This is what happens when you just pull out the USB stick

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After using a USB stick, the computer prompts you to “safely remove the hardware.” Is that necessary? And what happens if you pull out the stick?

Generally, hardware connected to the computer, such as USB sticks, memory cards and external hard drives, should be disconnected from the PC using the “Safely Remove Hardware” function. But why is this the case?

Don’t just pull out USB sticks and the like
There is a persistent myth that improper removal of USB memory can break the stick if you pull it out and that the data on it can suffer so badly that the drive is no longer readable.

That requires reformatting the stick. Is that true? No. What is true, however, is that data loss can occur when the stick is pulled off. Therefore, it is important to “eject” the stick before pulling it out.

Eject USB stick via Windows
On Windows computers, either open Explorer, click on the name of the stick, and then select “eject.” Alternatively, it is also possible to go to the taskbar in the lower right corner on the icon of the USB stick and select the option “Safely remove hardware.”

If, however, data is still being copied, the system still reports an error. When the stick is plugged in again, the copying process is repeated.

Eject USB stick with MacOS
On Apple computers, either right-click the USB stick icon on the desktop and select “eject” or drag the icon to the trash. This will also properly log off the USB stick.

Ejecting an external hard drive

Especially in the case of external hard drives, safe removal should not be omitted under any circumstances. If it is pulled out of the computer, it is equivalent to a crash. After all, a computer is not simply disconnected from the power supply after use but is switched off via the “shutdown” function.

Conclusion
Even if many users think this function is extra in the first place, the following applies: Better safe than sorry. Although errors rarely occur with USB sticks, it is always possible that a file is still in the writing process.

With external hard drives, on the other hand, there is no way around it: Here, safe removal is an absolute must in any case.