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User profile for user: pici
pici Author
User level: Level 1
17 points

Can't fully unmount TimeMachine drive in Disk Utility

M1 Macbook, MacOS 11.2.x, new LaCie portable drive, reformatted & setup for Time Machine, drive seems to be operating just fine, but if I want to unmount the drive in Disk Utility, there is still a volume [LaCie Mobile Drive Volume] that is not greyed out, and clicking on the eject symbol does nothing. I don't want to risk damaging the drive or directory by manually disconnecting the drive, but on the other hand I don't want to be tethered to the external drive either. That's part of owning a laptop, especially one with a good battery — the option to take it anywhere, anytime, without stuff connected to it. I never experienced this issue with any prior OS. Currently I've been shutting it down before disconnecting the backup drive. Any insight on this issue would be appreciated!


MBP M1 MacOS 11.2.1

Posted on Feb 18, 2021 11:06 PM

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User profile for user: datwinz
datwinz
User level: Level 1
23 points

Posted on Feb 19, 2021 5:13 AM

I just checked with the external drive I use for Time Machine. If it's greyed out in Disk Utility, it's safe to remove. For an extra sanity check, you can go to System Preferences > Time Machine and see if it's running a backup. If it's not, it should be safe to remove anyway.

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User profile for user: datwinz
datwinz
User level: Level 1
23 points

Feb 19, 2021 5:13 AM in response to pici

I just checked with the external drive I use for Time Machine. If it's greyed out in Disk Utility, it's safe to remove. For an extra sanity check, you can go to System Preferences > Time Machine and see if it's running a backup. If it's not, it should be safe to remove anyway.

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User profile for user: pici
pici Author
User level: Level 1
17 points

Mar 4, 2021 10:19 PM in response to datwinz

Thank you for the tip. I didn't want to risk damaging the drive. The confusion seems to stem from the manner in which Disk Utility shows the drive volumes in the sidebar. I thought that all the associated volumes needed to be greyed out but that is not the case. I followed your tip and there were no problems disconnecting. Many thanks!

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Can't fully unmount TimeMachine drive in Disk Utility

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