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USB Safely Remove 5.3.8 Giveaway
$19.90
EXPIRED

Giveaway of the day — USB Safely Remove 5.3.8

A lifesaver for active users of USB devices.
$19.90 EXPIRED
User rating: 256 76 comments

USB Safely Remove 5.3.8 was available as a giveaway on January 16, 2016!

Today Giveaway of the Day
$36.00
free today
Download music from 1000+ sites anytime and anywhere!

Have you ever lost important data due to inappropriate removal of external drive? Windows doesn’t allow you to stop a device? Accidentally stopped a drive you don’t aim to remove? USB Safely Remove solves these and other inconveniences of safe removal in Windows and offers much more features for convenient and secure work with external devices.

Get Zentimo at 40% off. Zentimo offers even more benefits for active USB users.

System Requirements:

Windows XP/ 2003/ Vista/ 7/ 8/ 8.1/ 10 (x32/x64)

Publisher:

Crystal Rich Ltd.

Homepage:

http://safelyremove.com/

File Size:

10 MB

Price:

$19.90

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Developed by Informer Technologies, Inc.
Developed by IObit
Developed by OmicronLab
Developed by Garmin Ltd or its subsidiaries

Comments on USB Safely Remove 5.3.8

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#1

Hi GOTD’ers!

I'm happy to meet you again! Today we are running the giveaway for our award winning app ‘USB Safely Remove’, find detailed features here: http://safelyremove.com/features.htm

Note! In order to register ‘USB Safely Remove’ you have to request the license key from our web-site: Request Free ‘USB Safely Remove’ License, besides installing the download from the giveawayoftheday.com.

Other notes on requesting the license:
1. The license should arrive immediately to your inbox after you requested it, if it isn’t there please check your “spam” folder, add “support@safelyremove.com” email address to the white list and try to request the license again.
2. Also you can try to request the license to your email at a different mail server. Just return back to the form and fill it again.
3. If you do the above steps and still cannot receive the license feel free to write us from our support form. Please, don’t write about it here, if we don’t know your email address we simply can’t help.

Of course feel free to ask any questions here at GOTD, I’ll be glad to help.

Special offer
We are happy to offer 40% discount on Zentimo xStorage Manager which is a more powerful version of USB Safely Remove:
Get Zentimo at 40% off!

Regards,
Igor Tkachenko,
Crystal Rich Ltd

Reply   |   Comment by Igor  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+25)
#33

I know we are SUPPOSED to be able to remove USBs safely without any additional program without any problem; however, if you do a Google search you will quickly see that a LOT of people cannot. I couldn't. The icon saying it was safe to remove the drives just disappeared. I ran across this giveAway while I was searching how to solve the mystery of the missing SAFE message, and I ran across this program and downloaded the freebie to try it out. I LOVE IT. It is nice to feel safe again when I remove my USB drives--THANK YOU!!!

Reply   |   Comment by Donna77642  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)
#32

I neglected to uninstall an old version of "Safely Remove" before installing the current version. After installing I discovered that my mouse cursor was busy about every other second. I couldn't figure out what was going on. Only after uninstalling the new version did my cursor return to its normal behavior. I guess I will just use the Windows 10 builtin removal software. Anyone else have this problem?

Reply   |   Comment by Jerry W  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)
#31

Installed on Win10 Pro I had tried this on a previous GOTD and had problems with it and uninstalled it. This time I am on a much later build and all of the problems I had last time have been resolved. It does work well and the added features will now be useful for me.

Thank You GOTD and Crystal Rich LTD

Rick Martin

Reply   |   Comment by Rick Martin  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)
#30

I'm having trouble installing it under Windows 10. It appears to go through the motions but, when it's done, USB Safely Removed is not installed on the system and, in fact, I can't find the executable either (except for that of the installer).

Now, it should be noted that I only just started using Windows 10 today and my difficulties may simply be those of a beginner... but I'd really like to get this installed; I used it (probably under XP) on an older machine some years back and it was very useful. Does anyone have advice?

Reply   |   Comment by Laura Nass  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-1)

Laura Nass
Got it! It was not enough to run the downloaded executable; I needed to run setup.exe in the same directory afterward. Once that was done, I was able to run the program and ask for a key from the website, and enter that key into the program. All seems okay now.

