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Deacon-Blues

macrumors 6502a
Aug 15, 2012
670
853
California
I have an M1 Mac mini and I do not have this option to put disks to sleep whenever possible. If I go to Energy Saver all I see is Prevent Mac from Sleeping, Wake for Network Access, and Start up After Power Failure. What's the deal? Almost every day I am getting this message that disk was not ejected properly with an external SSD directly connected to a TB port. I'm going to try just shutting down every night now. At least now I know it's not just me.
 

Silicon Audio Labs

macrumors newbie
Apr 28, 2022
2
2
Well, add me to the list - Monterey (of course) Mac Mini M1 using thunderbolt external SSD drive.. In the morning I am greeted by a screen of "Disk Not Ejected Properly..." notices. I also tried, unchecking "Put hard disk to sleep..." in prefs and checking "Prevent your Mac from sleeping auto... when display is off...". I tried erasing, re-reformatting, installing different partition types... <sigh> nothing... no luck.

Most frustratingly, it's fully random, though overnight tosses the most "Disk Not Ejected..." notices.

Brand new SSD drive (1TB). It was in two different stylish hubs, one very small and modest one, and same issue. I just installed "Amphetamine" and keeping fingers crossed and watching. Tomorrow morning will be the big test with that.

After 32 years using Macs, I'm callin' it --> Monterey Bug/Issue <--. Sorry, Apple. Fix it!
 
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dizmonk

macrumors 65816
Nov 26, 2010
1,080
678
I have to say. so far I've completely lucked out. After downgrading the internal storage when buying the Studio (2tb from the 4TB I had on the Imac) I needed another 2tb or so. I grabbed this one on Amazon along with a Crucial 2TB internal SSD. In the few days I've had the setup not one single disconnect... I'm kinda shocked and keeping my fingers crossed.

 

podmonger

macrumors newbie
Apr 3, 2022
14
8
It's happening with M1 Mac Studio, with 2013 Promise R6 RAID (TB2) connected through TB2-TB3 adaptor. It does not happen with new OWC Envoy SSD, or WD SSD. So far.
And I've turned off "put drives to sleep," to no avail. This also happened with 2014 Intel MBP, likely after upgrade to Big Sur, on HDD. Didn't have SSDs hooked up to that one.

Yeah, my money's on an OS bug.
 
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moochinpass

macrumors newbie
Aug 26, 2022
2
1
My macOS is monterey.
Symptoms do not improve with cable replacement.
Haven't tried replacing the storage case though.
I don't see this symptom on my big sur at work.
I think the problem is monterey.
 

verdi1987

macrumors 6502a
Jun 19, 2010
655
416
My macOS is monterey.
Symptoms do not improve with cable replacement.
Haven't tried replacing the storage case though.
I don't see this symptom on my big sur at work.
I think the problem is monterey.
I had the same problem after upgrading to Monterey. I ended up replacing my hub with a different (newer) hub, and the issue mostly disappeared. I suspect there was a change in Monterey that broke compatibility with some older chipsets.
 

moochinpass

macrumors newbie
Aug 26, 2022
2
1
I had the same problem after upgrading to Monterey. I ended up replacing my hub with a different (newer) hub, and the issue mostly disappeared. I suspect there was a change in Monterey that broke compatibility with some older chipsets.
I took your advice and tried it with a newer product and the problem is gone.
Thanks!
 
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WinterWolf90

macrumors 6502a
Jan 18, 2014
678
477
Had this issue after I upgraded to Monterey, there are several threads about it. it doesn’t do this to external ssd just hdd, or at least in my experience. Changing cables, or removing external hubs did nothing to fix it.
 

HeadphoneAddict

macrumors 65816
Sep 16, 2007
1,041
888
In my case, after upgrading my late 2015 iMac to Monterey a couple of months ago, we would often wake up to find the external 4TB HDD x2 RAID and the 4TB portable LaCie drives ejected (not on desktop) with the disk was improperly ejected warning; and the iMac would not connect to the Apple BT keyboard and trackpad so we couldn't log in.

We have no hubs connected, but the issue seems to have affected USB, often BT input devices, and possibly Thunderbolt - my year old 6TB Lacie 2Big TB/USB 3 drive won't mount via TB anymore. My 8TB Raid is a TerraMaster USB only hardware RAID box (not software RAID, no thunderbolt), that is newer than the LaCie that it replaced, but still several years old.

