How to Safely Remove a USB Flash Drive
Flash Drive - A flash drive is a portable data storage device.
When you plug your flash drive or thumb drive into your computer it creates a mounting point so the operating system can communicate to and from it. This gives you the abillity to view, copy, and manage the files on the flash drive. When you're finished using the flash drive you can't unplug it from your computer like you do an electric drill's powercord from a power outlet. If you do unplug your flash drive when you're finished using it without going through the proper procedures, you could corrupt your files on the flash drive or even cause the flash drive to become unrecognized by your computer.
You must properly remove your flash drive from a computer regardless of the operating system. If you've ever used Linux then you might be familiar with the terms Unmount, Eject, and Safely Remove Drive. These are terms used to describe how an external device disconnects from the operating system.
When you plug your flash drive into your computer it generally creates an icon on your desktop, unless you have turned off the icons on the desktop, and it creates an icon in your file manager.
You must properly remove your flash drive from a computer regardless of the operating system. If you've ever used Linux then you might be familiar with the terms Unmount, Eject, and Safely Remove Drive. These are terms used to describe how an external device disconnects from the operating system.
When you plug your flash drive into your computer it generally creates an icon on your desktop, unless you have turned off the icons on the desktop, and it creates an icon in your file manager.
Once your flash drive mounts the system, it shouldn't be removed unless you properly dismount it from the system. Notice the symbol to the right of the flash drive icon is the same symbol as the symbol on your eject button on your DVD or Blu-Ray player.
If you right-click on flash drive icon on the desktop or in the file manager you'll notice an Eject and Safely Remove Drive. It is recommended that you select Safely Remove Drive for flash drives and Eject for CDs, DVD, and Blu-Rays. Safely Remove Drive unmounts the drive from the system and also removes the power to the device.
If you right-click on flash drive icon on the desktop or in the file manager you'll notice an Eject and Safely Remove Drive. It is recommended that you select Safely Remove Drive for flash drives and Eject for CDs, DVD, and Blu-Rays. Safely Remove Drive unmounts the drive from the system and also removes the power to the device.
If you right-click the flash drive icon in your file manager, you will have the same options for ejecting it as you did when you right-clicked it on your desktop. You can eject it safely from the desktop or file manager.
However, some flash drives don't have the Safely Remove Drive when you right-click on the icon. It does have an Eject feature.
If you click on Eject it will unmount from your system and it will pop-up a message letting you know "It is now safe to remove the drive." However, if your flash drive has an LED, it may still be lit because Eject usually unmounts an optical drive and still uses power to eject the disc from the drive. You will still be able to remove your flash drive safely because data is no longer being sent to and from the drive because the Eject command unmount it from the system.
I haven't found a solution on why some flash drives are identified to use the Safely Remove Drive while others use Eject.
Eject - is typically for optical drives.
Safely Remove Drive - is for USB flash drives that need to be unmounted and powered down.
Unmount - is for hard drives.
You need to be aware that each time you use a flash drive in your computer to go through the proper steps before pulling it out of your system.
Eject - is typically for optical drives.
Safely Remove Drive - is for USB flash drives that need to be unmounted and powered down.
Unmount - is for hard drives.
You need to be aware that each time you use a flash drive in your computer to go through the proper steps before pulling it out of your system.