USB devices must be ejected prior to removing them from a computer or shutting down. The device is ejected to avoid disrupting data being written. If you detach the device without properly ejecting it, the data encoding process falls prey to corruption.
Sometimes, your Mac runs some basic serviceability on the drive; you need to signal you want to remove it. However, unsafely ejecting USB drives from your Mac may be totally harmless.
In this post, we’ll explore how to eject USB from Mac safely, why it’s important to exercise care and we’ll talk about various ways to achieve it.
Part 1. Why Safely Eject USB Drives from Mac
Do You Really Need to Safely Remove USB?
Why is it important for you to know how to eject USB from Mac safely? There are some disadvantages if you don’t remove your USB safely below:
1. Abrupt Detachment of USB May Corrupt Data
The Operating System employs write caching making it important to abide by the appropriate ejection process. With the file at the ready in the execution state, the OS delays the encoding process and caches the data until other operations finish. If you detach the USB with a cache underway, your data may get corrupted.
Safely removing the external device consummates the cache or the remaining data and screeches any ongoing processes in the background to a halt.
2. Impairs the Logical File System
Another detriment of unsafe ejection of USB is the impairment of the logical file system. Unsafe ejection destroys cells. These cells store internal drive data and any damage could render the existent information inaccessible.
3. Data Loss
Removing a drive prematurely while it’s still in use opens a new can of worms. It triggers corruptions that essentially compel you to reformat the drive completely. Without backup, you could be caught napping. This is why your Mac displays a message to remind you to eject drives safely.
Below are examples of circumstances where removing a drive prematurely can damage the USB:
- Running installation for files via the USB
- Copying files from or to the flash drive
- When an open process is using contents from the drive
- When the USB is in the process of being wiped out or formatted
Part 2. How to Properly Eject USB from Mac
There’s more than one way on how to eject USB from Mac safely rather than abruptly pulling it out.
How to Eject USB from Mac without Finder
If you've got a USB drive paired with your Mac, it shows up on your Desktop by default unless you’ve specifically tweaked it not to do this.
To eject USBs with the right-click technique, just right-click on the device you want to detach and click on the “Eject Drive” button.
Now, wait for the drive to peter out of your desktop before detaching it. This may take a few seconds.
How to Eject USB from Mac with Finder
How do I eject USB from Mac without icon? Command-E can be the easiest operation. Here is also another way to securely eject USB drives from Mac, which is to launch a Finder window with the device attached to your computer.
Where is the Eject USB button on Mac? At the foot of the sidebar in the Finder window, the drive appears in the Devices list. Just tap on the Eject button on the right of the USB to safely remove it.
Sit back and wait for the drive to vanish from the sidebar signaling it’s safe to unplug it from your computer.
Trashing Device to Properly Eject USB from Mac
The last way on how to eject USB from Mac safely is by trashing the device. With this approach, you can click and drag any plugged USB icon to the Trash on your Dock and its tag is replaced with the Eject option.
After yanking, you can let it go over the Eject feature and this will securely discharge the media drive from your computer. Next, wait for the icon to peter out from your Desktop and you’re good to go.