The USB safe removal has been the subject of many jokes, especially since no one seemed to choose this option. It appears that Windows is ready to put an end to it as well.
Version 1809 of Windows 10 came with an update for the default setting for USB and Thunderbolt, which are the enabled external devices. Until now the default setting was “Better performance”, which also allowed caching on external devices. However, this setting needed the “Safely Remove Hardware” process.
The latest update changes the default setting, and now the default is the “Quick Removal. According to Microsoft, the “Safe to Remove Hardware” prompt helped protect the data on the USB stick so that you do not lose it or have it corrupted. However, users prefer ejecting it quickly, and the new default setting offers them exactly that.
However, there is also a downside according to Microsoft. It appears that “Quick removal” might “degrade system performance” sinced it does not allow to write caching. If you prefer the setting that offers you better performance, you might want to choose it as your default. Microsoft also provided all the steps that you need to follow in order to do that.
1. Connect the device to the computer.
2. Right-click Start, and then select File Explorer.
3. In File Explorer, identify the letter or label that is associated with the device (for example, USB Drive (D:)).
4. Right-click Start, and then select Disk Management.
5. In the lower section of the Disk Management window, right-click the label of the device, and then click Properties.
6. Select Policies, and then select the policy you want to use.
Your computer should receive version 1809 automatically. If you did not get the update you should make sure that your computer is running the latest version so you can quick remove USBs safely.
Nora Reynolds is a major in biology and a minor in Biological Basis of Behavior, writing about science in general. She also likes to try new gadgets and sports about the AI new era.
