My G-Raid drive won't stay mounted to my Mac Studio (Thunderbolt connection)

Question

Level 1

11 points

My G-Raid drive won't stay mounted to my Mac Studio (Thunderbolt connection)

Since purchasing my Mac Studio (2022 M1 Max), I haven't been able to mount my G-Raid 4TB Thunderbolt drive. I think the connection is Thunderbolt 1, or maybe 2. I have it connected with an adapter to the Thunderbolt 4 port. All Apple products (cable and adapter).

It will sometimes mount, and quickly eject. Other times it won't mount at all. And other times, it will mount and stay mounted (rarely), as long as I don't let the computer sleep.

So it it basically incompatible? I know the drive works properly, as it worked fine on my previous computer as well as my MBP. At this point I don't even want it, I just want it to stay mounted long enough to sort the files and transfer them to an SSD and move on. Shouldn't there be a way to connect it?

This is the drive, if that helps:

Thanks.

Mac Studio (2022)

Posted on Jun 11, 2023 10:43 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Jun 12, 2023 11:11 AM in response to RVC5

Re: Apple ThunderBolt-3 <-> ThunderBolt-2 adapter

I seem to remember that there used to be a disclaimer on that Apple adapter. That it specifically did not work with the G-Drive RAID. That disclaimer has since been removed, as the support article was updated.

I suggest you contact the drive-maker and see if there is a firmware update for the controller inside that drive.

Reply

Answer 2

RVC5 Author

Level 1

11 points

Jun 12, 2023 10:14 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Thanks for the reply.

To be clear, it's not the issue when my computer goes to sleep that is the main problem. It won't mount, and if it does, it doesn't stay mounted, it ejects after a few seconds. There are the rare moments when it does stay mounted.

So from what you're saying, it's about the power supply. That makes sense. Is it that the power isn't transferring properly through the adapter? Maybe Thunderbolt 1 to 4 is not reliable?

There isn't a problem with the power supply in general, if that's what you're asking. It works fine elsewhere, it just has a problem with this Studio. And I am using an adapter. I'll show you the setup in a photo.

Reply

Answer 3

Jun 12, 2023 6:17 AM in response to RVC5

The usual underlying cause of symptoms like yours is that Bus-powered drives especially older Bus-powered drives, do not respond well when all Bus power drops to a standby level during sleep.

But I see you have an external power supply, providing a beefy 4 Amps at 12 Volts. Is that power supply still working properly? Easiest experiment is no-load test for 12 Volts with a multi-meter, just to improve confidence.

if no obvious solution is forthcoming, you MAY be able to hook up the separate drives with adapters and attempt to reconstruct your data that way. Is it actually organized as a RAID? What software was used to Create the RAID, if any?

Reply

Answer 4

RVC5 Author

Level 1

11 points

Jun 12, 2023 10:27 AM in response to RVC5

I'm sorry, I'm just realizing what you're saying now. About connecting the separate drives (I'm not super techie). I think taking the drive apart to mount each would be too complicated. And I do think it's set up as a raid array. No other software, just plug and play. Maybe it isn't set up properly, if you're saying it needs software.

In any case, I'll just use a different computer to sort out the contents, transfer and then sell it. It's not worth the problem to get it working.

Thanks.

Reply