unmounted an external harddrive

[ALev]

Hello,

Is there a way I can mount or unmount an external harddrive connected
through a USB port to make sure that I don't remove it while information is
being transferred?

 

[Tim Meddick]

Hi ALev,
While you are able to physically "pull" out the USB cable
during a read/write operation, it will never be totally failsafe. However,
if you open the properties for the drive in Device Manager and listed under
the "Policies" tab will be "Optimize for Quick removal" choose that option
and the read/write operation times will be minimized (rather than use disk
caching that postpones data transfers) so there is much less chance of
errors if you did pull the plug on the device as read/writes are performed
at once.

 

[ALev]

But is there a way to completely eliminate the chance of errors? I know that
Knoppix, for example, allows you to right click on the disk drive and then in
a drop down box you can click "mount" or "unmount". Does Windows XP have
similar functionality?

 

[Terry R.]

The date and time was Thursday, April 09, 2009 6:33:05 AM, and on a
whim, ALev pounded out on the keyboard:

But is there a way to completely eliminate the chance of errors? I know that
Knoppix, for example, allows you to right click on the disk drive and then in
a drop down box you can click "mount" or "unmount". Does Windows XP have
similar functionality?

Yes. In the System Tray you should see an icon that when hovered over
states, "Safely Remove Hardware". Clicking on it will give you a list of
items to disconnect. Double clicking will open the Device List.


Terry R.

 

[ALev]

Sorry for my ignorance, but where is the System Tray?

 

[Bob I]

The Notification Area is in the lower right of the Task Bar

 

[ALev]

Sorry, again. Where is "the task bar" and why do I need the "notification
area"? Terry R. didn't mention any "notification area"

 

[Bob I]

The Taskbar is what the Start Button is located on. Notification Area,
is the proper name for what is being referred to as "System tray" by others.

Sorry, again. Where is "the task bar" and why do I need the "notification
area"? Terry R. didn't mention any "notification area"

:

 

[Terry R.]

The date and time was Thursday, April 09, 2009 8:40:12 AM, and on a
whim, Bob I pounded out on the keyboard:

The Notification Area is in the lower right of the Task Bar

That would only be if the Task bar was located at the bottom of the
screen. Better to state it's at the opposite end of where the Start
button is located.



Terry R.

 

[Terry R.]

The date and time was Thursday, April 09, 2009 9:16:45 AM, and on a
whim, Bob I pounded out on the keyboard:

The Taskbar is what the Start Button is located on. Notification Area,
is the proper name for what is being referred to as "System tray" by others.

That's why the process is called "systray.exe". ;-)


Terry R.

 

[Terry R.]

The date and time was Thursday, April 09, 2009 8:16:33 AM, and on a
whim, ALev pounded out on the keyboard:

Sorry for my ignorance, but where is the System Tray?

The System Tray/Notification Area is where the clock usually shows,
unless one has it not shown by choice.


Terry R.

 

[Bob I]

The date and time was Thursday, April 09, 2009 9:16:45 AM, and on a
whim, Bob I pounded out on the keyboard:


That's why the process is called "systray.exe". ;-)


Terry R.

Actually that's exactly the reason why it's incorrectly referred to by
many as the "System Tray".

 

[John John - MVP]

The date and time was Thursday, April 09, 2009 9:16:45 AM, and on a
whim, Bob I pounded out on the keyboard:


That's why the process is called "systray.exe". ;-)

Don't tell that to Raymond Chen!

http://blogs.msdn.com/oldnewthing/archive/2003/09/10/54831.aspx

John

 

[John John - MVP]

Actually that's exactly the reason why it's incorrectly referred to by
many as the "System Tray".

Not to mention that Systray.exe is not solely responsible for placing
icons in the "Notification Area".

John

 

[Tim Meddick]

Hi ALev,
This is all by and by. The main (original) point is, there's no
way of ensuring no data loss if you were to physically pull out the USB plug
without first clicking on the "Safely Remove Hardware" button that appears
in your "Notification Area". "System Tray" "Left-End-of-your-Taskbar" or
whatever you want to call it. However, if you set the "Optimise for quick
removal" option on the device's "Properties" page, then you go a way to
reducing that risk. By how much is debatable. But, most importantly, you
should NEVER just pull out a USB removable storage device anyway, without
first clicking on this "Safely Remove Hardware" button first.

 

[Terry R.]

Hi ALev,
This is all by and by. The main (original) point is, there's no
way of ensuring no data loss if you were to physically pull out the USB plug
without first clicking on the "Safely Remove Hardware" button that appears
in your "Notification Area". "System Tray" "Left-End-of-your-Taskbar" or
whatever you want to call it. However, if you set the "Optimise for quick
removal" option on the device's "Properties" page, then you go a way to
reducing that risk. By how much is debatable. But, most importantly, you
should NEVER just pull out a USB removable storage device anyway, without
first clicking on this "Safely Remove Hardware" button first.

Tim,

ONCE again your are not replying to the correct poster in this reply.
You responded to ALev in MY post. Please take the time to ensure you
are replying correctly, as this can be very confusing for new posters.

AND I had to copy the entire post since you are using OE and a sig file
which inserts a DELIMITER (dash dash space) where it SHOULD NOT GO. Get
QuoteFix or stop using a sig file if you're going to top post using OE.
http://home.in.tum.de/~jain/software/oe-quotefix/

And AGAIN you put down other suggestions while putting YOUR suggestion
at the top. Your suggestion ONLY reduced the risk, it didn't eliminate it.

You start off by stating, "This is all by and by." BUT end with, "But,
most importantly, you should NEVER just pull out a USB removable storage
device anyway, without first clicking on this "Safely Remove Hardware"
button first." THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT I STATED TO THE OP!! NOT "by and by"!

CONTRARY to your comment in your first reply, "While you are able to
physically "pull" out the USB cable during a read/write operation, it
will never be totally failsafe.", using my suggestion IS totally failsafe.



Terry R.