We could only wake up the iMac by tapping the power button, but the only way to log in was to press and hold power until it shut down, then press power to turn it back on, and then the keyboard and trackpad and drives were back. I'd have to run Disk Utility to check the drives each time, but have never had an error found.

After re-installing Mac OS 12.6 on top of everything a couple of times, it's now only the RAID that ejects when the iMac is asleep. The LaCie is a system preference "sharing" cache drive and a backup of my ripped CD's and DVD's, and it stopped disconnecting/ejecting overnight (with an OS reinstall). When the RAID improperly ejects, if we can log in without a reboot, Disk Utility cannot see it - it's like it was unplugged. Only a reboot brings it back, but not unplugging and plugging it back in.

Preventing the iMac from automatically sleeping, and only letting the screen turn off didn't help. In the past 2 weeks after reinstalling Monterey the BT keyboard and mouse have stopped working overnight only once, requiring a reboot to log in.

Should I turn turn on the setting, "Put hard disks to sleep whenever possible"? The iMac itself was upgraded to a 2TB internal SSD last year. I can try that when I get back home in a day or so.
 

haralds

macrumors 68030
Jan 3, 2014
2,984
1,246
Silicon Valley, CA
This problem has been an issue with Macs and USB drives from the beginning. Unlike Windows macOS keeps USB drives mounted flushing to disk at indeterminate times.
There is a utility called "Jettison" which manages this nicely.
 

HobeSoundDarryl

macrumors G5
The problem isn't proper ejecting... it's unexpected ejecting. Those with the problem WISH we only had to remember to do Mac-style manual ejections. It's not the classic pulling the connection without first ejecting... it's random ejections without touching a thing. It's walk away from your Mac and come back to see the drive has ejected on its own. Or it's using the drive and it ejects WHILE in active transfers.

And FWIW, manual ejections work as they always have... as long as we beat the unexpected ejections. I've had many scenarios where it's felt like a race to fetch something from a problematic drive... or to try to write something to it. Sometimes it works... sometimes it ejects even while transferring files... UNLESS, I hook it via same cable back to older Intel Macs running a version of macOS BEFORE Big Sur/Monterrey... then all is as it should be: no problems at all.
 

kibepo73

Suspended
Jun 2, 2022
61
5
The 'Disk Not Ejected Properly' notification shows up on your Mac, indicating that there are errors in your operating system, on the connected external drives, or in the connections between your external drives and the Mac. More specifically, the reasons why the message 'Disk Not Ejected Properly' appear on your Mac are as follows:

1. Errors in the operating system
2. Problems with the removable hard drive
3. Failing external drive cable
4. The USB or other ports on the Mac computer are defective

Further, to fix the 'Disk Not Ejected Properly' notifications issue in macOS, you can try the below DIY methods:

1. Check the connections
2. Reset the Energy Saver settings on your Mac
3. Reset SMC on Mac
4. Reset NVRAM on Mac
5. Run First Aid to check your external hard drive
6. Reformat the external hard drive
7. Update macOS

Hope it helps!
 
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Leeleo

macrumors newbie
Oct 17, 2022
5
2
Hey there guys

i am having the very same issue, and apparently many others are too.

i just got me an M1 MAX 32GB and I keep on getting the "Disk not ejected properly" message hundreds of times.

it connects the SSDs and then disconnects over and over again. I also have 2 Thunderbolt Docks. one is thunderbolt 3 (WAVLINK thunderbolt 3 dock) and the other is thunderbolt 4 (ANKER thunderbolt 4 dock). both of these hubs work great on Port 1 and port 3, but then when you connect them to port 2, nothing works.

At some point, they used to work on port 2 a little bit, but now they just wont work at all. the port just wont recognize any dock or almost any hub. i tried connecting USBs sticks to the USB c hubs and they wont show up at all.
the moment I connect directly to the port without the hubs, they instantly work great. the strange thing is that all these USB c hubs and the thunderbolt 3 and 4 docks work perfectly on ports 1 and 3, but won't work at all with ports 2.

i don't understand what this is. its very annoying and causes me to have to find alternatives that arent so great.
 
