Safely remove drive

Strider590

anotheruser wrote: »

I rarely use the "Remove Hardware" and I've NEVER had a problem.
Seriously, all it does is kill the task that is using the drive. If you're confident you're not using the drive (IE: copying to/from it) then just un-plug it.

Installing other programs just to "unlock" the drive is a silly idea. You can do exactly what the program will do from the Task Manager under the processes tab... if you know what you're doing.

Restarting explorer doesn't "restart windows without restarting the PC" - it reboots explorer. Other processes can still be running in the background.
You can't install some updates, then reboot explorer and hope it'll be okay as the PC needs an actual restart.

No, because unlocker doesn't kill tasks, it removes the flag on the device, which tells windows the device is in use.

This flag is very important and has nothing to do with whether data is being written/read.

If this flag is on the device, whether it's being written to or not, then unplugging could cause damage. The most common problem is it'll set the dirty bit on the device, which causes windows to want to run chkdsk, which in turn may decide that the MFT is corrupt and try to fix it, which can then result in complete data loss OR every file on the drive having no data in it at all "0 bytes".

Uxb

....and this is why we get the regular posts on here that "my external USB hard drive is no longer recognised by my computer".
Or the "I bought a drive and it only lasted xx months and manufacturer is therefore rubbish and you should never buy one" sort of statement.

Robisere

uxb is right, but is there an actual switch on the external drive? Switch it off. Then log off before shutting down the computer.

Unplug the external, reboot computer with external unplugged and switched off. Don't plug in and switch on the external again until you need it. This has always worked for me over many years.

anotheruser

We'll agree to disagree on that :P

I've been using external drives for years and simply unplug them when I don't need them. That's how Windows treats USB drives by default, so unless you actively change it then Windows is prepared for a quick eject.

bsod

The day you pull it out whilst it is still writing, is the day you'll learn it is not a good idea, especially with flash memory. The use a switch to turn it off is bad advice for the same reason.

alanclarke

There are a number of programs which will show you which process is locking your USB device, search for 'software safely remove usb' - some are free others are paid for.

Robm1955

Thanks for all the replies. There are quite a few good suggestions, but I would never unplug a usb drive without safely doing so, or as a last resort, turn my pc off.

Stoke

anotheruser wrote: »

I rarely use the "Remove Hardware" and I've NEVER had a problem.
Seriously, all it does is kill the task that is using the drive. If you're confident you're not using the drive (IE: copying to/from it) then just un-plug it.

Installing other programs just to "unlock" the drive is a silly idea. You can do exactly what the program will do from the Task Manager under the processes tab... if you know what you're doing.

Restarting explorer doesn't "restart windows without restarting the PC" - it reboots explorer. Other processes can still be running in the background.
You can't install some updates, then reboot explorer and hope it'll be okay as the PC needs an actual restart.

No it doesn't. It waits for the task to finish then unmounts the drive, a bit like in Linux.

Really though, all you need to know is that so long as you're not writing to the drive at the time of unplugging, you're safe.

Stoke

Robm1955 wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies. There are quite a few good suggestions, but I would never unplug a usb drive without safely doing so, or as a last resort, turn my pc off.

Exactly what do you think is going to happen if you unplugged your drive without 'safely removing' it?

Firstly, I will scream at anyone who says "don't unplug your USB stick, you might lose your data":

A. Your data SHOULD be backed up elsewhere, whether it be your local hard disk, a NAS or large external hard disk, the cloud, hell, your mobile phone? Any 'system', that involves a single point of failure is !!!!ing stupid beyond belief. Using a pen drive as a form of permanent storage is really not a good idea. It's not their intended use and you should only consider a pen drive like a better, larger, faster version of a Floppy disk.

B. There's almost no chance of physically damaging a pen drive by unplugging without unmounting it. Unless you break the plug of course.... Data damage is another story.

C. If you're aware that your task has finished then it's pretty hard to damage that data as well. Journaling or whatever might be going on is unlikely to damage your data, so unplugging without unmounting is still unlikely to cause any damage.

So if you're aware that you can't damage your pen drive physically, your data is backed up elsewhere and you know your data is probably okay.... then there's enough reasons to just go ahead and do it.

anotheruser

bsod wrote: »

The day you pull it out whilst it is still writing, is the day you'll learn it is not a good idea, especially with flash memory.

Who pulls it out while writing?

My PC is never writing anything without me knowing about it, nor writing anything without Windows knowing about it - hence the dialogue box telling you what's writing and how long it "estimates" for it to finish.
Wait for another 10/20 seconds for "safety" (with some drives) and jobs a good-un.

On a similar note, moving an item copies it, then deletes the original after a successful write. Get a large file, then "move" it elsewhere. If you cancel the move, or pull the drive out, the original will still be there.

The latest version of Windows will even pause copies/moves and you can restart them at a different time if you wish. Although that's more to do with laptops and power supplies.

I am by no means against the "Safely Remove Hardware" feature but I don't see the need to bother with it. However, if it makes you feel better, then continue to use it :P Just like on rollercoasters - the seatbelt strap does nothing - it's only there to make the rider feel like they are safer.