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Disk not ejected properly (macOS 11.2.3, SoftRAID 6.0.1 b53, ThunderBlade 8TB)

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(@joseph)
Posts: 4
Active Member
Topic starter
 

Questions:

Can you suggest a cause of the problem below?

Is there anything I can do to prevent the problem below from recurring?

Is this a situation which should be monitored closely or raised to OWC as a warranty/RMA issue?

Please let me know, or if you need any additional details. Thank you very much!

Best Regards, Joseph

 

Problem:

While using my computer, I received a "disk not ejected properly" system dialog. Upon launching SoftRAID, the volume was labelled with degraded, missing disk, and i/o errors. One of the disks making up that stripe volume was missing from the disk column. After rebooting, the disk appears to be working normally.

Hardware and configuration:

iMac Pro

macOS 11.2.3

System Preferences > Energy Saver > Put hard disks to sleep... is unchecked.

SoftRAID version 6.0.1 b53, Driver 6.0.1 b53

OWC ThunderBlade 8TB - this unit is an RMA after the original received an "disk must be replaced immediately" error from SoftRAID.

Log entries:

Mar 26 15:43:56 - SoftRAID Driver: A disk (disk3, SoftRAID ID: 08D67F711F8CA580) for the SoftRAID volume "Storage-Media-Production-01" (disk6) was removed or stopped responding while the volume was mounted and in use.
Mar 26 15:43:56 - SoftRAID Driver: The SoftRAID volume "Storage-Media-Production-01" (disk6) encountered an error (E00002E4). A program attempted to read or write to a volume which was no longer accepting i/o requests.
Mar 26 15:44:42 - SoftRAID Application: Launching application: SoftRAID version 6.0.1 b53

 
Posted : 26/03/2021 5:02 pm
sney23 reacted
(@softraid-support)
Posts: 8005
Member Admin
 

Attach a SoftRAID Tech Support file adn I can give better feedback or ask some questions.

Most disk ejects are Apple/intel Thunderbolt issues. But not all.

 
Posted : 26/03/2021 11:30 pm
(@joseph)
Posts: 4
Active Member
Topic starter
 

 

Please find file attached. Thank you!

 
Posted : 28/03/2021 10:32 am
(@softraid-support)
Posts: 8005
Member Admin
 

Disk ejecting issues are very annoying. This is essentially a intel/Apple Thunderbolt issue, where one of the Thunderbolt chips reset (crash), instantly powering off the disks, which is why the message appears.

 

Make sure your cable is tightly inserted. That may help, as well as uncheck "Put drives to sleep."

 
Posted : 28/03/2021 3:15 pm
(@joseph)
Posts: 4
Active Member
Topic starter
 

Thank you for the rapid reply. I have already unchecked "Put drives to sleep...", and double-checked my cable connections. I believe that all that's left to do is monitor closely and reboot if the problem repeats. Thanks again.

 
Posted : 29/03/2021 8:44 am
(@sney23)
Posts: 5
Active Member
 

@softraid-support

hi there, I'm having a similar issue recently, 

2020 iMac
OWC Thunderbay 4 on an OWC Thunderbolt 2 Dock talking to the mac via a thunderbolt 3 port (with an adapter)

Primarily running Premier/video editing

The mac wakes from sleep with disk eject warnings for the OWC and the other dock I have with multiple external HDD's (JBOD), I just turned on 'prevent computer from sleeping/keep hard disks on' to see if it improves, but your other point is noted that it could just be an issue with the Thunderbolt Controller and out of your hands.

I did see the OWC just disappear on it's own a few mins ago, but it also came back a moment later and Premier didn't offline all the media, so it was just a blip.

Generally the problem has been happening for 6 to 9 months and I've only had this Mac since last November.

 
Posted : 24/09/2021 2:25 pm
(@softraid-support)
Posts: 8005
Member Admin
 

@sney23

Does it get better if you set not to sleep?

Have you made sure all connections are as secure as possible and are not ever jiggled?

 
Posted : 24/09/2021 2:46 pm
(@sney23)
Posts: 5
Active Member
 

@softraid-support

I have a pretty sturdy setup and I highly doubt I have loose connections. As for telling the mac not to sleep, I've switched that on for today's work session, but the problem arises when I step away form the computer too/take a break and then come back e.g. 10 mins later and I've got a bunch of disk eject messages (sometimes).

