New iMac

[MacInWin]

There is another possibility. Some drive manufacturers have the drives stop spinning and go into an idle mode if they are not accessed after a few minutes (times vary). If that happens to be the case, then when the Mac goes into sleep mode, it stops querying the drive, the drive goes into its own sleep mode. When the Mac wakes up, it queries the drive, but the drive has to spin up before it can answer. That spin up time is too long for the operating system, which then issues the disconnected message to you. WD does that a lot for me. I use Amphetamine to "tickle" the drives and keep the MBP CPU awake even when the machine is otherwise idle. Consumes a little more power in that mode, but the error messages have disappeared. Here is the System Preferences setting to keep the CPU going. "Prevent computer from sleeping automatically when the display is off" and "Put hard disks to sleep when possible" are the two key items here:

 

[Jonzjob]

That sounds quite logical Jake, but the CCC and TM disks have been connected for an age now. The problem only started after I had switched the other 2 external disks on as well and now they are switched off again and the problem is carrying on.

As far as I know nothing has been changed on the system. No updates recently. Just to refresh, we are running it on OS 10.13.6 and it's been stable for an age up until now.

Sorry to be a pain.

 

[MacInWin]

Then I'm back to the cable or hub. They do fail.

 

[Jonzjob]

Right, I will see about changing the cables first and if that doesn't cure it then I'll plug into the back of the screen and by-pass the hub.

In fact it may be a good idea to do that first and plug straight in to the back.

 

[MacInWin]

In fact it may be a good idea to do that first and plug straight in to the back.

Yes, that would eliminate the hub as the culprit.

 

[Jonzjob]

Job for tomorrow! I have written me a note so that my highly trained brain cell won't forget. I hope?

 

[Jonzjob]

Job for tomorrow! I have written me a note so that my highly trained brain cell won't forget. I hope?

Job done this morning and so far no messages. TM and CCC are now connected directly in the back of the screen

 

[Howard Brazee]

We are about to start thinking of replacing our late 2009 iMac 21 1/2 machine and after looking at the 2-21 models I am a bit confused? That isn't difficult these daze!

So my question at the moment is what will I need to be able to plug everything in?

I bought a M1 iMac, ordering it before it came out. I got the model with 2 USB-C sockets and 2 Thunderbolt-3 sockets. Oh, and its cord has an Ethernet plug. The cheaper model of the M1 iMac is missing 2 of those sockets and the Ethernet. When I ordered that, I also ordered an external bus that has a bunch more plugs.

But every day I get windows saying—DISK NOT EJECTED PROPERLY Eject “BRAZEECARD” before disconnecting or turning it off.—, where "BRAZEECARD" is a USB drive plugged into that bus. Much less frequently do I get the same message about my Time Machine that is plugged directly in.

 

[jpdemers]

It could well be one or the other Jake, but if it's the cables then 2 have failed at the same time and when the other 2 HDDs were switched on it was still only the TM and CCC disks that are being shown as improperly being ejected?

I've had the same issue with a couple of external drives, hub or no hub, iMac or Mac Mini - I think it has to do with the firmware behind Apple's USB-A ports not playing nicely with certain drives' firmware. I've had zero trouble with the USB-C ports.

Re your original post, have you considered an M1 Mini? The money saved could go to a nice 27" or 32" monitor, and the Mini has a decent number of ports for external drives, card readers, etc. Any drive that dismounts repeatedly can be attached to one of the USB-C ports via a hub or adapter. That's how I replaced my 27" iMac, and I'm really happy with the result - the M1 is really quick. I solved the storage problem by replacing many of the folders in my home folder with aliases pointing to folders on an external drive, so things look pretty much as they did before the switch. (The USB-C connection is as fast, if not faster, than the internal SATA was on the old iMac.) A second external drive holds TM backups of everything.
Thanks to onboard memory, the M1 doesn't need as much RAM as the Intel processors, and the 8GB I got is rarely stressed, even with half a dozen apps open. I've gone from 1.0TB/16GB to 256G/8GB with no difficulty.

 

[Jim40]

Definitely allowed to say that...Apple definitely not perfect!. Consider all the terrible power supply cables for Apple portable products where the rubberized outer material breaks & splits.

For example:

View attachment 34630

Have you any idea if our USB keyboard is compatible with the mid range 24" model?

