question about taking out flash drives and external hd

[blahxyzblah]

when i want to disconnect a flash drive from my computer, can i just pull it out? or do really have to safely remove it? and also, when i want to turn off my external hd, do i also have to safely remove it? or can i just turn it off. thanks

 

[The_Other_One]

Typcially, you should be fine to remove these drives whenever UNLESS they are still being used. However, it doesn't hurt to "diconnect" them though windows first. I have had a couple cards erase themselves when I didn't run though the "safely remove hardware" wizard.

 

[Motoxrdude]

I had an external hdd that i transfered 200GBs onto and i didnt safely remove it. When i went to view the files, they where all corrupt. So yes, safely removing it is a good idea.

 

[blahxyzblah]

but its safe to just take them out when i have turned off my computer right? because sometimes i forget to take them out and ive already turned off my computer so i just take them out or turn it off.

 

[Motoxrdude]

yea thats fine.

 

[Mattu]

but its safe to just take them out when i have turned off my computer right? because sometimes i forget to take them out and ive already turned off my computer so i just take them out or turn it off.

Yeah I do that all the time and never lose any data on my flash drive (jump drive)

 

[Platinum]

The only reason Windows has the "Safely Remove Hardware" wizard is to ensure that it's not in use when it's being disconnected, which would corrupt the information. So if your computer is off, it's obviously not in use, so it can therefore be unplugged with no problems when the computer is not on.