[kenny1999]

hi everybody i'm new to the harddisk forum, hope get help here. Thanks

I ve bought a new WD my passport portable 2.5 harddrive 1Tb, i've got some questions and hope to get rid of lots of confusions that have been in my mind for some time. Thanks


1. is it really necessary to 'safely remove' the harddisk each time I unplug the USB port? what could happen if I don't do this?

(I find that even after I 'safely remove' the harddisk from windows and the harddisk icon under 'My Computer' disappear, the harddisk is in fact still running for some time (I can feel the vibration with my hand) before it really stops (no more vibration)

I want to know if I unplug the USB cable when the harddisk is still 'in vibration', will it cause some extent of damage to the harddisk


2. does it really 'hurt' the harddisk that much if I move the harddisk when it is running?


I don't mean to be rude with my hardisk intentionally but I might not be able to follow the 'rule' very strictly (safely remove every time and keep the harddisk 100% stationary when using it) will there be problems with it? Thank you

Thanks

[Mickey]

The reason for "safely removing" the drive before unplugging is to ensure you do not lose any data. If Windows is writing to the drive (and has not finished), then yanking power will result in lost data. Asking Windows to "safely remove" tells the OS to finish writing and make sure data is safe before giving the "all clear" sign.

The disk drive itself isn't harmed by plugging or unplugging the USB cable during operation. The bigger risk is accidentally dropping or jostling the drive while the disks are still spinning, as they are more sensitive to shocks/vibration during operation than when completely off.

[FastMHz]

I concur. Also, in Windows XP it's imperative that you "eject" the drive before removing it. Windows 7 is better at keeping data flushed to USB disks - there is even an option to set the drive for "performance" or "fast removal". The default is "fast removal", and in that case, as long as you aren't actively writing to the disk, you can remove it any time you choose.

2.5" laptop drives are made to be moved around while running. They're most sensitive while actively reading or writing, but still nowhere near as delicate as a 3.5" drive would be. Don't worry about moving it around, just be careful and avoid excessive bumps. I have a 2.5" drive in my truck to serve up MP3s to my stereo, and it suffers some serious shocks and vibrations (especially while off-roading) and years later still has 0 bad sectors.

[kenny1999]

Mickey, on 22 February 2013 - 02:36 PM, said:

The reason for "safely removing" the drive before unplugging is to ensure you do not lose any data. If Windows is writing to the drive (and has not finished), then yanking power will result in lost data. Asking Windows to "safely remove" tells the OS to finish writing and make sure data is safe before giving the "all clear" sign.

The disk drive itself isn't harmed by plugging or unplugging the USB cable during operation. The bigger risk is accidentally dropping or jostling the drive while the disks are still spinning, as they are more sensitive to shocks/vibration during operation than when completely off.

FastMHz, on 22 February 2013 - 02:51 PM, said:

I concur. Also, in Windows XP it's imperative that you "eject" the drive before removing it. Windows 7 is better at keeping data flushed to USB disks - there is even an option to set the drive for "performance" or "fast removal". The default is "fast removal", and in that case, as long as you aren't actively writing to the disk, you can remove it any time you choose.

2.5" laptop drives are made to be moved around while running. They're most sensitive while actively reading or writing, but still nowhere near as delicate as a 3.5" drive would be. Don't worry about moving it around, just be careful and avoid excessive bumps. I have a 2.5" drive in my truck to serve up MP3s to my stereo, and it suffers some serious shocks and vibrations (especially while off-roading) and years later still has 0 bad sectors.

Hi thanks for the advice

i'd like to be reassured one thing

Does it really no problem (to the hardware components) when I unplug the harddisk after "safely remove" even though
I can still feel the harddrive is active/running/vibrating something?

My harddisk is newly bought yesterday, I find that it only stops vibrating (slightly vibrating) after 10-20 mins after I click on safely remove. If I physically unplug it, it stops vibration immediately but I just wonder if this act will cause problem (in long terms) to the hardware/components/data inside

background: once had nightmare with external harddisk few months ago. Everything lost in a night.

[[ETA]MrSpadge]

kenny1999, on 23 February 2013 - 09:13 AM, said:

Does it really no problem (to the hardware components) when I unplug the harddisk after "safely remove" even though
I can still feel the harddrive is active/running/vibrating something?

That's how everyone does it (except some impatient ones). If there were any long-term problems with it we'd probably have heard about it by now (and some functionality would have been added to combine "safely eject" with "power down" automatically),

MrS

[FastMHz]

Removing a hard drive while running is not a problem. They're made so that in the case of sudden loss of power, as what happens when unplugged from a USB port, they automatically park their heads and spin down without damage.

[harddrivewd]

FastMHz, on 23 February 2013 - 12:57 PM, said:

Removing a hard drive while running is not a problem. They're made so that in the case of sudden loss of power, as what happens when unplugged from a USB port, they automatically park their heads and spin down without damage.

hi

how about the data? I acutally concern the data more than the hardware. Will the MD5 checksum of any of the files be changed if the harddisks are not ejected correctly. I once had a file on a certain harddisk, it was a video file and I NEVER changed or edited the file but after some time the file has a small 3 byte loss. I know it is virtually not a problem but I am concerned.