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HobeSoundDarryl

macrumors G5
Leeleo, yours reads like a legit hardware issue with that port #2. Assuming you've tried at least 1 different cable hooked to port 2 to rule out a bad cable (not just plugging what might be ONE bad cable into a variety of things and then assuming the port), I suggest returning that Mac and getting another. However, carefully eyeball the port to make sure nothing is jammed in there that might be affecting connections. Even a little lint could be the culprit.

To mostly rule out the variety of non-Apple hardware that is ejecting: if you have an older Mac running macOS before BigSur, try each attached to that for a while. If they don't eject there, you can mostly rule out the hardware + cable you are using if you move the same combo to your Silicon Mac and get ejections. The U in USB stands for Universal. The fundamental goal of USB is to "just work."

If beyond your return window, take it to an Apple store, demonstrate the issue and see if they can do anything. If not, maybe they will swap anyway or quote repair service.

The bulk of issues described in this and similar threads seem to rule out malfunctioning ports (like you describe). Instead, while the ports seem to work, the "unexpected ejections" happen anyway. I've invested a lot of time in this problem and I'm mostly convinced it is a software problem, not a hardware problem... though there are some related threads about the hardware, particularly that:
Both of those imply a potential HARDWARE issue, though I personally hope this is all related to macOS software needing bug fixes and refinements for Silicon. I wish I could boot this Studio into a macOS version BEFORE Big Sur to put my main hypothesis to the ultimate test. I strongly suspect that the "unexpected ejection" problem would no longer occur... exactly like I experience when the same enclosure with same cable are linked to my two Intel Macs running pre-Big Sur macOS.
 
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HDFan

Contributor
Jun 30, 2007
7,257
3,314
the moment I connect directly to the port without the hubs, they instantly work great.
If the devices work directly connected all of the M1 ports but fail when connected via a dock with certain ports it suggests a problem with the M1 Hub connection, either with the hub cable or its firmware/hardware.

Have you contacted Wavlink or Anker? If the devices work when directly connected I would put the onus on them. Amazon gives the Wavlink Thunderbolt3 a mediocre 3.3 rating. Reviews mention problems with disconnecting devices and no power to displays.

Which Anker hub are you using? Some models have multiple comments about displays and USB-A ports not working.
 

Leeleo

macrumors newbie
Oct 17, 2022
5
2
If the devices work directly connected all of the M1 ports but fail when connected via a dock with certain ports it suggests a problem with the M1 Hub connection, either with the hub cable or its firmware/hardware.

Have you contacted Wavlink or Anker? If the devices work when directly connected I would put the onus on them. Amazon gives the Wavlink Thunderbolt3 a mediocre 3.3 rating. Reviews mention problems with disconnecting devices and no power to displays.

Which Anker hub are you using? Some models have multiple comments about displays and USB-A ports not working.
thank you for the reply/

i am getting issues with only 1 of the 3 thunderbolt 4 ports on my M1 MAX.

both the anke TB4 dock and the WAVLINK TB3 dock, work really well on ports 1 and 3, but for some reason will not work with TB4 port 2 on my mac.

if I then decide to connect all drives (SSDs or HDDs or flash drives) directly to that same TB4 port, then they will all work perfectly well with no issues.

This is also happening with some USB3.0 hubs and dongles...they wont work well enough. some wont show anything at all, but others will show the connected SSD to that specific USB hu, but then they wont show the USB flash drive. super weird......could this be a damaged thunderbolt 4 port?.....but then again, the port does work when connected directly.

i attached a video s you can see what I'm talking about (I used a Targus USB c hub together with an SSD plugged into it as well as a USB2.0 connected to it).

please don't mind the language. its Portuguese. the idea is for you to have a visual idea of what I'm talking about.

the thunderbolt dock I'm using is an Anker Docking Station, 777 Thunderbolt4.

thanks

 

Leeleo

macrumors newbie
Oct 17, 2022
5
2
Leeleo, yours reads like a legit hardware issue with that port #2. Assuming you've tried at least 1 different cable hooked to port 2 to rule out a bad cable (not just plugging what might be ONE bad cable into a variety of things and then assuming the port), I suggest returning that Mac and getting another. However, carefully eyeball the port to make sure nothing is jammed in there that might be affecting connections. Even a little lint could be the culprit.

To mostly rule out the variety of non-Apple hardware that is ejecting: if you have an older Mac running macOS before BigSur, try each attached to that for a while. If they don't eject there, you can mostly rule out the hardware + cable you are using if you move the same combo to your Silicon Mac and get ejections. The U in USB stands for Universal. The fundamental goal of USB is to "just work."

