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SheerGold · Oct 17, 2008, 04:05 PM

Sometimes a hard drive will not "unmount" because there are applications being run from it.

Is there a way to find out what those applications are?

analogika · Oct 17, 2008, 04:50 PM

Not because applications are being run from it - because running applications have files open from it.

Chuckit · Oct 17, 2008, 04:56 PM

Command-click your running applications and see which ones open a folder on that disk?

SheerGold · Oct 17, 2008, 06:20 PM

In fact I WAS enquiring about applications running FROM (or ON, if that is a better term) the external hard drive.

In other words: the application is on the external hard drive.

Mac User #001 · Oct 17, 2008, 08:32 PM

Right, but an application doesn't run on the hard drive. It is accessing and storing files on that hard drive though, hence what analogika said.

SheerGold · 01:27 AM

Originally Posted by Mac User #001

Right, but an application doesn't run on the hard drive. It is accessing and storing files on that hard drive though, hence what analogika said.

BUT I am trying to find the Apps that are running FROM the external HD (even though they will be running in RAM).

NOT the apps accessing & storing files on the ext HD.

I have copies of Apps on the external HD.
I have found occasionally that when opening a document on the main HD that the computer will use the Application not in the main Applications Folder, BUT it will use the Application that resides on the external HD.
OK, the computer should not do that. BUT it occasionally does.
Then when I want to unmount the external HD, I cannot.
BUT I don't know which Apps have started up from the ext HD.
Of course I could quit ALL my apps. But I usually don't want to. I just want to find which Apps have started up from the Ext HD.

Simon · Oct 18, 2008, 02:32 AM

Hidden in the semantic pissing contest above, you were already given the correct answer:

Originally Posted by Chuckit

Command-click your running applications and see which ones open a folder on that disk?

SheerGold · Oct 18, 2008, 02:37 AM

Originally Posted by Simon

You were already given the crrect answer:

You are WRONG!

Please try READING ALL OF WHAT I SAID before giving an INCORRECT ANSWER.

Simon · Oct 18, 2008, 02:49 AM

It is you who isn't reading.

If you cmd-click running apps in the Dock you will see their path. That will immediately tell you which ones are running from your external HD and which aren't. Just like Chuckit pointed out above.

And please stop shouting. It's annoying.

chris v · Oct 18, 2008, 09:31 AM

Comand+click or right click on the running application in your dock and choose "Show in Finder." The Finder will then open a Finder window which shows the application at its location on the hard drive on which it is stored. If you're unsure about what location you're looking at, there are two ways to easily clarify this in the Finder.

1. View>Show Path Bar. This will display the directory path at the bottom of the Finder window, and will show you which drive is at the root level.

2. View>Customize Toolbar..., then drag the "Path" icon into the toolbar. When clicked, this icon will reveal the folder structure, as well as the drive at the root level.

Sometimes, OS X will errantly give you a "disk could not be ejected" dialog regardless of the fact that nothing on the drive is being used, due to some sort of errant association. When this happens to me, I log out of my account, then back in, which always clears it up.

Cold Warrior · Oct 18, 2008, 09:48 AM

Originally Posted by SheerGold

when opening a document on the main HD that the computer will use the Application not in the main Applications Folder, BUT it will use the Application that resides on the external HD.
OK, the computer should not do that. BUT it occasionally does.

Some document types or even particular documents may be associated with the undesired version of the application. Get Info on the document, then under 'Open with' choose the desired application and click 'Change All...' to make it effective for all of those document types.

Hal Itosis · 10:49 AM

ps ax |grep [/]Volumes/

But i agree with folks above that emphasized *docs* "open" on the external disk.
Often it's Spotlight (or even Finder) hung up on a .DS_Store or some trashed item,
or something Preview previously opened, etc.

For that you can use lsof (which you've already learned, having posted this same
thread at macosxhints and macfixit... and whoknowswhereelse.

).

Mac User #001 · 05:27 PM

Originally Posted by Simon

And please stop shouting. It's annoying.

LOL

EDIT: For some reason, nothing in this post will capitalize. It's uncapped "And", "LOL", and even "Simon."

EDIT 2: Somehow I knew my edit would be capitalized...

EDIT 3: And now it's all capped as normal. Weird.

chris v · Oct 18, 2008, 05:01 PM

Originally Posted by SheerGold

You are WRONG!

Please try READING ALL OF WHAT I SAID before giving an INCORRECT ANSWER.

I should make this my signature. It'd be handy in teh lounge.

ghporter · Oct 18, 2008, 06:19 PM

One fact that should be immediately clear to everyone is that to RUN an application that's housed on any particular drive, that app MUST OPEN THE APP'S FILES on that drive. In other words, what ChuckIt said is 100% accurate. Try it with something like Safari, and you find where Apple has decided to install Safari's files: in Applications. This really does work.

Cold Warrior · Oct 18, 2008, 06:24 PM

Originally Posted by Mac User #001

LOL

EDIT: For some reason, nothing in this post will capitalize. It's uncapped "And", "LOL", and even "Simon."

EDIT 2: Somehow I knew my edit would be capitalized...

EDIT 3: And now it's all capped as normal. Weird.

a post that contains only all caps will be downgraded. However, if it contains a mix, then the ALL CAPS section will remain.

Mac User #001 · Oct 18, 2008, 06:42 PM

Originally Posted by Cold Warrior

a post that contains only all caps will be downgraded. However, if it contains a mix, then the ALL CAPS section will remain.

Ahh. Thanks for that clarification.

SheerGold · Oct 18, 2008, 09:24 PM

Thank you everyone for all the guidance.
I now know how to solve this problem when it happens.

Hal Itosis · Oct 19, 2008, 10:12 AM

Originally Posted by SheerGold

Thank you everyone for all the guidance.
I now know how to solve this problem when it happens.

Perhaps you could share that solution with the rest of the forum, so that when
the next person comes along experiencing the same issue... they can read and
learn from your discovery.

SheerGold · 05:17 PM

Originally Posted by Hal Itosis

Perhaps you could share that solution with the rest of the forum, so that when
the next person comes along experiencing the same issue... they can read and
learn from your discovery.

I was merely thanking everyone for their assistance.
It was from their advice that I could see the solution.
It was not that I had discovered anything extra.