Is it required to safely remove a device

Question

I have an external hard drive. While I am not reading or writing any data to the hard drive can I directly unplug the device? Will this practice damage the hard drive? If any data is corrupted due to this practice that is not a problem for me. Will this practice damage my hard drive?

score 4 · Answer 1 · answered Mar 14 '13 at 16:30

By default, most operating systems use what's called write caching to get better performance out of your computer. When you write a file to another drive—like a flash drive—the OS waits to actually perform those actions until it has a number of requests to fulfill, and then it fulfills them all at once (this is more common when writing small files). When you hit that eject button, it tells your OS to flush the cache—that is, make sure all pending actions have been performed—so you can safely unplug the drive without any data corruption.

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If you choose "Quick removal", which disables write caching, the chances of data loss are decreased.

score 3 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 14 '13 at 18:07

3

Drives manufactured since at least the mid-1990s have auto-parking features. The oldest 320 GB drive out there is newer than that.

Given your lack of concern about data loss, you do not need to worry about the process of safely removing your disks.

answered Mar 14 '13 at 18:07

John in Ohio

430

Is it required to safely remove a device

2 Answers2