[TRUEfrancesca]

Being extremely paranoid about backups, I ALWAYS use the "Safely Remove Hardware" function before unplugging my gear. I also know that if I've already shutdown my computer (or, in this case, laptop), it's safe to just go ahead and unplug my devices. However, I've recently taken to hibernating instead of shutting down, so I wonder:
Is it as safe to unplug removable storage devices from machines in hibernation, as it is from machines that are shut down?
If not, what are the consequences, and best alternative(s)?

[Cew27]

eeerm i would think so as it is only harmful if you are exploring,copying to, copying from and running programs from the drive that is is dangerous to remove it and you risk corrupting it

[Carbon]

Hibernation is essentially the same as shutdown, with your active "session" stored in memory.

This means that there is going to be no reading/writing to your drive. You're fine.

However, Cew is incorrect. Flash drives and other USB devices that draw current should not be unplugged regardless of their reading/writing status. One thing that Safely Remove Hardware does is cut off the power to these devices through the USB port (iirc). If you unplug them while they're drawing current, bad things can happen. It's unlikely, but it can happen.

[Cew27]

well what i ment was it is more risky to unplug it during these stages, but also my external hdd still spins when i safely remove it so it is still getting current i presumes it just stoped all reading and writing of that device

[TRUEfrancesca]

I see ... I'm feeling a little wiser already. Thanks!

But just to clarify:

Originally Posted by Carbon

Flash drives and other USB devices that draw current should not be unplugged regardless of their reading/writing status.

Does that include External Hard drives that get powered from mains electricity?

Cos what I'm specifically trying to determine is if it's OK to unplug my external HDD from mains-electricity once I have put my laptop into hibernate.
Or would it be better to leave the HDD plugged into the wall and just flip the "OFF" switch on it?
Or neither? ...

Sorry to be a stickler ... (it's just that I would *love* to be able to unplug that HDD from the wall each night, because I'm trying to do my part to stop global warming, and as you know, unplugging your appliances at night is a start ...)

[Carbon]

Oh yes - I'm just talking about devices (mostly non-solid state) that draw current from the USB port itself, as a correction to the "oh it's okay if it's not read/writing" advice above. If it's plugged into an outlet then no worries - just don't unplug it while it's writing, obviously.

Hitting off will probably do the same thing as unplugging it, so your choice there.

[TRUEfrancesca]

Ahhh - thank-you! Will sleep more soundly now ;)

[Cew27]

Originally Posted by Carbon

Oh yes - I'm just talking about devices (mostly non-solid state) that draw current from the USB port itself, as a correction to the "oh it's okay if it's not read/writing" advice above. If it's plugged into an outlet then no worries - just don't unplug it while it's writing, obviously.

Hitting off will probably do the same thing as unplugging it, so your choice there.

oops i forgot the 3.5 external drives have their own power supply haha i only use 2.5 notebook drives that draw current from he usb port its self and was refering to them

[TRUEfrancesca]

thank-you all for all your replies!

and like you all said, it's a no-brainer: totally fine!

just thought i'd let you know about the one little glich that i did run into during the process:
when restarting the laptop, i now have to keep in mind to turn the HDD on before booting up the laptop, and not the other way round. the first time i tried the whole thing, i switched the laptop on first, and the HDD immediately after, and gave the laptop a LOT of time (<-understatement) to find the HDD. even tried switching the HDD on and off again. then searching for it manually through windows explorer. in the end, i had to restart the laptop so that it could find the HDD.

moral of the story:
when you're done with your laptop = hibernate -> turn off HDD
when you're back at your laptop = turn on HDD -> wake up
how beautifully simple

[wizard1974uk]

I thought modern USB devices you don't have to use the remove hardware safely option, some are designed just to be unplugged.