Reply   |   Comment by Laura Nass  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)
#29

What does USB Safely Remove do that isn't done already by Windows? On my Windows XP machine, I've got an XP Power Toy that lets me know when USB devices can be safely removed, and on Windows 7 I use the built-in feature. Does USB Safely Remove do anything other than indicate whether a drive can be safely removed?

Reply   |   Comment by Walter Snodgrass  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-1)
#28

Add feature: Automatically checks devices for icons and offers to use them in place of default icons.

Love your products since Zentimo 1.

Reply   |   Comment by Adam  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-1)
#27

Hi. I have version 5.2 that was given away here some time ago. I do not wish to uninstall it just yet but am wanting to try this new version to see what difference there is. Can I have 2 installations of this if I rename the program directory such as USB Safely Remove2 in the Programs folder. Using Win XP Pro SP3.

Reply   |   Comment by Dan  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)
#26

I have been using the Crystal Rich USB Safely Remove program since I saw it here at GAOTD years ago (2008). I liked it so much, I bought a lifetime license. Yes Win 7 does have the ability to just unplug, but when you have USB mapped drives and things like USB keyboards and mice, it is great that you can hide them so you never have to be bothered again with messages from Windows saying you have something still running. I guess I am old school, but I still do "ejects" before unplugging any USB device, just to be sure I don't lose anything on those thumbdrives or other devices with data on them.

Thank you GAOTD and Igor Tkachenko!

Reply   |   Comment by mahaal  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)
#25

I believe I will buy the Zentimo offer...especially after reading this: "Zentimo ... makes working with external drives fun & pleasure."
I never imagined working external drives could be 'fun & pleasure'. That alone is worth the price. :-)

Reply   |   Comment by Preston Mitchell  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)
#24

Uninstalled after multiple attempts to prevent running at windows startup failed.

Reply   |   Comment by Buckley  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-7)

Why on earth try to stop it running at Windows startup? Programs like this are monitors that by their very nature are of little use unless they're continually running [and can react when a USB device needs to be removed].

Reply   |   Comment by Tony Austin  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+13)

Tony Austin
Because sometimes I want the option to suspend some unnecessary startup programs for system diagnosis. Appears the only way to do this with USBSR is to uninstall it.

Reply   |   Comment by Buckley  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

Okay, I can fully understand that need. I used to run Crystal Rich USB Safely Remove some years ago this deficiency slips my mind, and not being able to exit certainly can be a problem. Can't you kill it via Task Manager? (But then again, if it's a Windows service -- I can't remember back that far -- it might automatically restart, so you'd have to keep killing it.)

For three or more years I've been running it's "big brother" Zentimo xStorage Manager, which DOES have an Exit option (accessible via the System Tray icon), and I would have expected USB Safely Remove to have this option too.

Reply   |   Comment by Tony Austin  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

Buckley
Did you try msconfig? There are programs like regrun and others that can suspend or terminate start at boot time without having to mess with the registry or anything. I was able to suspend boot time startup of this program.

Reply   |   Comment by Doug  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

Doug
Think I already tried using msconfig but out of curiosity, will reinstall USBSR on a Win7 Pro laptop and try again. Thanks to you both for the suggestions.

Reply   |   Comment by Buckley  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)
#23

Thank you very much for the free distribution program.
For me, the program costed very expensive: 1/20 part of from my salary

Reply   |   Comment by Ivan  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)
#22

My Windows 10 DOES have a usb disconnect option running in the bottom right running devices area.

Reply   |   Comment by chidancer  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-4)
#21

I've removed flash drives 1,000's of times without any special software or anything ... just pulled it right out. Never ever have had a single problem and never will. this software ain't needed by no won.

Reply   |   Comment by bill power  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-27)

bill power ,
So lots of similar posts about "life's too short to remove something" today that I have to respond. In short you can just pull out thumb drives and (probably) nothing bad will happen, but our program is more about management of USB devices rather than just only safe removal. You can read more in our FAQ article: Why do I need your program when I can setup "Optimize for quick removal" option and just pull devices out?.

Regards,
Igor Tkachenko,
Crystal Rich Ltd
http://crystalrich.com

Reply   |   Comment by Igor  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+9)

Igor
Then why call it by the name USB Safely Remove instead of something else? I am pretty sure the name alone does NOT help you guys to sell any copies of this considering Windows has had this feature for years built right on in. Why not go with a different name that seprates your software from what Widnows has built in already?

