Which external drive does not cause the "Disk Not Ejected Properly" error? (MacMini M2)

[Burgerb]

What is your reliable external hard drive that does not eject when your MAC goes to sleep? Any recommendation welcomed!

I was ready to pull the plug on the OWC miniStack STX but then I read in comments that users get the "Disk Not Ejected Properly" error.

I tried a lot of things but constantly get the error message that the "Disk Not Ejected Properly"

I don't look for a back-up drive but a reliable 'working' drive to edit my photos, videos & documents. (SSD or eNVM, doesn't need to be portable or rugged, just sits on my desk as a storage extension for my mac)

My set-up:
Mac mini 2023
Os: Ventura 13.5.2 (22G91)

Thanks for any help!!!

 

[MacsBug]

Basically the only times that I have seen this error is when the External Drive is connected via a Hub or Dock. Have you tried plugging the drive into one of the ports on your mini to see if the error goes away?

 

[Burgerb]

Yes. Always connected directly to the port on the Mac mini.
What do you use for external storage?

 

[TonyAguila]

What is your reliable external hard drive that does not eject when your MAC goes to sleep? Any recommendation welcomed!

I was ready to pull the plug on the OWC miniStack STX but then I read in comments that users get the "Disk Not Ejected Properly" error.

I tried a lot of things but constantly get the error message that the "Disk Not Ejected Properly"

I don't look for a back-up drive but a reliable 'working' drive to edit my photos, videos & documents. (SSD or eNVM, doesn't need to be portable or rugged, just sits on my desk as a storage extension for my mac)

My set-up:
Mac mini 2023
Os: Ventura 13.5.2 (22G91)

Thanks for any help!!!

Personally, all, or maybe 99.99% of my experience with “Disk Not Ejected Properly” were connected to specific drive enclosures—hard drives and SSDs, ATA or NVMe. Not counting other factors like power outages or sheer stupidity, I’m confident that it is caused mainly by the enclosure hardware. For me, the only solution is to return the item if possible, or simply trash it.

From personal experience I would recommend getting a single NVMe enclosure (I have a couple… three, actually, one in reserve). I say get the Acasis tool-free NVMe enclosure. It recently was going for $99 on Amazon (thus my reason for having three) so you can wait if you can afford the wait. If you have the M2 Pro mini, you probably don’t need a Thunderbolt hub. If you have the non-Pro with two ports, you may have to invest in a good TB4 hub. I have the CalDigit Thunderbolt 4 Element Hub and perfectly happy with it. As for the SSD for it, I’m on my third Western Digital BLACK 4TB SN850X SSD. I’m sure the 2-TB will perform as well, capacity aside.

I don’t know if the case of your Mac mini gets hot. My intel Mac mini used to, and I had to have my bag of frozen peas ready to cool it down, but my Studio is absolutely room-temperature cool, so I use it as a heatsink for the external SSDs. That’s the main thing to worry about these cases since they don’t have active (fan) cooling. I use them principally as test beds for Monterey, Ventura, and Sonoma, plus other data that would benefit from the speed.

I also recommend, when you’re ready, upgrading to Sonoma. If you wish to stick with Ventura, I suggest updating to 13.6 but not to build 22G109! That was a disaster. Make sure it’s build 22G120. Enjoy!

 

[Burgerb]

Hi Tony,
As always, good to hear from you

I do have the M2 Pro mini and would like to avoid getting another hub - you recommended the Sonnetech at one point - but I don't need all of those ports. Just need a functioning external drive. The Acasis enclosure look great. I'll get one.

Currently, all my data on a SanDisk 2.5" 4TB SSD Drive. Do you have a recommendation on how I can get the data from that drive? Are there enclosures that would work here? I tried the Qwiizlab hub - but that one failed miserable. I used a simple SABRENT USB 3.1 (Type A) to SSD / 2.5 Inch SATA Hard Drive Adapter . Which worked for a while but is now collapsing as well.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[TonyAguila]

Hi Tony,
As always, good to hear from you

I do have the M2 Pro mini and would like to avoid getting another hub - you recommended the Sonnetech at one point - but I don't need all of those ports. Just need a functioning external drive. The Acasis enclosure look great. I'll get one.

Currently, all my data on a SanDisk 2.5" 4TB SSD Drive. Do you have a recommendation on how I can get the data from that drive? Are there enclosures that would work here? I tried the Qwiizlab hub - but that one failed miserable. I used a simple SABRENT USB 3.1 (Type A) to SSD / 2.5 Inch SATA Hard Drive Adapter . Which worked for a while but is now collapsing as well.

Thanks for any advice.

Since that SanDisk drive is a 2.5" ATA drive, unless you need it to be connected to your Mac mini for extended periods, there are many external ATA enclosures out there. But if you want one just so you can connect your SanDisk for short periods, my choice would still be the SABRENT USB 3.1 (Type A) SATA Hard Drive Adapter. I have had it since 2019 and still going strong. But I only use it for creating 2.5" SATA drives (ATA or SSD) as bootable macOS software installers, or to transfer data from 2.5" bare ATA drives to my Mac.

If you want an external SSD for long-term use, you should get into NVMe SSDs. I have three, external, all using the Acasis tool-free NVMe enclosure. I won’t use anything else. It recently went for $99 on Amazon so I grabbed one. It usually sells for $140.

 

[Burgerb]

Thanks for the response. I just ordered the Acasis enclosure and WD 4TB NVMe drive. Hope that fixes my issues.

Regarding the SABRENT USB 3.1 (Type A) SATA Hard Drive Adapter - it worked for a while, but now - whenever I attach it to my MacMini port it gives me problems. I don't know why... I haven't done anything it just had it sitting on my iMac.

 

[TonyAguila]

Thanks for the response. I just ordered the Acasis enclosure and WD 4TB NVMe drive. Hope that fixes my issues.

Regarding the SABRENT USB 3.1 (Type A) SATA Hard Drive Adapter - it worked for a while, but now - whenever I attach it to my MacMini port it gives me problems. I don't know why... I haven't done anything it just had it sitting on my iMac.

Is that a SanDisk drive? I’m still using my Sabrent adapter but not connected for extended times. When I had my intel Mac mini, it was used a great deal more, but as far as I remember, always with Samsung ATA SSDs. How about trying it with another brand. I should not demean SanDisk because I used to design and work on their corporate promotional materials, but I was never enamored with their drives. If you can get your hands, maybe borrow, another brand of drive, you might be able to narrow down the cause.

I’ve had that Sabrent adapter for at least five years, and still going strong, albeit with system installers.

 

[Burgerb]

Hey @TonyAguila - I did as Tony said and got the Acasis enclosure and the WD SN 850X NVMe (4TB) Drive. Everything works great so far! Thank you for the advice!

Do you have a recommendation regarding the thermal pads? I saw in a YT video that you have to remove the stickers from the drive before attaching them - but that would cancel the warranty.

 

[TonyAguila]

Hey @TonyAguila - I did as Tony said and got the Acasis enclosure and the WD SN 850X NVMe (4TB) Drive. Everything works great so far! Thank you for the advice!

Do you have a recommendation regarding the thermal pads? I saw in a YT video that you have to remove the stickers from the drive before attaching them - but that would cancel the warranty.

No need to remove the sticker on the SSD, and I use the thicker (1 mm.) thermal pad myself. If your mini is close to room temperature on top, I would place the drive on it. I had it on my desk for a while and I noticed it was getting warm. The Studio is a nice heatsink. Your SSD’s biggest enemy is heat.

I have my third set, waiting to be assembled. Enjoy!