Does it really matter if you remove a flash drive before computer says you can safely remove it? nt

[raccoon]

[NYC_SKP]

1. I have never lost data or done damage, that I know of, by yanking a USB drive out.

And I'm curious to read what others say!

[raccoon]

2. I work around public computers and sometimes you can't safely remove the flash drive.

I've never seen anyone experience bad stuff as a result of this.

[krispos42]

3. I don't run anything off of mine

It's strictly for file storage. So I just yank it out... when I'm sure it's not being written to or being read from!


No blinkey-blinkey, okay to pull!

[Mnpaul]

4. But not all of them have lights

I tried some of the cheap ones only to find out how fast they fail. I now use Corsair Voyagers - USB3. Fast and dependable.

[ChromeFoundry]

5. If you use Windows and have ReadyBoost

enabled. Yes, you can certainly lose data.

Any technology that uses a memory cache during Write operations to NAND devices can cause data loss if the write buffers are not flushed to the device prior to removal.

[ManiacJoe]

6. It depends on which direction the data is going in.

If you are writing to the flash drive, then you can lose data. If reading the data, you are probably OK. However, it is always better to gracefully "eject" the drive first.

[Warren Stupidity]

7. No.

Removable disks are handled by the operating system with the expectation that they could be removed at any time.

[AgingAmerican]

8. The "Safely remove" feature merely closes open files on the drive

When you remove a USB drive, flash card, or other USB storage device, any files on that drive that are open must be closed first.

Having a file stuck in an open state on a disconnected drive can render the drive inaccessible. There are several ways you can assure this doesn't happen.

1. Use the safely remove drive icon in the system tray to remove the drive
2. Manually close any files on the drive that are open on your desktop before you remove it
3. Log off the computer - any open files are closed by the OS
4. Restart the computer - any open files are closed by the OS

My wife ejected a SIM card from our PC without closing the pictures that she was viewing first. When the card was put back into the camera, she got a 'card inaccessible' error from the camera.

Hope that helps

[rhett o rick]

9. I often use "Sleep". nm