.

I've since re-used a different drive with the old hardware (it is after all a portal 3.5" drive) - and I've not seen the issue yet, but I'm expecting it. If I run into problems, I'll likely reformat it to whatever native format it had and leave it there - then run their utility and test again.

Good luck. I recommend re-casing the drive if you've having issues - USB 2/3 to SATA cases are cheap and plentiful online and at good computer stores like Microcenter. The case I got has a hard power switch, no drivers, and is just a box with a circuit card that the 3.5" drive plugs into - plus four screws to mount the drive and two more to close the case.

Try puting the computer into safe mode. shut down completely, start up the machine holding down shift key until the chime.

I had an internal SSD in my optical bay of my MBP 13" 2012 which did the same thing as your external (ejected drive when entering sleep) and putting the computer into safe mode worked.

Don't waste your time with any solution listed here besides returning your Seagate external hard drive that keeps ejecting itself. It is a defective drive. Apple has recently put out a quality program for iMacs with internal Seagate drive issues and the Apple Retail stores are no longer selling any Seagate external hard drives. Apparently Seagate is having issues making good drives. Returning it and getting a new drive is the only solution. There is no software fix or anything you can do to fix the faulty Seagate hardware. Best of luck on your new drive!

It's not the actual hard disk itself - it's the Seagate external drive HARDWARE (case, cable, circuitry) that's causing the issue - the hard disk itself is just fine for the Mac - I'm using a number of them all around my house that I got at a good price - the catch - I had to hit the local MicroCenter and buy SATA2 external drive cases that have USB/eSATA support on them and that could hold the drive. Then it was a matter of pulling the drive out of the Seagate case and re-casing it with the low-cost $20 shell.

The problem you're having is a simple one - Seagate assumes that the computer (meant for PC remember, not Mac) is completely stupid about drive and power management - so it tries to manage disk power for you. The firmware in that case actually writes a track-zero drive setup on the disk drive for itself - that's what that stupid drive utility does.

If you got a screaming deal on the drive and are handy - simply open the drive up and remove the actual disk from the Seagate plastic - then go hit your local reseller who carries these things or order one online from NewEgg that can hold the drive - and put the Seagate drive into that case, plug in and go. It won't eject ever again unless you did it, or it loses power.

Here in Denver back when the drive prices were hitting their high prices in 2012, I picked up a 1.5TB 3.5" drive that was inside a Seagate case with a base that connects via USB/SATA and a drive that sits in the base - and the thing dismounted itself after 15 minutes every time. I tried all the utilities, but then realized, it was just that Seagate thought they were better than Apple at managing disk power. For PC's this might be so, but not for Mac's. Something like this is all you need.

Cheers.

saw this entry in one of the Seagate's forum . . . It's about Backup not recognized after Mac Restart:

Since I've tried every thing and all the combination fixes and yet still kept on ejecting my external Seagates, I thought I'd try this . . . and guess what . . .It's working so far - All my drives have stayed pretty stable !!! It's too good to be true as it requires just deleting "Seagate Storage Driver.kext" . . . Try it if you have Seagate external hdd . . .

I even left my iMac's settings in Energy Saver to 'put hd to sleep when possible' (checked) and when I awoke this morning, my external drives were still there . . . I surely hope this stay on for good !!! I hope it also works for many of you guys who have 'been in the same boat as I was . . .

http://forums.seagate.com/t5/Backup-Plus-and-Seagate-Slim/Backup-Plus-Not-Recogn ized-After-Mac-Restart/td-p/199025

Apple provided the following solution:

Under /System/Library/Extensions/ - delete the file "Seagate Storage Driver.kext"

After removing this Seagate storage extension from my Library, the iMac now automatically mounts the Backup Plus drive after shutdown or restart.

Please comment if this helps you later 🙂

Cheers,

Apollo

it's funny how that single file wreaked havoc in my entire (brand new) iMac for weeks !!! And yes, my iMac is still stable . . . even my Finder which was acting strangely before this fix . . . I hope this fix helps many more 🙂

I've seen your posts about the bad SATA . . . Truthfully, I really contemplated on doing what you suggested like getting a HDD dock etc . . . but in my case I have 3 units of the Seagate 3TB Backup Plus drives . . . I have already spent quite a bit on these drives and getting another piece of hardware to fix my problem is a bit of a long shot considering my already diminishing budget . . . Luckily, I came across the fix I am suggesting (for Seagate owners) before investing on another peripheral . . . Just my 2 cents 🙂

the pros that have lots of hard drives use these HD docks for a big reason

Extremely handy

Very very reliable

They keep the naked hard drives cool from lack of enclosure

The perfect tool for cloning hard drives

Saves money ultimately

It eliminates the incredibly faulty SATA card from the picture...... and oooooh are those bridge cards faulty

Get a Uspeed HD Dock from anker direct. Best cheap HD Dock. $38

here it is:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Uspeed-USB-3-0-eSATA-to-2-5-or-3-5in-SATA-HDD-SSD-Dockin g-Dock-Station-/330892855571?pt=US_Drive_Enclosures_Docks&hash=item4d0ac04913

The seller ankerdirect has an amazing reputation on service and quality merch.

You can find the same HD dock on amazon as well.

fotogeek514,

You said safe mode worked for you. What did you do, simply boot to it and restart? Or did you do something when you got into safe mode?

The problem you've had is the same problem I am having also, with my optical bay. I just took the superdrive out because I never used it in my MBP and have an external superdrive that I've set up to work correctly. I put a Seagate XT Hybrid SSD in the optibay and it ejects randomly. Sometimes after 2 minutes, sometimes after 10. There HAS to be a fix for this, or at least an understanding as to why this is happenig. I am only using the second drive for files, running all programs off a 512GB Samsung 840 SSD.

The Seagate XT works perfectly in other machines and also connected externally via USB. No ejections. I don't understand how or why it would be doing this.

If anyone has an idea that will get this drive working correctly, I would definitely appreciate it.

MacBook Pro 17

17-inch, Late 2011

Processor 2.4 GHz Intel Core i7

Memory 16 GB 1333 MHz DDR3

Graphics Intel HD Graphics 3000 512 MB

Software OS X 10.9.2 (13C64)