Hide external drive icons from the desktop

pine man · Nov 24, 2017

I have a USB external drive, which I use for Time Machine and want to keep that icon visible on the desktop. The reason being that, if it is missing, I know that TM probably isn't working, which has happened on the odd occasion.

I also have a Thunderbolt external drive, which I use for Carbon Copy Cloner backups and it has four partitions. It is those four partitions that I would like to hide from the desktop.

Using the Finder preferences I only seem to be able to hide or show ALL external drive icons. Is there anyway to hide just my Thunderbolt drive? It wouldn't be too bad if it was just one icon but four!

Many thanks.

mrplow · Nov 24, 2017

Someone may be able to suggest a tool/app. I've used chflags from terminal but here's a guide using SetFile:

http://www.idownloadblog.com/2016/12/02/how-to-hide-mounted-volumes-from-desktop-finder/

pine man · Nov 24, 2017

Thanks for that. It looks as if it could almost do the trick BUT it also removes them from Finder. If it is either on view in finder and desktop or hidden in both I think I would prefer both on view.

An alternative could be containing all partitions in one desk top icon like a folder, for example. Is that even possible?

pine man · Nov 25, 2017

I have decided that the best way to deal with this is to hide all external drives in Finder preferences and ensure that TM is shown in the menu bar.

So far so good except for the ENORMOUS blank space on my desktop where the TM external drive icon used to live;-)

mrplow · Nov 25, 2017

It might take some getting used to but it’s arguably the best way

Bill Gates Jr. · Nov 25, 2017

On a related topic, some of my external USB drives do not show up on my desktop. I can locate the files in finder. The problem is since I cannot see the USB drive on my desktop, I can't "drag to Trash", and I get 'drive not ejected properly' when I remove the drive. 1 of 3 external USB drives did show up on desktop. The other two did not. Any idea what could cause this?

IWT · Nov 25, 2017

Bill Gates Jr. said:
On a related topic, some of my external USB drives do not show up on my desktop. I can locate the files in finder. The problem is since I cannot see the USB drive on my desktop, I can't "drag to Trash", and I get 'drive not ejected properly' when I remove the drive. 1 of 3 external USB drives did show up on desktop. The other two did not. Any idea what could cause this?

One thought:

How are your External Hard Drives connected to your Mac? By that I mean - directly to the Mac or via a Hub?

Sometimes it is necessary to have direct connection to the Mac to get the EHD to be recognised.

When an EHD is not shown on the Desktop, can you see it in Disk Utility? And is it visible in Finder under "Devices"?

Ian

MacInWin · Nov 25, 2017

To "delete" a drive that isn't on the desktop but is in Finder, just right click on it in Finder and select Eject. Done.

Bill Gates Jr. · Nov 25, 2017

i am using an ANKER hub with 4 ports. The right most one is messed up. The other three are working and show the external device on the desktop.
When using the ANKER hub, the ext USB device is not visible under Devices or in Disk Utility. Plugging directly to port on Mac shows device in both Devices and Disk utility.
As long as it shows on desktop I can do my work. Is there an external hub that would allow devices to be viewed on Disk Utility? Sure wish Apple made some ports on the from of the iMac.
Pete

pm-r · Nov 25, 2017

I also have a Thunderbolt external drive, which I use for Carbon Copy Cloner backups and it has four partitions. It is those four partitions that I would like to hide from the desktop.

Maybe I'm missing something here, but why not use Disk Utility.app and use its unmount = hide, mount = show option for any selected drive/volume you want to hide or show???

- Patrick
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ferrarr · Nov 25, 2017

With the drives inverted into the USB ports, go into Finder > Preferences, then uncheck the option to display on Desktop. Then check the check box again. You may need to restart, if it doesn’t work the first try. That happened to me before, one time I through the icon in the Trash, and it didn’t show up again, until I found the check box had a dash, instead of the check.

IWT · Nov 26, 2017

When using the ANKER hub, the ext USB device is not visible under Devices or in Disk Utility. Plugging directly to port on Mac shows device in both Devices and Disk utility.

@Bill Gates Jr.

There's your answer, it seems to me. As I said in post #7, some EHDs need to be connected directly into the Mac's own Port for them to be recognised and useable.

There are some powered Hubs which claim to provide extra power to a USB connection - not always true - but those that do work are expensive.

Ian

MacInWin · Nov 26, 2017

pm-r said:
Maybe I'm missing something here, but why not use Disk Utility.app and use its unmount = hide, mount = show option for any selected drive/volume you want to hide or show???

- Patrick
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Patrick, I think he wants it mounted, but not visible on the Desktop. At least that's how I read it.

pine man · Nov 26, 2017

pm-r

Sorry didn't spot your original post it got mixed up in a little bit of hi-jacking;-)

MacInWin is correct with his assumption, I did want them to remain mounted.

I've got used to the TM icon missing from my desktop now and if the loss catches my eye I have a quick look at the menu bar to confirm that it is alive and kicking.

Thanks for your input.

pm-r · Nov 26, 2017

MacInWin said:
Patrick, I think he wants it mounted, but not visible on the Desktop. At least that's how I read it.

pine man said:
pm-r

Sorry didn't spot your original post it got mixed up in a little bit of hi-jacking;-)

MacInWin is correct with his assumption, I did want them to remain mounted.
… … …
Thanks for your input.

OK. Thanks for the clarification.

- Patrick
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