I've never had it happen while I was actively working. I agree it may be an Apple issue and I'm hitting up their support too, but as per usual, having to spend time on forums trouble shooting is stealing even more time from my day...

 
Posted : 24/09/2021 2:51 pm
(@softraid-support)
Posts: 8005
Member Admin
 

@sney23

You can unmount your volume (not sure if you have to unplug also) when walking away. Frustrating, I understand.

 
Posted : 24/09/2021 3:20 pm
(@sney23)
Posts: 5
Active Member
 

@softraid-support

lol, thanks for trying to help, but that's just not going to work for me. I'll unmount volumes in the evening when I wrap, but honestly I need to be able to walk away from my computer during the day - frequently - and not have my drives fall off.

 
Posted : 24/09/2021 3:46 pm
(@softraid-support)
Posts: 8005
Member Admin
 

@sney23

Set sleep for never, then just sleep it when you leave for the day. (I recommend for you to unmount at minimum)

Or try setting sleep for a few hours (4) and see if that is workable.

YOu can try different cables also, sometimes the trigger for the eject is cables.

 
Posted : 24/09/2021 4:50 pm
(@sney23)
Posts: 5
Active Member
 

@softraid-support

that's useful to know about the cables, though these cables have been solid for some time. I spoke to Apple and have a further call with their senior support soon, but in the interim their known solution to the issue is to do the workaround mentioned above - 

System Preferences > Energy Saver >

Prevent Computer from sleeping auto (Set to ON)
Put Hard Disks to Sleep when possible (Set to OFF)

I actually just lest these settings on today and sent my computer to sleep manually when I went to get the kid from school and waking the computer 2 hours later resulted in no kicked drives, so so far so good. I'll report back if Apple's senior support has any more insight.

 
Posted : 24/09/2021 6:06 pm
(@softraid-support)
Posts: 8005
Member Admin
 

@sney23

This has been the "interim solution" for 7 years now. Oh, well. Let me know if this works 100% for you or not.

 
Posted : 25/09/2021 2:44 am
(@sney23)
Posts: 5
Active Member
 

just wanted to update the thread to say I solved this issue, but not in the way we might have expected:

During the 2 hour support call w/Apple we isolated devices in my setup of multiple screens and hard drives, and docks etc.

We didn't solve the issue on the call, but the tech seemed suspicious of my 2nd monitor, and after the call the drive dismount issue happened again literally while I was editing (complete nightmare!). My second monitor also stopped powering on as I scrambled to save projects etc.

So I swapped the HDMI cable (I should at least explain my Mac talks to an OWC Thunderbolt 2 Dock and from that is connected an OWC Thunderbay4 RAID, my Ethernet, External Monitor, and a Sabrent 4 Slot HDD Dock) my HDMI for Monitor 2 is fed into this same Dock/Hub and I swapped the cable for a different cable and everything resolved super stable, no errors, and also running more smoothly than in recent memory.

No more drive dismount issue. No more issues with the second monitor flickering during the computer sleep or flickering during operation. I'm assuming the cable was creating some kind of problem with the Thunderbolt 2 Dock (it's a hub) which was subsequently kicking off all the other connected devices to it, which now that Mac is putting hardly any ports on it's computers the responsibility of I/O is being punted to 3rd party devices like the Thunderbolt Dock...which seems risky for Apple's brand but what do I know?

Anyway, this may not be the answer others are looking for, but it was the answer for me and may help others. 

 
Posted : 26/09/2021 2:31 pm
(@softraid-support)
Posts: 8005
Member Admin
 

@sney23

Thanks,it makes sense also as multiple devices increase the chances that one device can cause mischief. Cables Thunderbolt are no longer passive strips of wire, they are computers in themselves and can wear out, especially the most expensive Fiber cables (that run long lengths so you can isolate your enclosure from the work area, important for audio work).

 

the Mac Pro 2013 was a start in the right direction, if only all Macs had 6 thunderbolt port options.

 

Thanks for the update!

 
Posted : 26/09/2021 4:29 pm
sney23 reacted
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