Re: My "remove hardware" icon is gone. How can I dismount an external drive?

March 27, 2008

Re: My "remove hardware" icon is gone. How can I dismount an external drive?

"M.I.5¾" <no.one@no.where.NO_SPAM.co.uk> wrote in message news:...

>

> "PD43" <pauld1943@comcast.net> wrote in message

> news:svpgu3d5kndbdqgbvrpe03e0flsh0uosuu@4ax.com...

>> adykes@panix.com (Al Dykes) wrote:

>>

>>>How do I get it back or otherwise dismount the disk?

>>

>> If it's not being written to, just unplug it.

>

> That is the most stupid piece of advice possible.

>

> If the drive requires to be stopped using 'Safely remove hardware' then

> write back caching is in use. Such a drive should never be unplugged

> before forcing a cache flush (thats what stopping the drive does). If you

> do then whatever data is in the cache does not get written. Whole file

> systems have been destroyed by not flushing the cache.

>

> For removable drives and unless you really need the extra speed that write

> back caching offers, I always suggest configuring the drive for optimize

> for quick removal (write-through caching). This side steps the whole

> problem*.

>

> *though I have become aware that Windows XP has a subtle bug that in some

> installations, optimize for quick removal only half works in that you

> can't flush the cache (because 'safely remove ...' is not offered), but

> nevertheless write back cacheing is in use.

>

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