iMac not turning off usb power when sleeping
This seems to have been asked before but not replied to. Should power to USB's be automatically stopped off when the iMac is put into sleep mode so peripherals such as external HD's also sleep?
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Hi georgefromoxford,
When a Mac is in sleep mode, devices, such as external hard drives will stop receiving power and thus sleep. That is unless the Mac is actually awake, with the display off, doing background tasks. Then, the external hard drive will have power and will be active.
Also, if a device such as an iPhone is connected to the Mac charging while it's in sleep mode, that device should always receive power, whether the Mac is in true sleep mode, or display off but with active with tasks.
So, if your external hard drive has a status light, you might notice it going on and off throughout sleep mode depending on the current state the Mac is in.
I hope this makes sense.
Cheers,
Jack