{"id":1763191,"date":"2020-06-18T21:16:39","date_gmt":"2020-06-18T21:16:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sweetwater.com\/sweetcare\/?post_type=articles&#038;p=1763191"},"modified":"2023-05-09T13:54:58","modified_gmt":"2023-05-09T13:54:58","slug":"how-to-safely-eject-an-external-hard-drive","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/www.sweetwater.com\/sweetcare\/articles\/how-to-safely-eject-an-external-hard-drive\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Safely Eject an External Hard Drive"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 id=\"Overview\" class=\"wp-block-cgb-block-customheader blackHeader alignLeft noUnderline customh2 swheader\">Overview<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In this guide, we will explain why and show you how to eject a USB storage device safely from your computer. Follow the instructions below to get started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol><li><strong><a href=\"#Why-eject-my-external-hard-drive-from-my-computer\">Why eject my external hard drive from my computer?<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"#How-to-safely-eject-an-external-USB-hard-drive-on-Windows\">How to safely eject a USB device on Windows<\/a><\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"#Eject-from-the-Windows-taskbar\"><strong>Eject from the Windows taskbar<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#Eject-using-File-Explorer\"><strong>Eject using File Explorer<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li><li><strong><a href=\"#How-to-safely-eject-an-external-hard-drive-on-a-Mac\">How to safely eject an external hard drive on a Mac<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-spacer\" style=\"height: 10px;\" aria-hidden=\"true\">&nbsp;<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"Why-eject-my-external-hard-drive-from-my-computer\" class=\"wp-block-cgb-block-customheader blackHeader alignLeft noUnderline customh2 swheader\">Why eject my external hard drive from my computer?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Safely ejecting a USB device from your computer is often overlooked, but something you should always try to do. The terms <em>eject <\/em>and <em>disconnect <\/em>are often confused for one another when talking about external USB devices. Windows, Mac, and even Linux use the term <em>eject<\/em> to \u201cinternally\u201d unplug it from the computer, and <em>disconnect<\/em> as the physical action of unplugging it. So you first need to eject the USB device and <strong>then <\/strong>disconnect it from your computer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When you eject an external USB device on your computer first, you\u2019re telling the computer to turn off the device\u2019s write cache and recognize that you&#8217;re ready to disconnect the device. Once everything is turned off, you can unplug it. If the drive isn\u2019t ejected correctly, that can lead to corrupt files, folders, and you\u2019ll probably have to end up reformatting the entire drive, which leads to all of your data being erased.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There may be times where external USB devices won\u2019t show up on the list of ejectable drives. Examples of this are an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sweetwater.com\/store\/detail\/iLok3--pace-ilok-3rd-generation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">iLok<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sweetwater.com\/store\/search.php?s=elicenser\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">eLicenser<\/a>. However, if the device <strong>is<\/strong> listed, you\u2019ll need to eject it from your computer before disconnecting it safely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right has-text-color has-small-font-size\" style=\"color:#000000\"><a href=\"#Overview\">RETURN TO TOP<\/a> <strong>\u2191<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-spacer\" style=\"height: 10px;\" aria-hidden=\"true\">&nbsp;<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"How-to-safely-eject-an-external-USB-hard-drive-on-Windows\" class=\"wp-block-cgb-block-customheader blackHeader alignLeft noUnderline customh2 swheader\">How to safely eject an external USB hard drive on Windows<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>External USB devices on Windows 10 <strong><em>(before version 1809 or using the Better Performance policy on your external drive)<\/em><\/strong> can be ejected in two ways: from the <a href=\"#Eject-from-the-Windows-taskbar\">Windows taskbar<\/a>, or <a href=\"#Eject-using-File-Explorer\">File Explorer<\/a>. Both methods are easy, so it all depends on how you want to do it. If you aren\u2019t sure which version of Windows you\u2019re currently running, be sure to check out our article on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sweetwater.com\/sweetcare\/articles\/how-do-i-find-my-computers-specs\/#Basic-PC-specs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">how to check your system specs<\/a> for your PC.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"Eject-from-the-Windows-taskbar\" class=\"wp-block-cgb-block-customheader darkBlueHeader alignLeft underline customh3 swheader\">Eject from the Windows taskbar<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol><li>Navigate to the bottom right corner of the bottom toolbar.<\/li><li>If the USB icon is hidden, click the <strong>Up <\/strong>arrow.