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Avoiding Storms in Your Ports
Question :. Is it really necessary to
use the Safely Remove Hardware icon to unplug a U.S.B. flash drive, or can you
just pull it out of the port?
Answer : It's always a good idea to eject an external drive or
device properly from both Windows and Macintosh computers. This can help prevent
scrambled data or system problems that might occur if you detach the device
without warning.
When you copy or drag files over to a device like a pocket-size U.S.B. drive,
the files may not transfer immediately and may sit in a buffer area for a short
time if the computer is busy doing other things. If you disconnect your portable
drive without telling the operating system what you are doing, any files in the
process of being copied to the portable drive could become damaged or corrupted.
In Windows XP, click the Safely Remove Hardware icon in the Taskbar (which
looks like a green arrow pointing at a downward angle) to release the drive
correctly. You can also right-click on the icon to get a list of attached
devices if you have several connected.
There are several ways to disconnect a drive in Mac OS X computer. You can
click on the U.S.B. device's icon on the desktop and press Command-E on the
keyboard. Or, if you have the Mac's Finder window open, you can click the Eject
button next to the list of drives in the side of the window.
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