Can i use AFPS internal drive with MAC OS Extended Journalised external drive?

Question

Level 1

122 points

Can i use AFPS internal drive with MAC OS Extended Journalised external drive?

I have recently experienced issues with my 1 year old M1 MacBookAir and 2T SSD which I use for data. Logic has crashed numerous times, i get repeated instances of "disk not properly ejected', and some projects won't open "operation could not be completed".

I have never had so many issues in 30+ years using Macs.

I have done all the usual things, PRAMM reset, replace cables and USB hub, re-installed Mac OS, used Disk Utility to 'repair' the external SSD, used CleanMyMac to verify no malware, pruned out any old apps / extensions etc ... thankfully I have experienced no issues this week but expecting the malaise to re-appear daily, because I feel I have only treated the symptom and not addressed the CAUSE.

It has just occurred to me that the SSD is formatted differently from the internal MacBookAir SSD, Mac OS Extended (Journalised) and AFPS respectively ... could that be an issue?

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Mar 9, 2022 3:43 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Best reply

MartinR

Level 6

19,199 points

Mar 9, 2022 6:00 AM in response to alex hall

The format of your external drive(s) is not the problem; non-system SSDs and HDDs can be formatted as Mac OS Extended Journaled and in some cases it's better to format them that way. Your internal SSD (your system drive) must be formatted as APFS.

What is your 2T SSD and is it bus powered or does it have its own power supply?
Your USB hub could be at fault (hubs are often a problem with external drives). Connect your drive directly to your Mac and see if the problems go away.
If the bus-powered USB devices connected to your Mac demand more power than your Mac can deliver, that can also cause problems. (In fact, even a single bus-powered USB drive can consume all the power the Mac can deliver on USB.)
The kind of problem you describe could also be from a failing drive or enclosure.

Make sure to back up all your data on another drive until you determine what the problem is. And keep doing so afterwards.

Get rid of CleanMyMac.

Reply

Answer 2

ku4hx

Level 7

23,448 points

Mar 9, 2022 4:45 AM in response to alex hall

We have 5 Macs and have never had an issue with an external drive being of different format type as long as all were Apple formats. My thinking is if that were not the case, certain formats would not be offered for all disks.

I'd guess your problem is related to the external drive being corrupted or maybe just showing it's age..

You Mac needs no fixers, optimizers or cleaner apps. They often cause more problems that what they are hyped to take care of. You need to uninstall all of them per developers instructions and check your drive to determine if problems have stopped.

Reply

Answer 3

alex hall Author

Level 1

122 points

Mar 11, 2022 12:30 AM in response to MartinR

Thanks for that. It is a Scandisk 2T SSD, I have tried it plugged into both powered USB hub and directly into Mac, same results .. after all the research and consultations I (and others) think the issue is with the SSD, so I have written to Scandisk and hope that they will replace it.

Reply

Answer 4

alex hall Author

Level 1

122 points

Mar 9, 2022 4:54 AM in response to ku4hx

Many thanks ku4hx (no relation to E Musk?) ... I have always been slightly sceptical of the SSD itself .. and yes I will get rid of CMM, it was a decision made in the heat of battle

Thanks

Reply

Can i use AFPS internal drive with MAC OS Extended Journalised external drive?

Similar questions