Hands-On Tech 279: Safely Ejecting USB Drives

Summary

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Hands-On Tech 279: Safely Ejecting USB Drives

Host: Micah Sargent | Date: August 9, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this episode of "Hands-On Tech," host Micah Sargent tackles a question from a listener about the time-honored ritual of safely ejecting USB drives. Is it still necessary, or can you just pull out the drive after you’re done? Micah breaks down the technical reasons behind the tradition, explains how changes in Windows, MacOS, and Linux have shifted the best practices, and provides a clear answer that balances both safety and efficiency.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Listener Question: The Great USB Eject Debate

• Listener Bernice from Topeka, Kansas:
  "For 20 years I've dutifully clicked safely eject before pulling out a flash drive, while my son just yanks his out and nothing bad ever happens to him. Is ejecting still necessary or is this just a ritual from another era, like blowing on Nintendo cartridges? What's actually happening in there when you pull a drive early?"
  (03:02)

• Micah’s response:

  • The need to safely eject depends on your operating system.
  • On recent Windows systems: Safe to pull out if no data is actively being transferred.
  • On Mac and Linux: Still necessary to eject.
    (03:29)

2. What Does “Eject” Actually Do?

• Write Caching Explained:

  • Early computers held data in “write cache” to speed up file operations, making it seem copies were done earlier than they really were.
  • If a drive was removed before cached data was written, information could be lost or even the file table corrupted.
  • Quote:
    “Back in the day, the copy that you were doing was complete. But really, what was happening is that...it was actually holding some of that data in memory and then planned to write it to the drive later.”
    — Micah Sargent (04:07)

• Ejecting Prompts System:

  • Tells system to flush caches, wrap up file operations, and ensure it’s safe to disconnect.

3. Windows Changed the Game in 2018

• Windows 10 Update:

  • Since Windows 10 version 1809 (October 2018), the default setting for external drives became “Quick removal,” disabling write caching by default.
  • “Quick removal” means when a copy dialog finishes, the drive is actually safe to pull.
  • The change matches typical user behavior (pulling drives without ejecting).

• Quote:
  “Windows said, you know what, we gotta do what the people want...So let's go ahead and make sure that in this case you can pull out the drive and nothing is getting in the way.”
  — Micah Sargent (05:13)

4. Caveats & Important Safety Tips (07:55)

• Active Transfers Still Dangerous:

  • Quick removal doesn’t protect if data is still being written.
  • If a progress bar is still moving, or a drive LED is blinking: Do not remove the drive!
  • Some drives allow toggling between “Quick removal” and “Better performance” (which re-enables caching and makes ejection necessary).
  • To check settings: Go to Device Manager > select the drive > Policies tab.

• Quote:
  “Quick removal does not protect you if a transfer is still actively running. So if you see the little… progress bar moving, please do not pull out your flash drive.”
  — Micah Sargent (07:55)

5. Ejecting on MacOS and Linux (08:35)

• Mac/Linux Still Require Ejecting:

  • Write caching remains enabled by default.
  • No official way to fully disable caching; always safely eject.
  • No clear documentation from Apple or major Linux distros on changing this policy.

• Quote:
  “MacOS and Linux still have [write caching] enabled. So on these operating systems you should always safely remove external drives...”
  — Micah Sargent (08:55)

• Extra tip:
  Even on Windows, ejecting doesn’t hurt—it can serve as a quick safety/status check.

6. Final Thoughts & Fun Facts

• Blowing on Nintendo cartridges

  • “Blowing on the Nintendo cartridges, it never really worked either. Sorry.”
    — Micah Sargent (10:42)

• Summary:

  • On Windows (since 2018): OK to remove once the copy completes and no data transfer is active.
  • On Mac/Linux: Always safely eject.
  • Never remove any drive during a transfer.

• Micah’s closing advice:
  “Please never ever, ever ever ever, ever ever, ever pull a drive during active transfer. And please always think of eject as sort of a free status check...It doesn't hurt.”
  — Micah Sargent (10:34)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:30 — Episode introduction and listener question
• 03:02 — Listener question read aloud
• 04:07 — Explanation of write caching and traditional need for ejecting
• 05:02 — Windows policy change and 'Quick Removal' explained
• 07:55 — Quick removal caveats and how to check/adjust settings
• 08:35 — Behavior on MacOS and Linux, source from Boy Genius Report (May 2026)
• 10:34 — Closing summary and memorable sign-off

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Memorable Quotes

• “Windows said, you know what, we gotta do what the people want… So let's go ahead and make sure that in this case you can pull out the drive and nothing is getting in the way.”
  — Micah Sargent (05:13)
• “Please never ever, ever ever ever, ever ever, ever pull a drive during active transfer.”
  — Micah Sargent (10:34)
• “Blowing on the Nintendo cartridges, it never really worked either. Sorry.”
  — Micah Sargent (10:42)

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Takeaway

The rules for safely ejecting USB drives have evolved, but the safest universal advice is:

• On Windows (since 2018): You can pull your drive after the transfer finishes, unless you or your IT have specifically enabled "Better performance."
• On Mac and Linux: Always eject!
• Never, ever remove a drive during an active file operation.

