---
id: external-drives.stop-disk-not-ejected-properly-after-sleep
url: https://storagestudio.us/faq/external-drives/stop-disk-not-ejected-properly-after-sleep
category: "External drives"
subcategory: "Mounting and drive problems"
question: "How do I stop \"Disk Not Ejected Properly\" warnings every time my Mac sleeps?"
alt_questions:
  - "Drive ejects when Mac goes to sleep"
  - "External drive disconnects during sleep MacBook"
  - "Disk not ejected properly after waking Mac"
  - "How do I keep my external drive mounted while the Mac sleeps?"
  - "hub drops drive when mac sleeps"
short_answer: "Something is cutting power to the drive while the Mac sleeps — usually a hub or dock. Plug the drive directly into the Mac, use a good cable, and on a desktop turn off hard-disk sleep in Energy settings if your drive struggles to wake."
tags: ["sleep", "eject", "hub", "disconnect"]
related: ["https://storagestudio.us/faq/external-drives/what-does-disk-not-ejected-properly-mean", "https://storagestudio.us/faq/external-drives/does-my-mac-sleep-affect-the-fast-drive", "https://storagestudio.us/faq/external-drives/should-i-plug-the-drive-into-a-hub-or-directly"]
applies_to: "all"
last_reviewed: 2026-10-01
---

# How do I stop "Disk Not Ejected Properly" warnings every time my Mac sleeps?

When the warning appears after every sleep, the connection is being cut while the Mac sleeps — usually by a hub, dock or adapter that powers down its ports, or by a bus-powered drive that can't wake reliably. Connecting the drive straight to a port on the Mac fixes it in most cases.

Try, in order:

1. Plug the drive directly into the Mac instead of through a hub or dock.
2. Use the cable that came with the drive, or another known-good one.
3. If you must use a dock, use one with its own power supply.
4. On a desktop Mac, check **System Settings → Energy** (or Energy Saver) for an option to put hard disks to sleep, and turn it off if your drive struggles to wake.

If the drive still drops out, test it with **First Aid** and on another port — an intermittent drive is worth replacing before it fails. Storage Studio pauses its moves while the drive is away and carries on when it returns.