Reply   |   Comment by Topken  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+3)

Topken Igor. I totally agree. A poor name has killed more than one great software. I almost breezed away when I saw this GOATD offer's name. I figured...like, why do I need to install something that W7 does natively.

Reply   |   Comment by Preston Mitchell  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+1)
#20

been using this since windows 95. works great and would not use a computer without it. no way and no how.

Reply   |   Comment by jerri  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+7)
#19

To safely remove a USB device, if Windows won't let you, is to simply shut down your computer, and then unplug the device.
You can't get any safer than that.

fred

Reply   |   Comment by Fred Sasse  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-16)
#18

I've had this program installed on my desktop since 2011(Win 7 - 64) and it works. How? I do a lot of graphics work and save it on a flash drive to take to my local printer. After I save the files to my flash drive I just pull it out of my USB port - that's all. Been doing that for years with no problems - no harm, no foul. I like it and it works fine for me.

Reply   |   Comment by Powder Skier  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-3)
#17

Not necessary. Windows already has a safely remove drive option. On those few occasions where a window or process may have a file open to the drive and it won't let me remove the drive, I just wait a few minutes until the caching is done and the drive light hasn't flickered for a minute and remove it. I never have corrupted a disk or lost data.

I'll pass - not worth the effort to download this for free today.

Reply   |   Comment by Jerry  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-10)

Jerry
Only windows from 7 on has this feature built-in. When I was still running XP I swore by USBSR though. I recommend it for anyone running a pre-7 version of Windows. For everyone else it seems redundant.

Reply   |   Comment by Werner Maurer  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+2)

Jerry ,
As the story goes, since Windows Vista the "safely remove" option no longer cuts the electrical energy supplied to the USB device, although allowing the cache being discharged. Indeed, chances of getting a corrupt USB device due to this are minimal but, then again, it is a chance easily avoided with this offer.

Reply   |   Comment by Charlie Mangs  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+2)
#16

Igor,
I've had Zentimo xStorage Manager for some years now & it works great. Seeing today's giveawayoftheday from Crystal Rich caught my interest, so I downloaded and installed it...
Then I got 2 error messages after installing USB Safely Remove 5.3.8. It won't allow me to insert a .bmp of messages on-screen so this is what they are:

"Warning! A running copy of Zentimo xStorage Manager has been found. Simultaneous functioning of Zentimo and USB Safely Remove may cause an incorrect behavior of the system, so we recommend you to uninstall one of the programs."

Second message was same as the first with exception being a reversal of programs mentioned.
Just curious why both programs made by the same company cannot work in harmony with each other on an XP Pro computer?

Reply   |   Comment by Dan  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

Dan
Zentimo xStorage Manager includes the functionality of USB Safely Remove so you would have two programs trying to do the same thing, so they would conflict with each other.

Reply   |   Comment by Morris Cox  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+1)
#15

This is a good and useful programme, but WHY is the message "It is safe to remove...." or more importantly, "The drive cannot be stopped right now...." SO TINY? I've got my screen at x 120% -- and it is still small and hard to read!

This really should be increased in size.... In fact, I tried to put this point in the suggestion box, but it simply wouldn't save:

The message really needs to be made a lot bigger / clearer. And not just for people who are getting on in years: The message that you should NOT remove the drive is IMPORTANT -- so you need to be able to see it very clearly! Why not make it BIGGER, and in RED to signal you should NOT remove the drive or USB device?

Seems fairly logical, and shouldn't require much extra coding.

Reply   |   Comment by Tranmontane  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+23)

Tranmontane,
I cannot see the picture I suppose you added to your message. Please either share it somewhere and put the link here or send us at support@crystalrich.com so that we know what do you mean.

Regards,
Igor Tkachenko,
Crystal Rich Ltd
http://crystalrich.com

Reply   |   Comment by Igor  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-4)
#14

It works well with Win10 X64, EXCEPT when shutting down my laptop. Even though I have removed my USB prior to shutting down, Zentimo says (thinks?) I still have a USB device connected and the shutdown process halts until I tell it to "go ahead and shut down anyway". A minor, but VERY annoying bug.

