---
id: external-drives.eject-vs-unmount-a-drive
url: https://storagestudio.us/faq/external-drives/eject-vs-unmount-a-drive
category: "External drives"
subcategory: "Ejecting and reconnecting"
question: "What's the difference between ejecting and unmounting a drive?"
alt_questions:
  - "Unmount vs eject Disk Utility"
  - "Unmount one volume without ejecting drive"
  - "How do I unmount just one partition?"
  - "disk utility unmount button"
short_answer: "Unmounting takes one volume offline while the drive stays connected; ejecting unmounts all its volumes so the device can be unplugged. Unmount a single volume in Disk Utility, but always eject before unplugging."
tags: ["eject", "unmount", "disk utility"]
related: ["https://storagestudio.us/faq/external-drives/how-do-i-safely-eject-my-fast-drive", "https://storagestudio.us/faq/external-drives/how-do-i-eject-all-external-drives-at-once", "https://storagestudio.us/faq/external-drives/drive-shows-in-disk-utility-but-not-finder"]
applies_to: "all"
last_reviewed: 2026-10-01
---

# What's the difference between ejecting and unmounting a drive?

**Unmounting** takes one volume offline so nothing can use it, while the drive stays connected. **Ejecting** unmounts every volume on the drive and tells macOS the whole device is about to be disconnected. Before unplugging, always eject.

Unmounting a single volume is handy when a drive has several and you only want to stop one — select it in Disk Utility and click **Unmount**; **Mount** brings it back without unplugging. For the drive Storage Studio uses, eject from Storage Studio so apps running from it are closed first — see [how to eject the fast drive safely](https://storagestudio.us/faq/external-drives/how-do-i-safely-eject-my-fast-drive).