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Just a question about how to best unplug the pg usb drive that puts less strain on it.

Should I use the safely remove hardware icon in system tray on monitor or does it do the usb drive no hard just to unplug it without using above?

I got a kind of a pop noise yesterday when just unplugging, Probably just the drive suddenly stop spinning, I'd imagine the safely remove hardware stops it spinning before you unplug.

What do you thing is the best way for the usb drive and for that matter any external drive?

Thanks
Paddy

Last edited by pwhack; 12/16/09 08:15 AM.

Paddy McGurk,
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The safely remove function makes sure that your drive is not in the middle of something when you remove it. Always use it.


Keith
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A good example of that is when you use a thumb drive and use the safely remove feature the power is interupted to the thumb drive and therefore it is ready to disconnect without damage. I have heard of drives being wiped out that way.


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Vista is very picky that way. Sometimes it won't recognize the drive when you plug it back in. And I had issues going between XP and Vista with the drive. I know a patch went out, now I wonder if that patch is part of the 2010 release?


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I thought I recalled the opposite advice, that Vista corrected the problem and it was no longer critical to use the "safely remove". However, after losing the contents of one flash drive and one USB external drive under Vista, I religiously continue to use "safely remove", even in Windows 7.

After all, it can't hurt, and it might help, and it takes but a second, literally. Plus, in some cases, it reminds me I still have that drive open in another program.


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To me, the name of the command is "safely remove hardware", with the key word being "safely". I will generally err on the side of safety.


John

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The drive may default to Safely Remove Hardware. To be sure, do the following:

. Start|Computer - you'll see your drives now

. Right click on the drive and select Properties

. Click the Hardware tab and select the drive and press Properties

. Hit the Policies tab.

. Finally you'll see the options available for this drive. The safest bet is to optimize for quick removal. That way, you won't have to open the Safely Remove Hardware on your taskbar. As far as performance, I've never measured but with USB, you're limited anyway. Stick with the safest option.

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As most PC harddrives are still mechanical, the safely remove option should always be taken as it ensures the disc reading heads are in the 'parked' position

Otherwise it's like leaving the needle on the record when you move the hi-fi, and that always used to end in tears in our house

Flash drives are slightly different as there are no moving parts, but the advice to always 'safely remove' is good nonetheless


Same goes for the internal drives, so always follow the Windows shutdown procedure when ending a session and resist reaching for the wall socket until it powers off completely

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To be honest, I just yank out the plugs, and don't do a safely-remove-hardware, and have never had a problem.
If you're writing a file, you should wait a few seconds extra before doing it.
And if its a crtical file, then safely-remove-hardware.
This fits in the same category as shutting down your PC by holding the power button for 5 seconds - it works, but you can lose data, and it isn't the recommended way.


Have Fun!
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Hi Peter. Yes, you have the sense of it. But I suspect you will change your mind after your first episode of major data loss when the drive becomes corrupted, like I did.


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Quote:

As most PC harddrives are still mechanical, the safely remove option should always be taken as it ensures the disc reading heads are in the 'parked' position




Modern "voice coil" drives effectively auto-park - the way they operate, when they aren't actively seeking they are always in the parked position. In addition, they all use a "slipper" support for the heads now, which means that the heads are no longer supported aerodynamically the way early drives were. This means that a physical head crash just isn't possible - the head support is already in pernament contact with the disk surface so it can't creash into it.

That said, it is always wise to to be patient. WAIT until all drive activity has definitely ceased before pulling the plug. "Safely remove hardware" can ensure this, though like Peter, I almost never bother and have never had a problem. Can't say the same for one of my staff members though - he's as careful as can be and still regularly kills "thumb" drives... Be funny if it didn't cost money.


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Leave the yank and go to guys like Peter who have all the BiaB hard drives at their disposal. Replacement for Peter would not be a kill.

Everyone else should play it safe and use the Safely Remove Hardware command.

At least, everyone else who is smart and not just smart alecky, that is.

The latter will yank and go, and when the drive finally does fail, will be quick to post on the forum about the "crappy" drive that PGMusic sold 'em.


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Well the reason I ask is because biab became corrupted on my usb drive, was ok when I got it.

I think just pulling it out without using safely remove hardware process might have been the cause.

Paddy


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G'day Paddy,
this is certainly possible. I would expect it to happen if the drive is removed before a write is completed.


--=-- My credo: If it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing - just ask my missus, she'll tell ya laugh --=--
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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


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For the folks just yanking out the plug, if you open the "Readme First.rtf" (you know, so you get a sense of what's on the drive and how to use it), it says on the very first page:

Quote:

Note: Before unplugging the hard drive from your computer, make sure it is not in use, then click the ‘Safely Remove Hardware’ icon in your taskbar. When you plug the drive in, Windows may prompt you to select an appropriate action - if so, select 'Open folder to view files'.




Just sayin'...


John

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People.

Just because you can get away with doing something in the wrong fashion does not mean that you can get away with it *every* time...


--Mac

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Hi all,

My experience is only with XP. I've had thumb drives wipe because didn't know that I was supposed to use the "Safely Remove Hardware" feature. Before that I didn't understand why my PC sometimes wouldn't recognize a thumb drive that I had "just pulled" a few minutes ago.

Sometimes you learn the hard way.


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On my laptop most of the time the "safely remove hardware" icon doesn't appear. Does anyone know why? To be safe I don't remove the USB device until the laptop has been powered down.

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Quote:

On my laptop most of the time the "safely remove hardware" icon doesn't appear. Does anyone know why? To be safe I don't remove the USB device until the laptop has been powered down.




What is the OS?

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