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This week a reader writes: I’ve a Mac desktop with two 1 terabyte exterior SSDs, one used for Time Machine backups and one for my every day information.
As I perceive it, these drives should be “ejected” earlier than disconnecting them. I’ve discovered that after energy outages (not usually) I’ve to disconnect and reconnect the cables earlier than the drives will energy again up. Now, the “information” drive is taking 3–5 minutes to energy again up (which scares me). Is that this trigger for concern?
Which ends up in my second query—I can not seem to configure Time Machine to again up the SSD “information” drive, seemingly as a result of it is an exterior drive. I’ve been copying a mirror picture of the “information” drive again onto the Mac inside drive for security nevertheless it takes 2–3 hours and must be achieved manually. Any solutions?
Reply: The truth that an exterior drive takes a couple of minutes to mount isn’t uncommon. I searched and located loads of individuals who have this similar situation.
Apple does some drive integrity checks when the drive is powering on earlier than it can current it to you within the Finder. Different elements that may gradual issues down embrace the formatting of the drive.
Some inquiries to ask: Is the drive near full? How outdated is it? How is it connecting to the Mac? Is it plugged immediately into the Mac or via a hub? Is it a USB drive or does it join through Thunderbolt? Addressing any of this stuff might assist. It additionally helps to maintain your working system up-to-date.
If the drive is an older USB mannequin, you would possibly take into account upgrading to a more recent mannequin that connects through Thunderbolt.
Apple has an app known as Disk Utility preinstalled on all Macs. Open Disk Utility and you may choose the exterior drive from a listing of linked volumes and there’s a Disk First Assist choice to run a guide verify on the disk to determine any points value noting.
Stable state drives are nice as a result of they’re quick and don’t have any transferring components, however they may put on out finally.
As for Time Machine, Apple’s backup utility, you should utilize it to again up exterior drives. This selection is off by default in Time Machine, however in the event you open the Time Machine system settings and click on the Choices button.
It’s best to see a listing of drives and folders Apple excludes from the backup. It’s best to see your exterior drives listed there. Click on on them to spotlight the drive and click on the—(minus) on the backside of the listing to take away the drive from the excluded listing and start the backup of your exterior drive.
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