A quick extra click may save you from data loss—and it never hurts to be cautious.

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Transcript

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[Micah Sargent]

Hands On Tech let's talk about a long held belief that honestly needs correcting. It's about ejecting your USB drive. Stay tuned. This is twit. Hello and welcome to Hands On Tech. I am Micah Sargent and today we are answering your tech questions. Today's tech question comes in from Bernice and Bernice, Denise writes, Micah, for 20 years I've dutifully clicked safely eject before pulling out a flash drive while my son just yanks his out and nothing bad ever happens to him. Is ejecting still necessary or is this just a ritual from another era, like blowing on Nintendo cartridges? What's actually happening in there when you pull a drive early? Bernice from Topeka, Kansas Bernice, thank you so much for writing in with your question. I love it and it's a great one because, well, it is something that I have been very mindful of over the years. Something that I have, you know, wondered if it's okay to do or not do. What is the answer? Well, let's talk about it on Windows. Honestly, your son is mostly right and has been since 2018, but on a Mac, you are the one that's right. So keep ejecting. Let's talk about first and foremost, what is ejecting actually for? What are you doing when you eject a drive from your device? Well, this is, this has to do with a little system, a little feature called write caching, that's W R I T E caching. Okay. So this is, this is something that you have to understand. Kind of happens behind the scenes, right? To give you the impression of things moving faster. Back in the day, the computer would tell you that the copy that you were doing was complete. But really what was happening is that while it was telling you that the copy was complete, it was actually holding some of that data in memory and then planned to write it to the drive later. So if you yanked that drive out during that window and then that data which was not actually sent yet ended up not making it there. And, and honestly, this could be sometimes the whole file table it will upon your yank, get corrupted. You don't want that. So safely eject was the command that basically told the system, hey, I want you to actually finish sending everything that's in the cache over. I want you to close it up and then I want you to make it safe to pull out the drive. Now. That said, in 2018, things shifted. Starting with Windows 10 version, I believe it's 1809. That was back in October of 2018, Microsoft flipped the default to something called quick removal. What this does is it turns off, right, caching out of the box for external drives. So when the copy dialog finishes, when it tells you that it's done copying, it was a lying to you anymore. The data really was on the drive and you really could pull it out without that ritual. In fact, Microsoft has some official documentation on this policy. So here you can see the default media removal policy is something that you can change between quick removal and better performance. Of course, it also says in earlier versions of Windows the default policy was better performance. These days drives move a lot quicker and so you don't really have as much of a concern that those transfers aren't going to happen. Here it talks about quick removal, where the policy manages storage operations in a manner that keeps the device ready to remove at any time, whereas better performance is one that makes it so that it can cache write operations to the external device. In other words, it can do what it used to do. Now though, the problem was that people were still yanking drives out anyway. So Windows said, you know what we got to do what the people want skate to where the puck is going, right? So let's go ahead and make sure that in this case you can pull out the drive and nothing is getting in the way. It's, I think, one of these rare cases where you see, even if it doesn't feel like it's a better policy because it's not not toward performance or making things seem faster or what have you, it's one that matches actual human behavior. And I think that it was a good move to make this episode is

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[Micah Sargent]

and I want you to pay close attention to this Quick removal does not protect Bernice. It does not protect you if a transfer is still actively running. So if you see the little drive or the little progress bar moving, please do not pull out your your your flash drive. You need to leave that there. Some drives also of course have an led. You can see if it's blinking and if it's blinking, don't pull it. If you or your IT department switches to a drive, switches a drive that you have plugged into better performance mode, well, be aware that caching is back on and therefore ejecting it is mandatory Again on Windows if you want to check you had to Device Manager, you click on the drive that you are specifically working with and then you choose the Policies tab. Now that's for you if you're on Windows. But what about Mac and Linux? Well things are a little different because the eject step is real. But let's talk about how that works in in practice. What, what, what is needed? Why does it require that eject step? Boy Genius report has a guide from actually May of 2026 talking about the flash drive situation and needing to pull out your or needing to eject rather than not. So while write caching this is what it says in the report is disabled on Windows by default. MacOS and Linux still have it enabled. So on these operating systems you should always safely remove external drives and in fact there's no official documentation for disabling it with Apple nor for Linux and so you do need to go through with that process. And again it doesn't hurt to do it on Windows just in case your policy is different. So here is the bottom line. Since 2018, if you're using a Windows device, pulling the drive with no transfer is running is fine, but on your Mac you gotta keep clicking eject because this is still the policy on the Mac regardless of what system you're using. Please never ever, ever ever ever ever ever ever ever pull a drive during active transfer. And please always think of eject as sort of a free status check, you know, rather than a superstition. It costs two seconds to do so. And it doesn't hurt. It doesn't hurt. And Bernice, just so you know, blowing on the Nintendo cartridges, it never really worked either. Sorry. Thank you so much for tuning in to this episode of Hands on Tech. If you out there have questions for me, please do get in touch. Hotwit TV is how you do so and we would love to have you. Thanks so much and I'll catch you next time for another episode of Hands On Tech.

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