If beyond your return window, take it to an Apple store, demonstrate the issue and see if they can do anything. If not, maybe they will swap anyway or quote repair service.

The bulk of issues described in this and similar threads seem to rule out malfunctioning ports (like you describe). Instead, while the ports seem to work, the "unexpected ejections" happen anyway. I've invested a lot of time in this problem and I'm mostly convinced it is a software problem, not a hardware problem... though there are some related threads about the hardware, particularly that:
Both of those imply a potential HARDWARE issue, though I personally hope this is all related to macOS software needing bug fixes and refinements for Silicon. I wish I could boot this Studio into a macOS version BEFORE Big Sur to put my main hypothesis to the ultimate test. I strongly suspect that the "unexpected ejection" problem would no longer occur... exactly like I experience when the same enclosure with same cable are linked to my two Intel Macs running pre-Big Sur macOS.
Darryl, thank you so much for your reply and insight.

After reading your comment, I immediately called the supplier and asked to get the mac replaced. I've had it for 2 weeks now, and I am very unhappy with this issue.

He will give me a shout soon to tell me about a replacement unit.

i live all the ay in Southern Africa, Mozambique, so things are very difficult in terms of repairs down here....besides that, M1 macs are extremely difficult to repair (when ports are concerned) so I heard...

I'm hoping the guy hits me up with good news as this is my workhorse and I need it to run my studio.

i will update you all on this.


thank you!
 

HDFan

Contributor
Jun 30, 2007
7,257
3,314
If I then decide to connect all drives (SSDs or HDDs or flash drives) directly to that same TB4 port, then they will all work perfectly well with no issues.

This points to the hubs and dongles being the problem.
 
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Leeleo

macrumors newbie
Oct 17, 2022
5
2
This points to the hubs and dongles being the problem.
Hey HDFan

ita what I initially thought, but I am pleased to let you all know that I have swapped out my M1MAX for a brand new one, out of the box, and things are working 100% fine.


i wanted to make sure that in my tests i was using the very same OS and also that i have the very same APPs installed on the machine. After i installed everything, i proceeded to run the tests which worked 100% fine so far....so far....😄
however, all the TB4 and TB3 docks i have work perfectly fine on all ports. they are doing the job just fine without any issues, so thats already a sign that it wasnt the hubs that were giving me issues, but the port itself. either way i am happy for now. hopefully this issue wont happen again.

thank you to everyone who tried to help! much appreciated!

Leo
 

lemonkid

macrumors regular
Dec 23, 2015
188
52
I have the problem on my MacBook Pro M1 13 while connected through WiFi. I have no dongles, hubs etc connected. Only TimeMachine is running during charge while 'sleeping'. I believe that my issue is software related. Because it started after Monterey. But it does NOT happen when I disable the automatic TimeMachine backups.

In about two days there will be a new release and I hope that will take care of the problem.

However some users that report their problem was gone after hardware replacement, could ofcourse see this improvement due to a different hardware/software combination that is less problematic.
 
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Leeleo

macrumors newbie
Oct 17, 2022
5
2
I have the problem on my MacBook Pro M1 13 while connected through WiFi. I have no dongles, hubs etc connected. Only TimeMachine is running during charge while 'sleeping'. I believe that my issue is software related. Because it started after Monterey. But it does NOT happen when I disable the automatic TimeMachine backups.

In about two days there will be a new release and I hope that will take care of the problem.

However some users that report their problem was gone after hardware replacement, could ofcourse see this improvement due to a different hardware/software combination that is less problematic.
Yea, I highly suspect your issue has to do with software mate. I doubt it it’s got something to do with hardware.

In my case it was definitely hardware, cause after getting a replacement unit, the issue isn’t there anymore. But it’s still too early for fireworks 😄
Let’s see in the next few days and even weeks if it remains the same. But so far so good.

Apple should pay more attention to this matter, otherwise people are going to become overly frustrated, and even those “small little glitches” will start to bother us on a much bigger scale.

I’ve used windows for many years, and I can tell you right now that a properly built laptop or desktop unit running windows 11 is solid and does a very good job, no problem.

I love my M1 MAX but if things keep going down this road, I’m going to have to go back to windows 🤦‍♂️🤷‍♂️
 
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