Disk not ejected properly

I tried the new cable from Other World Computing--the one they use for their USB 3.0 drives. It is short and fairly thick, and, I assume, suited for these drives.

I thought the problem had been solved, but today, two days later, I just got the DNEP message while working at the computer actively. I checked the Console messages, and at the same time the DNEP appeared, these messages showed up on the Console. Whether they help in terms of identifying the cause or are simply markers and reports of what happened, I don't know. And other than seeing a reference to the WDC driver, I have no idea what they mean.

11/20/14 3:04:08.149 PM prl_deskctl_agent[27396]: WARNING: The Gestalt selector gestaltSystemVersion is returning 10.9.1 instead of 10.10.1. Use NSProcessInfo's operatingSystemVersion property to get correct system version number.

Call location:

11/20/14 3:04:08.153 PM prl_deskctl_agent[27396]: 0 CarbonCore 0x00007fff87e70dc3 ___Gestalt_SystemVersion_block_invoke + 113

11/20/14 3:04:08.153 PM prl_deskctl_agent[27396]: 1 libdispatch.dylib 0x00007fff88b11c13 _dispatch_client_callout + 8

11/20/14 3:04:08.153 PM prl_deskctl_agent[27396]: 2 libdispatch.dylib 0x00007fff88b11b26 dispatch_once_f + 117

11/20/14 3:04:08.153 PM prl_deskctl_agent[27396]: 3 CarbonCore 0x00007fff87e194da _Gestalt_SystemVersion + 987

11/20/14 3:04:08.153 PM prl_deskctl_agent[27396]: 4 CarbonCore 0x00007fff87e190c7 Gestalt + 144

11/20/14 3:04:08.153 PM prl_deskctl_agent[27396]: 5 prl_deskctl_agent 0x00000001096e493f CMAC_resume + 119183

11/20/14 3:04:08.153 PM prl_deskctl_agent[27396]: 6 prl_deskctl_agent 0x0000000109163709 start + 919369

11/20/14 3:04:08.221 PM com.apple.kextd[21]: ERROR: invalid signature for com.wdc.driver.USB-64HP, will not load

11/20/14 3:04:08.466 PM com.apple.kextd[21]: ERROR: invalid signature for com.wdc.driver.USBHP, will not load

11/20/14 3:04:09.116 PM com.apple.xpc.launchd[1]: (com.apple.mdworker.bundles[27398]) Could not find uid associated with service: 0: Undefined error: 0 507

11/20/14 3:04:09.117 PM com.apple.xpc.launchd[1]: (com.apple.mdworker.bundles) Service only ran for 0 seconds. Pushing respawn out by 10 seconds.

11/20/14 3:04:10.000 PM kernel[0]: jnl: disk2s2: replay_journal: from: 79159296 to: 79785984 (joffset 0x2baa000)

11/20/14 3:04:10.000 PM kernel[0]: jnl: disk2s2: journal replay done.

Now, one would think that Apple engineers could make something out of this. Maybe I should set up an AppleCare incident report. Since I no longer have AppleCare it will cost me $20 or so. If someone here who does have AppleCare active, and who has this problem with a WD External USB 3.0 drive, you might be able to submit this.

New IMAC OS10.10/ 2 Seagate drives 1TB portable/2TB expansion same problem with both - DNEP when in sleep overnight.

30 minutes with adviser plugging in/out sleep on/off about to re format drives. Want to back up over night so might try Jettison.

Does not happen on Airbook running Mt Lion so cannot see why it is a drive issue.

System config solution not suitable for 10.10 as no preferences in that folder it seems.

Fail to understand why this still remains an issue for Apple, surely it should have been sorted by now????

Same problem here with a new Mac Pro and a new LaCie thunderbolt 2. I noticed that the instructions for sleep and shut down are different from previous drives. They suggest to eject the LaCie first even for sleep.

So it might be a good idea to always eject all external drives and what the heck also shut down all other items, like speakers and monitor after shutting down the mac.

