Problem with external hard drive disconnects & trackpad

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Level 1

16 points

Problem with external hard drive disconnects & trackpad

Hello,

I recently bought a new MacBook Air Apple M1 Chip computer and a SanDisk Extreme Pro 1TB SSD external hard drive, which I'd like to use to store my photo library externally, as well as some other files.

At first, both seemed to work just fine. But with repeated use, I've run into two very irritating problems.

The SSD drive disconnects randomly, for reasons that aren't clear to me. At first I thought the USB-C cable SanDisk had provided was faulty so I replaced it with an Anker one, but the problem has persisted. Sometimes it disconnects after a couple minutes, sometimes much longer. At first I thought it was happening when I accidentally nudged the cable or SSD, but sometimes it happens when I'm nowhere near the computer. Sometimes it happens when the drive isn't doing anything, sometimes it happens when the Photo library is open or I'm copying over files.

My Macbook's trackpad also behaves erratically at times - it won't stop working, but it will suddenly become sluggish; and the multi-finger gestures (scrolling, showing all windows, etc.) stop functioning.

The thing is that the two problems seem connected. Often - not always - the SSD disconnect and the trackpad issues appear at the same time, although I can't tell which one might be triggering the other.

I brought the MacBook into an Apple Store, where they ran a full set of tests and rebooted, but found no hardware issues. I'm starting to think the SSD itself has a problem (maybe with the USB-C port?), even though I ran First Aid on it several times and found nothing, it also seems to work fine, without disconnects, on other computers.

Has anyone else run into similar issues and have any advice? Is it even possible for an SSD (that doesn't have an external power source) to somehow interfere with the trackpad, or am I just reading into the two problems too much? I'm thinking of returning the SSD to SanDisk, but wanted to ask around first to see if I'm missing something.

Thank you very much in advance !

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 11.5

Posted on Aug 1, 2021 4:16 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Axel Foley

Level 10

149,478 points

Aug 3, 2021 7:36 PM in response to Kaedorel

Interesting issue(s). Is it one issue affecting both peripherals or are they individual issues? That is tough to answer. What happens when you leave the SSD disconnected? Does the trackpad then perform without issues? If YES then we can pin the blame on the SSD even though it works well on other devices. I have the same SSD that you mentioned and it is hooked up to my M1 Mac Mini without any issues. If the trackpad works without the SSD connected then try getting another external SSD (even the same model but different unit) and see if that works or not.

Have you tried entering MacBook Air in Safe Mode and checking to see whether the issue persists? It is no fun to work in safe mode because things may run slow however it the SSD remains connected in Safe Mode then it will tell you that there may be another process/app/software running in the background that is causing the disconnects.

Axel F.

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Answer 2

Axel Foley

Level 10

149,478 points

Aug 4, 2021 8:30 AM in response to Kaedorel

One other suggestion:

After you experiment with SAFE MODE and if that does not fix it after you get out of it then one other options is to enter ➔ macOS Recovery Mode and reinstall the macOS and see if that solves it.

Axel F.

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Answer 3

Kaedorel Author

Level 1

16 points

Aug 4, 2021 1:54 AM in response to Axel Foley

Hi Axel,

Thanks so much for the response. Regarding your questions:

When the SSD is disconnected, the trackpad does seem to perform without issues. I think it might have been very briefly sluggish at times, but not for as long - the issues appear so randomly that it's been hard to keep track. I am also tempted to place the blame on the SSD, but then it works just fine on my work laptop (which, I should note, is running with Catalina, not Big Sur - could Big Sur be the culprit here somehow? I see a lot of complaints online about Big Sur not letting external hard drives mount, which isn't my problem exactly, but it's similar)

I don't have any other SSDs on hand to test, but I do have a regular WB 3TB HDD that works perfectly (which is ironic, because the whole reason I bought an SSD was for the added reliability from not having any moving parts)

But I haven't tried entering the MacBook in Safe Mode, that's a great suggestion. I'll try that and see what happens. I've also written to SanDisk customer service to see a) they know of a fix and b) if they could replace the drive, so we'll see.

Thanks again for the advice !

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Answer 4

samtenor

Level 4

1,756 points

Aug 4, 2021 10:15 AM in response to Kaedorel

Have these issues happened, with or without power plug-in?

I had similar issues with certain peripherals would drop out (all bus powered, such as SSD, USB-C hub, keyboard ..etc) but got solved if my M1 MBA's power was plugged in, or using a powered TB hub with peripherals behind the TB hub.

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Problem with external hard drive disconnects & trackpad

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