The disk "..." wasnt ejected because one or more programs may be using it. MacMini M4Pro Sequoia. Check iCloud synch

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Level 1

14 points

The disk "..." wasnt ejected because one or more programs may be using it. MacMini M4Pro Sequoia. Check iCloud synch

My new MacMini 4M Pro w/Sequoia kept saying "The disk "..." wasn't ejected because one or more programs may be using it. Other discs ejected fine. I tried everything I found online, using terminal commands to find whatever was engaging the disc, disk utility check, the activity monitor, and even moving the disc into the privacy window of Spotlight so it wouldn't be indexed. Finally I called Apple support and spent a long time before finally realizing that when booting up in safe mode, with no background apps running, the disc ejected. When I got to an expert he wondered if iCloud was involved. The disc in question had several Photos libraries on it. I said I didn't use iCloud for photos backup. I'd already disabled every start up option (System Preferences>General>Login items>Open at Login). But we checked iCloud synch: System Preferences>Your name/Apple ID>iCloud>Apps using iCloud>Photos, and found that indeed, even though I thought I hadn't synched any Photos libraries to iCloud, "Synch this Mac" was turned on, and the library being synched was on that hard drive that would not eject.

This might be a super specific problem/issue, but if it saves you hours of work, great. Something to check.

Mac mini, macOS 15.5

Posted on Jul 22, 2025 7:41 PM

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Answer 1

BDAqua

Level 10

250,253 points

Jul 23, 2025 6:25 PM in response to Edward A.

We need to see what all is running, a report from this will not display any personal info...

Using EtreCheck - Apple Community

EtreCheck is a FREE simple little diagnostic tool to display the important details of your system configuration and allow you to copy that information to the Clipboard. It is meant to be used with Apple Support Communities to help people help you with your Mac. It will not display any personal info. Give it Full Disk Access.

https://www.etrecheck.com/

Give etrecheck Full Disk Access before running.

Thanks for Old Toad’s etrecheck instructions…

Slow iMac 2017 - Apple Community

Earlier versions of etrecheck...

https://macdownload.informer.com/etrecheck/versions/

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Answer 2

Owl-53

Level 10

102,385 points

Jul 24, 2025 1:49 AM in response to Edward A.

Although this is related to a Third Party Cloning software.

The issue of DisMounting an External Drive prevails in your computer setup

The up start would be to Turn Spotlight Off for the External Drive containing your Photo Library

https://support.bombich.com/hc/en-us/articles/20686422368663-Why-can-t-I-eject-the-destination-volume-after-the-backup-task-has-completed

Applications that frequently prevent volumes from unmounting

Photos (mediaanalysisd)

Finding the offending file and application

If you've just seen a dialog that a volume can't be ejected, you can find the offending item in the Terminal application. Open the Terminal application and paste in the following:

sudo lsof | grep "CCC Backup"

Replace "CCC Backup" with the name of your own backup volume, then press the Return key.

Once you have disabled Spotlight indexing, Spotlight should immediately cease indexing activity on that volume. The same underlying problem that might be causing Spotlight to fail to release an open file, however, (e.g. a stall) may also prevent Spotlight from ceasing the indexing activity. If you are still unable to unmount the volume after a) confirming that it was Spotlight with an open file, and b) adding the volume to the Spotlight Privacy table, you can either terminate the mds and mds_stores processes in the Activity Monitor application, or simply restart the system.

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Answer 3

Edward A. Author

Level 1

14 points

Jul 23, 2025 5:55 PM in response to BDAqua

Thank you for that. Although... I hate to say it, but the same thing is happening again today. "The disk "...." wasn't ejected..." I don't have another 1 1/2 hours right now to call back for help. I just have to live with turning off the computer whenever I need to eject an external hard drive, which is a real drag because I use different ones regularly with my work. We did find that that didn't happen when I booted up in safe mode, so something is working with my ext. hds that's not readily apparent. I've done all the updates for Sequoia and my Studio monitor via thunderbolt. It's also plugged into a Dell monitor via hdmi. Maybe that's a problem? I'll report back when I find something. Maybe undoing the icloud synch will work for some, I hope.

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Answer 4

markwmsn

Level 6

16,715 points

Jul 23, 2025 9:02 PM in response to Edward A.

Even apart from iCloud sync, it is not surprising to find a volume containing a Photos library in use if the various background processes that maintain the indices inside the library have unfinished business or think they need to scan for content.

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Answer 5

BDAqua

Level 10

250,253 points

Jul 23, 2025 12:58 AM in response to Edward A.

Good work, nice tip my friend.

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