How to keep network volumes mounted?

Question

Level 1

47 points

How to keep network volumes mounted?

I have a couple of volumes on my NAS that I like to keep mounted on my Mac desktop at all times. They are in my startup items and mount successfully every time I start up or log in. However, they unmount themselves after a period of inactivity, possibly as a result of system sleep, so that I have to go through the whole Connect to server... routine every time. There have been blessed periods when they remain available indefinitely, but at the moment, as so often, this or that software update seems to cause the problem all over again. I have even tried to find a way of running a script that checks if they are mounted, and mounts them automatically if they are not there, but without success. Any advice would be most welcome.

Mac Studio, macOS 15.1

Posted on Nov 30, 2024 6:58 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Nov 30, 2024 10:06 AM in response to Jeffrey Shaw

Try this....

Just create an alias of the drive while it’s mounted, then add it to your dock or desktop. Then opening the alias or clicking the desktop or dock icon will try to mount the network drive again.

Reply

Answer 2

Dec 7, 2024 5:32 PM in response to Jeffrey Shaw

You should be able to script the procedure to check whether the volumes are mounted and if they are not, then mount them.

If the problem is actually because the system is sleeping, then disable system sleep.

Reply

Answer 3

Jeffrey Shaw Author

Level 1

47 points

Dec 7, 2024 6:36 AM in response to Randall_2023

Thanks — sorry, but it has taken a few days for the circumstances to arise that would enable a test. The aliases are a useful quick way of mounting the volumes, but are no substitute for keeping them mounted. I want to be able to have a script run whereby files added to a folder are duplicated on a NAS volume. For that to happen, the volume needs to be actually available, or else the transfer fails. I just tried it to see if the alias would act as a gateway, but as I suspected, it cannot. I need to be present personally to check that the NAS volumes are mounted before manually beginning the process. I much prefer it to work without my intervention.

Reply