I always just pulled the plug until last year when my 250G external died. Well, not died exactly, it powered up, I could hear it spinning but the system would not see it. I even took it out of the case and installed it in my tower, no go. From what I read on various forums the FAT was probably corrupted. I finally got some restore software, put it back in the case and recovered all the files but the drive is trash. Who knows if unplugging it without going though the "remove" dance caused it or not but I love dancing now.
It only takes a few seconds.

Bob


Biab/RB latest build, Win 11 Pro, Ryzen 5 5600 G, 512 Gig SSD, 16 Gigs Ram, Steinberg UR22 MkII, Roland Sonic Cell, Kurzweil PC3, Hammond SK1, Korg PA3XPro, Garritan JABB, Hypercanvas, Sampletank 3, more.