Practically any USB product with a USB-A style connector should still work. But will need an adapter/hub...since all the ports on the new 24" iMac are all USB-C style:

View attachment 34631
Screenshot from Apple.com of actual ports on 24" M1 iMac (all USB-C ports):

View attachment 34633
[/QUOTE]
These pictures remind me of every Mac I've had which uses the Mag Safe charger. Frayed cables !!! Only Mac that's not done it is my 2019 MacBook Air Retina which of course uses USB C for power with spare USB C cables really cheap on Amazon.

 

[Jonzjob]

I have to admit that I hadn't thought about a Mac Mini and it is something tat I will look into.

What actually comes when you get the Mini? Is it just the box and you have to supply the keyboard/mouse/screen/etc or does anything else come with it?

In fact, the screen I know is a separate item, but it's a long time since I have had an iMac and no idea which screen to start looking at these days?

 

[MacInWin]

The box and a power cable. No mouse, no keyboard, no screen.

 

[Jonzjob]

That is what I thought. I have had a look at the Apple site last night but had difficulty seeing it through my old bleary eyes so I'll try again today.

 

[Jonzjob]

Well, we have bit the bullet and ordered a mid range iMac with 8 gig of memory and a 1Tb SSD. Just got to wait about 4 or 5 weeks now for the delivery. Why it takes that long ???

Next on the list is the same situation my our mid 2010 MacBook Pro 13 and I think that will be a MacBook air 13 with a 250gig SSD.

Oh, and a new iPod Touch because our 2nd generation job is just starting to play up and lock out every now and then! Can anyone tell me if this is the latest jobbie and what year it is? I have a feeling that it's a 2019 model, but can't find that out?

I think that this is it.

iPod touch – Official Apple Support

Find out how to set up and use your iPod touch. Find all the topics, resources and contact options you need for your iPod touch.

www.apple.com

 

[chscag]

Just my opinion John, but buying an iPod Touch is a waste of money. Buy a better iPhone with more storage and use it for calls, texts, and to play your music and videos. No need for a Touch. Besides, I'm betting Apple will soon discontinue them the same way they have with other iPods.

 

[Jonzjob]

That's what the bloke told me in the Apple shop this morning Chas, but I don't use my phone much, a Moto G7 Power. I don't brows on it, I get the occasional text and send less and the only other thing I use is What's App. Oh, the camera occasionally with Lens to identify flowers and bits. And there's plenty of storage on there for us at 32 gig. No video and definitely no games.

The iPod we have is a second generation and donkeys years old and still on the original battery. I have a load of photos on there, all my music and It's used every evening for Audible for a couple of hours and it has to be well over ten years old. To replace it is £190 and that has wifi, camera, in fact the only thing it doesn't have is the phone and an iPhone is £500 more expensive.

I'm not trying to do down your help Chas. You have helped me too much in the past to even think of doing that, but with our other expenses it's just that bridge too far mate.

If the replacement last another 10 years there will be something far better to replace it, I'll bet?

 

[Jonzjob]

We now have our new iMac on order. Just a 4 or 5 week wait for it now as it has a 1Tb SSD and not a stock item.

Now I need to find out what programs we have that are compatible. I know that they have to be 64 bit, but is there any way of checking which are and those which are 32 bit? I have a horrible feeling that I'm going to have to go through a long list one by one to check this but with not being sure where to start? Sorry to be a thicky :-((

 

[MacInWin]

Easy. Just get Go64 from here: Go64 It identifies 32 and 64 bit apps and other files for you.

 

[Jonzjob]

Jake, I don't care what anyone says, I recon that you are a gentleman mate.

Thank you yet again! I am on our MBP at the moment but I will get into that on the iMac tomorrow.

 

[pm-r]

Just my opinion John, but buying an iPod Touch is a waste of money. Buy a better iPhone with more storage and use it for calls, texts, and to play your music and videos. No need for a Touch. Besides, I'm betting Apple will soon discontinue them the same way they have with other iPods.

I think you might be pretty close to what is happening in the Apple supply lines, Chaz..

Refurbished Apple iPod touch

The product you’re looking for is currently unavailable. Please try again later.

Refurbished iPod Deals - Apple (CA)

Discover and buy a refurbished iPod with 1-year warranty. You can save up to 15% on all selected items. Shop online and enjoy free delivery.

www.apple.com

But a dedicated mad local Apple iPod user I was speaking to some weeks ago probably sees things differently who just adores his iPod and its music capabilities, and maybe some of its other capabilities, but honestly I can't even see anything on its screen with my failing eyesight and I don't do very much with music. But it should still last him for a number of years longer, and there is no advantage to purchasing a new one that I can see.


- Patrick
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