<\/li><li>Locate the <strong>USB <\/strong>icon and find your external hard drive.<\/li><li>Click <strong>Eject<\/strong>, and wait for a message stating it\u2019s safe to disconnect.&nbsp;\n<ul>\n<li>A bell noise should also play.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-medium is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sweetwater.com\/sweetcare\/media\/2020\/06\/Taskbar-Eject.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sweetwater.com\/sweetcare\/media\/2020\/06\/Taskbar-Eject-300x252.png\" alt=\"Ejecting a disk using the Windows taskbar\" class=\"wp-image-1763193\" width=\"225\" height=\"189\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sweetwater.com\/sweetcare\/media\/2020\/06\/Taskbar-Eject-300x252.png 300w, https:\/\/www.sweetwater.com\/sweetcare\/media\/2020\/06\/Taskbar-Eject.png 323w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><em>Ejecting a disk through the Windows toolbar.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-spacer\" style=\"height: 10px;\" aria-hidden=\"true\">&nbsp;<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"Eject-using-File-Explorer\" class=\"wp-block-cgb-block-customheader darkBlueHeader alignLeft underline customh3 swheader\">Eject using File Explorer<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol><li>Open <em>File Explorer<\/em>.&nbsp;\n<ul>\n<li>You can do this by holding the <em>Windows<\/em> key + E, or double clicking <strong>This PC<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li><li>Navigate to then click <strong>My PC<\/strong> on the left side of the window.<\/li><li>Find your external USB hard drive, right-click it, then select <strong>Eject<\/strong>.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sweetwater.com\/sweetcare\/media\/2020\/06\/File-Exploror-Eject.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"523\" height=\"319\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sweetwater.com\/sweetcare\/media\/2020\/06\/File-Exploror-Eject.png\" alt=\"Ejecting disk through File Explorer\" class=\"wp-image-1763196\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sweetwater.com\/sweetcare\/media\/2020\/06\/File-Exploror-Eject.png 523w, https:\/\/www.sweetwater.com\/sweetcare\/media\/2020\/06\/File-Exploror-Eject-300x183.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 523px) 100vw, 523px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><em>Ejecting a disk in File Explorer.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right has-text-color has-small-font-size\" style=\"color:#000000\"><a href=\"#Overview\">RETURN TO TOP<\/a> <strong>\u2191<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-spacer\" style=\"height: 10px;\" aria-hidden=\"true\">&nbsp;<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"How-to-safely-eject-an-external-hard-drive-on-a-Mac\" class=\"wp-block-cgb-block-customheader blackHeader alignLeft noUnderline customh2 swheader\">How to safely eject an external hard drive on a Mac<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Just like Windows, ejecting USB hard drives on a Mac are simple. Your computer will even remind you that you haven\u2019t ejected it correctly. Here are the ways you can eject your external USB hard drive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>On your desktop, right-click the icon of your hard drive and select <strong>Eject (disk name)<\/strong>.<\/li><li>Select your hard drive on your desktop, go to <em>File<\/em> in the Finder menu, then click Eject.\n<ul>\n<li>Alternatively, you can use the shortcut key command <strong>CMD+E<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li><li>Click and drag your drive into the Trash bin. Don\u2019t worry, none of your data will be erased.<\/li><li>Open a Finder window, locate your drive on the left side of the window, and click the <strong>eject<\/strong> button.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sweetwater.com\/sweetcare\/media\/2020\/06\/Right-Clcik.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"184\" height=\"269\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sweetwater.com\/sweetcare\/media\/2020\/06\/Right-Clcik.png\" alt=\"Ejecting on a mac by right clicking\" class=\"wp-image-1763197\"\/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><em>Eject a disk by right clicking its icon.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sweetwater.com\/sweetcare\/media\/2020\/06\/Finder-Window.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"207\" height=\"269\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sweetwater.com\/sweetcare\/media\/2020\/06\/Finder-Window.png\" alt=\"Eject disk in file menu\" class=\"wp-image-1763198\"\/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><em>Eject a disk in Finder window.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-text-align-right has-small-font-size\" style=\"color: #000000;\"><a href=\"#Overview\">RETURN TO TOP<\/a> <strong>\u2191<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-spacer\" style=\"height: 10px;\" aria-hidden=\"true\">&nbsp;<\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1763200,"template":"","categories":[142726],"tags":[57804,283308,75214,60810,34850,34717,254812,34750],"storecat":[142976],"itemids":[],"manufacturers":[202712],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v17.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In this guide we will show you how to safely eject your external hard drive from a Mac and PC computer. 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