Tip: No Need To Use Safely Remove Hardware
When plugging a USB device to Windows XP, the operating system will popup an icon indicating that a USB device is connected. Most users got trained before you disconnect the USB device from the computer you must first click on this icon and select “Safely Remove Hardware? in order not to loose data.
Indeed this is the right way to go if you have an old operating system, but since Windows XP SP1 Microsoft changed the caching policy for removable storage, so write caching is disabled by default.
Disabling write caching means that, instead of saving up changes for a file on a removable storage device and then doing a bulk write, Windows XP writes changes to the file as the changes are made. This keeps data on removable storage devices more current, mitigating the likelihood of data loss.
Thus if you are finished using your USB drive after few seconds, it is perfectly safe to remove your USB drive even without selecting the “Safely Remove Hardware?.
One more small tip: You can also hide the “Safely Remove Hardware? icon completely by customizing the task bar.
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January 1st, 2006 at 1:20 pm
I have an 9-in-one memory card reader, and a “Safely Remove Hardware” icon appears in the quicklaunch menu. I Obviously don’t want to EVER remove my memory card reader, so the icon is useless, annoying, and dangerous for someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing. I almost feel like I HAVE to uninstall the hardware because the icon keeps buggin me. This tip was useless because when I customize my task bar, I can only choose the “hide” option. The icon is still there, it’s just covered by that annoying hidden icons arrow, which of course likes to launch the “Icons are Hidden” baloon at annoying times. Plain and simple question: how do I remove stubborn icons from my task bar? Most icons have a preferences setting that allows you to remover them, but not all.
March 11th, 2006 at 9:40 pm
Right click on “start,” select “properties,” select the “Taskbar” tab in the upper-left corner, check the box next to “Hide inactive icons,” click “customize,” highlight the “safely remove hardware” icon, select the “always” hide option, and that should do it. If not, then that’s all I’ve got without going investigating the msconfig and startup options.
March 19th, 2006 at 3:30 am
That advise is a run around and doest remove the icon … period. I would suggest using safelyremove.com they have a trial vesion that removes the icon permanantly
May 22nd, 2006 at 11:16 am
I disagree about it always being safe to yank it out. I have a USB drive connected via a CardBus adaptor. If I yank either one out without first getting XP’s stingy approval, there’s a least a 50% chance that XP will decide to reward me by either freezing or crashing. Feels like a hardware issue yet if I get XP’s approval first, it never causes a problem.
Edward
June 16th, 2006 at 11:32 pm
wel at least you get the small little to appear when ever i plug my usb external hard in that little green arrow that says u can safly remove it never shows up. an yes i have enabled the toolbar to show it always wat should i do?? azza
August 13th, 2007 at 7:22 pm
I disagree. You should use ‘Safely remove Hardware’ where possible, esecially when you have a USB external drive. True about the caching but I have just lost a harddrive by these actions you recommend - http://www.putanerd.com/index.php?m=08&y=07&entry=entry070814-083105.
Use “Safely Remove Hardware” if you car about your equipment…
August 15th, 2008 at 7:49 pm
I run xp sp3 and never ususally safely remove drives before pulling them out. But, after this weekend i will use it religiously.
I pulled out my USB hard drive (1tb) and it corrupted the partition tables. thought i had lost 400gb files and my heard stopped for a few moments.
Only got it all back by mounting the drive in linux and copying the data off to another usb drive.
September 4th, 2008 at 9:07 am
It is true that the SYSTEM won’t be holding back unsaved information, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be an application keeping files or directories open on the device, and that will crash or cause data corruption when you unplug the device underneath them. Only using “safely remove” will make you certain everything is safe.
That’s why this tip (which you find all over the net, just google for “safely remove”) is a contender for the top five worst pieces of advice to be found on the internet today.
TortoiseSVN (an explorer plugin for the SubVersion source management system) is an example of software that tends to keep files and directories open without your knowledge, even on drives it’s got no business on.
On the bright side: it is rarely necessary to go through a full reboot. Logging off and back on is much faster, and it will usually do the job (almost always, if an explorer plugin is causing it).
September 18th, 2008 at 11:06 am
This may or may not work for XP, but just minutes ago I had the same problem and managed to solve it on Vista. When you’re ready to disconnect your device, go into My Computer (or just plain Computer…either way, you want the folder that lists all the drives.) Right click on the device you want to remove and, you got it, select Safely Remove. It worked the very first time and I was able to unplug my SimpleTech device in verified safety.
I really hope this works for others. It was frustrating me greatly!
December 17th, 2010 at 1:47 pm
Nice, really useful tip…..