The matter is that the sleep function would now be practically useless, sleep not being needed for an SSD internal drive and all that. So shutting down the external drives for both sleep and shut down is recommended by LaCie. I'm giving it a try.

Update: My situation is Mac Pro (late 2013) with LaCie thunderbolt2 drive 3 TB and Dell display.

I unchecked everything that could put my mac or drive to sleep. I only checked Prevent computer form sleeping automatically when the display is off and set the sleep time to never.

That seems to have got rid of the messages that the drive was not properly ejected, for the time being. I'll need some more time before I can confirm this definitely. But that means that the sleep function on the Mac Pro is actually not working and cannot be used.

My local LaCie representative told me that the sleep function is a concern which happens not only with LaCie drives. It appears that the Mac or OS X is using such a low level of power that drives in sleep assume power is off and the drives shut themselves off as well.

This is a problem they think is to be solved together with Apple so that the sleep function will be available and usable again. I also experienced the same with my MacBook Pro and a first generation LaCie thunderbolt drive.

Just to rule out a problem with the cable LaCie is going to send me a replacement thunderbolt cable.

That may be a good idea. But it remains a bit strange. I don't have ecosockets so the sockets I have should provide enough power at all times. One always needs lots of sockets for drives, speakers etc. New houses should be built with more sockets. I had already had the idea to install an extra power line from a socket on the stairways, but it would take some drilling.

A good thunderbolt2 cable with 100% performance and connection would probably help as well.

This seems to have fixed it for me:

Go to System Preferences>Energy Saver and uncheck "Put hard disks to sleep when possible." Do this on Power Adapter and Battery.

I have no idea if this will lead to greater wear and tear on any of the hard disks (internal HD and external storage drives) but in the 36 hours since I made this change, I have not gotten the error once.

This is a really persistent bug, apparently introduced after Snow Leopard. On my Mac Pro, I have gotten the improper disk ejection message in Mountain Lion, Mavericks, and Yosemite. Same hardware, obviously, and the problem occurs with everything except wonderful rock-solid Snow Leopard, where it never, ever happens. The only OS I haven't tested is Lion.

There seems to be a new way to handle the sleep function. The new Mac Pro with SSD doesn't really need to be put to sleep. It is even better not to, because if you do the mac heats up because the fan stops working. But for the external drives that are attached there seems to be a new procedure, at least for my LaCie thunderbolt2 drives. The advised procedure is to always remove/eject the drives from the desktop, then to push the blue button in front to put it to sleep (1 second push). For a shut down you push 4 seconds. So I guess this means that the mac shouldn't be allowed to shut down the external drives. Always eject the drives first and manually put them to sleep. If you start them up again, this is supposed to give you a problem free connection.

That's what I do now. I haven't got my MP and drives for more than a few days, so it's hard to tell whether this works at all times.

Because it would be really annoying and probably also problematic to have drives that are ejected improperly.

But there definitely is something weird going on.

Is it just me or does this "new way" of handling external drives sound like a pain in the neck? I don't like it. I like having 4 internal drives in my Mac Pro. I wouldn't mind a new, faster Mac Pro but there are too many issues for me to rush into buying one now. Not sure I would want an iMac either. I guess I keep what I have as long as I can.

Appeltjehehe wrote:

Always eject the drives first and manually put them to sleep. If you start them up again, this is supposed to give you a problem free connection.

That's what I have been doing for some months now, and no dreaded messages.

In theory, ejecting the drives is enough to be safe, which means also quitting all apps linked to external files. But in practice, when the LaCie drives are not switched off via the front or rear button depending on models, for some reason the drives may start up seemingly on their own any time for a quick run, and then switch off again. This won't affect the start up files or the computer, it's just an inconvenience if the noise is a problem.

This is not a solution for me either. I have three external drives. One is a LaCie Big, right next to my iMac. It's not too big of a pain to put that to sleep manually, but my other two external drives are in a soundproof cabinet on the other side of my office. Definitely not practical to turn those on and off every time I shut down my computer.