Reply   |   Comment by Karl K  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+13)

Karl K,
Perhaps you have some internal USB devices (e.g. web-camera or a card reader) on the menu. Try to either hide these devices from the menu (see http://safelyremove.com/help/ht_hideDevice.htm) or you can disable the "Notify about connected devices on system exit" option on the Notifications tab of the program settings and the program won't show you any notifications on system exit.

Regards,
Igor Tkachenko,
Crystal Rich Ltd
http://crystalrich.com

Reply   |   Comment by Igor  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+2)
#13

I've been using USB Safely Remove for a long time and like it a lot. My current install is 5.3.5 and the update checker says no new versions are available. What's different in 5.3.8? Thanks!

Reply   |   Comment by Victek  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+7)

Victek,
Actually almost nothing, this is just a new build so that we can distinguish users from the newer giveaway. So if you have 5.3.5 there's no need to update to 5.3.8

Regards,
Igor Tkachenko,
Crystal Rich Ltd
http://crystalrich.com

Reply   |   Comment by Igor  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+3)
#12

I have two questions that can help others and myself:

I'm using USB Safely Remove Ver. 5.2.4.1215 given away on 8/18/2014. It works very fine on my Windows 7 laptop. I went to the company site and can't seem to find the release notes. I do see where the current upgrade license is good for one year.

If I upgrade to this version on Windows 7 using my 3 year old hardware I wont be upgrading because it is a laptop, are there any advantages, or is this just a version that works better with Windows 10 and the latest hard drives?

Can I install this version over my current version without registering again considering it has been over one year since the giveaway I have installed?

Thanks.

Reply   |   Comment by Glen C  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+1)

Glen C
You can find here the new features of 5.3: http://safelyremove.com/blog/en/usbsafelyremove-5-3 and consider yourself if you need them.

Regards,
Igor Tkachenko,
Crystal Rich Ltd
http://crystalrich.com

Reply   |   Comment by Igor  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+3)

Igor
Thank you.

Reply   |   Comment by Glen C  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)
#11

Looks like someone has tried to solve a problem which doesn't exist.
If you can't unplug a USB safely, I suggest you take your PC back to the shop for a refund.

82% positive.... mmmmm. This is very questionable.
Is the rating system on here corrupt? It's very rare now that anything goes below 50-60% positive....

The law of averages say this is impossible everyday. If you flip a coin, what are the chances of it landing on heads everytime?

Reply   |   Comment by blea1975  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-26)
#10

You gotta be kidding me you need a software like that...
I mena... you gotta be kidding me you need to pay for a software like that...

Reply   |   Comment by Ralph Rodriguez  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-2)

Ralph Rodriguez
You repeat yourself.

Reply   |   Comment by Frank  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

Ralph Rodriguez
Nobody's kidding you . . . Read some of the comments posted before yours from those who currently use this software.

And you don't need "to pay for a software like that" -- it's free today.

Reply   |   Comment by Suze  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+2)
#9

great program, installed at previous giveaway.
won't be trying the new version because GAOTD actively prevents Xp Sp2 from installing.
and is immune to feedback to solve the problem.

could use an option to restart device, like a virtual unplug replug for mice
or other device that needs a restart.

Reply   |   Comment by e  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+1)

e
XP SP3 - OK!

Reply   |   Comment by Ivan  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+1)
#8

I've used this software before and can thoroughly recommend it. Just one question: can I use the same licence key on more than one computer?

Reply   |   Comment by Dave K  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-12)

Dave K
Yes, it's possible. You can install and use one key personally on each of your computers.

Regards,
Igor Tkachenko,
Crystal Rich Ltd
http://crystalrich.com

Reply   |   Comment by Igor  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+6)
#7

I also don't understand the use for this type of software. I wait until I have turned off my computer and/or laptop, before I unplug the USB device. So I don't even need the built in one.

Reply   |   Comment by Robert  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-33)

Robert
SO...........you trust windows will close all files properly 100% of the time?

Reply   |   Comment by DanK  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+1)

DanK
Yes, I trust Microsoft more than a program built in some dude's basement to do just about anything. Not that this program was build in a basement. It might have been built in a warehouse for all I know. Or a kitchen.

