External Drive problems- Why?

[ROC181]

Hello
First Post here.
I have had 2 external drives brake down on me in the last 2 weeks, though one was already in bad shape. The problem is that it gets accidentally turned off with ejecting from the PC or Mac and then when you need them again, they either not read by the computer OR it will turn or eject itself and have to reboot or do whatever to get them to read or write.

Can someone please tell me why this happens when they are not shut down properly and is there a way to stop them from being damaged when turning them off by accident or 'act of God'.

One of the Ext HDD is a Noontec Sunlite 200G. This worked well for 2-3 years.
The other one is a WD and this went faulty after 2 months when it was shut down accidentally.

 

[MMM]

Like all things there is procedure for safely removing usb hardware.
Unfortunately an unexpected shut down or brown out can or will most certainly corrupt your files.
Like all things made some perform flawlessly for years other are known to crap themselves in no time.
Hard drives are very sensitive electrical items that need to be handle with care.
In your case you have had a bit of bad luck.

 

[ROC181]

Like all things there is procedure for safely removing usb hardware.
Unfortunately an unexpected shut down or brown out can or will most certainly corrupt your files.
Like all things made some perform flawlessly for years other are known to crap themselves in no time.
Hard drives are very sensitive electrical items that need to be handle with care.
In your case you have had a bit of bad luck.

Thanks for the reply and I know about correct procedures but what causes an external drive to loose it if not ejected properly. Is there a way to prevent this like eg when you have a surge protection for your electricals AND are these items fixable.
Thanks