The proper solution would be for Apple to fix this.

Appeltjehehe wrote:

You mean that the blue button sometimes flashes like it's doing some work. I've experienced that as well. But it shouldn't be a problem.

I don't own the Thunderbolt version but many older FW "blue button" now occasionally used with a Thunderbolt to FW adapter, and 4 newer USB3 P9230. What I notice with the USB3 drives is that when they are not switched off via the button after they are ejected, when the MBP is put to sleep (ML), they will launch for a few seconds and then go back to sleep. They may wake up on their own once in a while while the computer is asleep, run for ten seconds or so and shut off. This means probably that something was sent to the drive or more likely that the connection was lost while the computer was asleep.

I agree that *having to perform a complete eject prior to every break is a nuisance*, even if with SSD's inside, the apps launch now so much faster. I wished it were like in the past, with Snow Leopard.

If the blue light is constantly on but the external drive is not in use and it sometimes seems to be running for a few seconds with flashing blue light, there is no message that the drive was removed improperly, and the blue light afterwards is again constantly on, and there was no loss of connection. It's just that for some reason the drive is doing something. No idea what.

I can't believe we're still discussing this issue.

I've seen this problem since I got my iMac (late 2013 model) last year. Having a bunch of older FW drives connected to my old MacMini, I tried to switch to USB3 on the new iMac I got. Sadly I immediately suffered with the Incorrectly Disconnected messages. I also found that some drives (older Seagates FWIW) also suffered with more serious issues, such as my main LightRoom photo collection would not allow me to write to the drive from LR at random intervals. I also found my Time Machine backup drive became corrupt after a couple of days use, with indications the drive had failed.

Most of my drives are in a four drive enclosure, so none are 'boxed' external drives. It does seem to be worse with Seagate drives though, as other brands seem to work much better. I tried a variety of solutions, from connecting direct to the iMac, and trying a couple of different powered hubs, and changing the cables (despite all being brand new). All to no avail.

In the end I gave up and bought the Thunderbolt to FW800 adapter (luckily the enclosure I bought had multiple connection options), and have had no issues at all, all drives have performed fine since (the only thing is the TB adapter is a little wiggly in the socket, and slight movement can cause a disconnect).

One or two things to try have perhaps come up in this thread, but I'm not sure how much trouble it's worth going too now I have a working solution. I spotted a few things that might relate to my setup, such as the Seagate drives, and using an APC BackUPS power unit, switching off sleep modes, and using Jettison etc. However, none of these seem to offer a genuine fix, nor do they all seem to offer a guarantee to work, and in some cases attempting to fix things could be expensive (replacing drives, hubs, cables and enclosures), but finding the right combination that *might* work is obviously pretty tricky.

There definitely seems to be something screwy with Apple's implementation of USB3 somewhere, and it does extend to more than just sleeping drives too. I found that my iMac was waking up randomly during the night, and mostly within a few seconds of putting it to sleep manually. I eventually found this was coming from a hub that I'd connected using a USB3 cable, although everything plugged in was USB2. Even an empty hub caused the wake up. I changed it to a USB2 cable on the same hub, and now all is well.

My only solution that works satisfactorily was to switch back to FW800 using the Thunderbolt adapter and abandon USB3 altogether.

I would switch to Thunderbolt drives, but the cost of these is so prohibitive to an enthusiastic home user.

Just one final FWIW, I did a bit of searching on this problem in the past, and it's not unique to Macs, but also affects Windows users too, so it would suggest an underlying problem with the USB3 protocol that's been difficult to work around, rather than a muck up by Apple. There have been historic precidences for this too, such as whether to use certain chipsets in PCi cards, or making sure you get Oxford chips in FW devices.

I've given up on Apple ever addressing this. I bit the bullet and bought two LaCie D2 thunderbolt drives to replace my two OWC Mercury Elite Pro USB3 drives. I have a LaCie Big thunderbolt drive and I never get the "disk not ejected properly" error with it. For me, at least, the problem seems to be limited to USB.