Reply   |   Comment by Swamp Thing  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-18)

Robert
Its easy to have USB drives go to sleep and hide drives quickly.
I have used it for a few years now and love it.

Reply   |   Comment by Ken  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

Robert
At the very least you should use "safely remove" in Windows Explorer box just to be sure. I have ruined a USB device thinking it was safe to remove because Windows was shutting down. In fact, on my computer, I can't shut down without getting a warning that I have USB devices still plugged in (it might be due to Zentimo warning me) so I feel pretty safe in saying that you should first remove USB drives safely.

Reply   |   Comment by Therese S.  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+3)
#6

Great utility that I have been using for years without any issues. Runs on Windows 10 with no problems either.

Its much better than the standard built-in usb remove because you can do things like hide drives you dont want to be allowed to be removed (like my second drive which is in a caddy that replaced the DVD drive). You can also force stop processes that are preventing the usb being removed.

Additional features I'd like are a Windows 10 theme (I made my own but it would be nice if the various type of drive images also reflected the Windows 10 style) and I would like the option to use the default windows usb remove icon in the taskbar, instead of the green arrow. I know what the green arrow means, but anyone using my computer gets confused where the usb remove is, so it would be nice if you can use that instead

Otherwise a briliant program, thankyou

Reply   |   Comment by Andy  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+6)

Andy ,
Thanks for your appreciation! And we will consider your suggestions for the following versions.

Regards,
Igor Tkachenko,
Crystal Rich Ltd
http://crystalrich.com

Reply   |   Comment by Igor  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+3)
#5

Does Safely Remove do anything to help with a PC running Windows 7 that periodically has trouble reading USB 3 drives which requires a reboot in order to get flash drives and external hard drives recognized again?

Reply   |   Comment by Stephe  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+2)

Stephe
Sounds like you are experiencing IRQ conflicts. This site should help http://www.techspot.com/community/topics/fixing-that-irq-conflict.886/

Good Luck

Reply   |   Comment by gerrymar  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+6)

Stephe
I doubt it. USB Safely Remove doesn't cure flash drives or USB controllers. Furthermore your problem is more about your hardware and I suppose that there only replacement of the hardware can help.

Regards,
Igor Tkachenko,
Crystal Rich Ltd
http://crystalrich.com

Reply   |   Comment by Igor  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+7)
#4

The same version as the last Giveaway. Once you get used to how it works it's excellent. In my list of the best GAotDs ever (as in the top 5, maybe top 3). I'll be downloading to add to my laptop and HTPC.

Reply   |   Comment by JohnL  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-7)

JohnL
JohnL
Actually I'm wrong, it's 5.3.8.1234 vs 5.3.8.1232 previously, didn't spot that immediately.

Note you can install it over the previous GAotD version without asking for another license.

Also I should point out that by default you don't get a system tray icon unless there is anything to remove, which I always change. So don't worry if it doesn't seem to appear in the tray after you start it. (When you run it up you will get a notification above the system tray where you can select the options in the top right.)

Reply   |   Comment by JohnL  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+12)
#3

Can someone explain why you actually need this? (serious question) I've been unplugging usb devices ever since they came out, and never ever had a problem. Is that because I'm extremely lucky, or simply because I'm not daft enough to unplug something whilst it's being read/written to.

Reply   |   Comment by lofty  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+35)

lofty
I'm in the same boat as you, I use a lot of usb devices and never had a problem, there must be more to this software, I'll need to give it a try before I can make a valid comment on it.

Reply   |   Comment by Lenny  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+8)

lofty
You've been lucky! Like you, i've never knowingly unplugged a flash stick when it's being written to, but you can't always tell. Virus checkers etc are constantly monitoring your drives. I lost a usb stick recently when my son unplugged it carelessly. This software is very good. I've used it for years. Occasionally you will get a message that a device is still being used by windows so you can't unplug it.

Reply   |   Comment by Giveusabreàk  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+12)

lofty
Here's why. :-)
http://lifehacker.com/5863810/do-i-really-need-to-eject-usb-drives-before-removing-them

Reply   |   Comment by XP-Man  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+16)

Giveusabreàk
That´s a fault by the setting in your virus checker. When only you use the usb-stick it is not necessary to monitoring it by an AV-SW...

