External USB-C HDD does not power down on eject

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Level 1

8 points

External USB-C HDD does not power down on eject

When I eject an external HDD connected to the USB-C port of my MacBook Pro 13.3" Mid 2017 the drive is not powering down as before when connected to an iMac.

I have tried with several drives. All drives are USB-3 drives and connected by USB-C to USB-3.0-Micro-B cable or USB-C to USB-3 adapter directly to the MacBook Pro.

The same happens when I connect the drive to one of the USB-C ports on the LG 5K Ultrafine display.

What can be responsible for this behaviour. How can it be solved?

MacBook Pro with Retina display, macOS Sierra (10.12.6)

Posted on Aug 3, 2017 9:08 PM

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Answer 1

slackero Author

Level 1

8 points

Aug 3, 2017 11:00 PM in response to Kappy

Not self-powered, just a normal 2.5" WD My Passport – in this case.

As I wrote – same drive connected to an iMac then ejecting you can here it powers down. But no longer working with the MacBook Pro. Drive is ejected but still spinning.

Just wondering if this is a know behaviour. So I always have to hard disconnect the drive by unplugging the cable (which is the normal thing you do when ejecting the drive).

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Answer 2

Kappy

Level 10

362,007 points

Aug 3, 2017 10:20 PM in response to slackero

The USB port on the computer never has power removed, so ejecting a drive without removing it from the chain will leave the drive powered. This is normal behavior for USB.

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Answer 3

slackero Author

Level 1

8 points

Aug 3, 2017 10:22 PM in response to Kappy

It's not the power itself I mean. The drive is still running (noisy), not going to sleep when ejected…

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Answer 4

Kappy

Level 10

362,007 points

Aug 3, 2017 10:30 PM in response to slackero

Is the drive self-powered? By "ejected" you mean also disconnected?

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Answer 5

Kappy

Level 10

362,007 points

Aug 3, 2017 11:13 PM in response to slackero

Once powered down the platters will spin for a short while as the motor slows. This is normal. After one or two minutes the drive should stop spinning.

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Answer 6

slackero Author

Level 1

8 points

Aug 3, 2017 11:29 PM in response to Kappy

It's not the known effect. iMac, eject, drive is off – immediately.

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