Reply   |   Comment by Mike  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-9)

lofty
You're lucky. With both XP ad Win 7 the native unplugger sometimes fails as it says there's an application running on the device to be unplugged (but does not tell what) even if you closed any high level applicaton using that device. Besides, sometimes the icon to the native unplugger disappears with no apparent reason from the tra and no wayto make it appear again manually. In those cases USB safely remover has always been working.

Reply   |   Comment by Olivax  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+3)

XP-Man
Hi read the article. Interesting to note the concluding paragraph "In the end, there's no reason not to eject your drives, and doing so will ensure your data is uber-safe. Windows users may be less likely to experience issues due to the way Windows handles removable drives". Btw, http://www.pcworld.com/article/254868/safely_remove_usb_drives_just_by_unplugging_them.html
seems to think it isn't necessary.

Reply   |   Comment by lofty  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+3)

lofty
Me too
If something is running to or from your USB don't unplug
F%&^%*&*&ing Common Sense
Beside Life's too short to remove safely

Reply   |   Comment by Peter Alexander London  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-25)

lofty
Fully agree with your comment

Reply   |   Comment by Ronald W  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-20)

lofty
It is a bad shoot to simply pull out your USB device when you think it is no longer being updated. You aren't going to use process explorer to find out which process is possibly writing, and for sure you cannot know when the operating system has finished flushing its buffers. That buffer flushing depends on what other higher priority activities may intervene and get the operating system's attention. It also depends greatly on what kind of file you are moving between your main system and the USB device. You probably are not altering music or photo/image files so you won't see any effect if they are not updated. Or you happened to wait long enough for the system to complete the updates. Programs or documents on the other hand really care if you fail to update a changed or moved block. So comments to the effect that "I've never had a problem" may only mean the commenter never experienced the use case which YOU use all the time.
I have been using zentimo/USB SR since I first got it here on GOTD several years ago. I recommend it. Get used to clicking it and requesting eject. I'd say the 1 out of 3 times the program tells me "cannot stop device at this time". This is especially true when it isn't a flash drive but a big (4-5TB) external drive used for backup.

Reply   |   Comment by JohnS  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+6)

lofty
Ejecting a flash drive correctly is similar to wearing a crash helmet on a cycle, hopefully never necessary but worth it.
Further interesting reading is available here:-
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/really-need-eject-flash-drive-device-removing/
It depends how important your data is, if it's your system or data USB backup surely it is worth the extra effort of ensuring that removing it is done in the most secure manner.
You can get away with it for years, you can do the same on your cycle the question is, is it worth it?

Reply   |   Comment by XP-Man  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+3)

lofty
You can't always tell if a device is in use just based on your own behavior. I store images and music on several drives and I discovered that Windows was secretly analyzing everything on them, probably a media function, but it means that safe removal is essential, which you can do with Windows Explorer, or programs such as the Crystal Rich giveaway today. The giveaway has more options than Windows offers.

Reply   |   Comment by Therese S.  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+2)

Olivax
That's my experience too. It happens too often, that the build in service shots down - or just can't stop the system from using the USB device. It's the major reason to data loss at ext. devices. If some users are sceptic, then read a bit about the subject. XP-Man was kind enough to post a link, which gives a very good description. I think, people should give this program a chance - at least, it's for free today.
As a mucician I work with ext. devices all the time creating backtracks (e.g), and I have tried to loose a days production, cause I was too eager to remove my ext. device. That simply won't happen using U.S.R. Thanks a lot to developer and the team behind GAOTD. Happy weekend from Denmark

Reply   |   Comment by Allan  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+3)

JohnS
A reported problem one out of three times! Hmmm, to me that puts this into the same category as the tune up utilities that claim to have found a zillion problems on a computer that runs fine

Reply   |   Comment by lofty  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-4)
#2

A simple installation and a smooth registration; it places itself conveniently in the taskbar.

Have used this program since last given away and would not be without it as it makes dealing with USB connected devices more convenient and safe.

Particularly like the fact that when the mouse hovers over the icon in the taskbar a pop-up message lists the USB devices connected.
A right click over a selected device brings up a menu which includes "Browse drive."
A really useful feature when viewing SD cards from my various cameras, this alone makes it worth a download.

Reply   |   Comment by XP-Man  –  8 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+20)
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