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[FREE] USB Safely Remove Software

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[FREE] USB Safely Remove Software
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BigLeviathan on 17/01/2016 - 01:01 safelyremove.com (633 clicks)
Last edited 17/01/2016 - 01:10 by 1 other user

A lifesaver for active users of USB devices
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.

Comparison with built-in Windows feature: http://safelyremove.com/usbsafelyremove-vs-windows.htm

Direct download for the file: http://safelyremove.com/startdownload.htm?v=5.3gtd2

Note: I originally received the email from giveawayoftheday, downloaded the files and it turns out you can download the file directly from the developer site.
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closed Comments

  • 7hours 44min ago on 17/01/2016 - 01:04
    +23

    Free feature of windows since 95?

    • BigLeviathan on 17/01/2016 - 01:05
      +2

      With Windows built-in feature, sometimes the USB device cannot be removed (as it is used by other application), with this one seems better.

      Refer to http://safelyremove.com/usbsafelyremove-vs-windows.htm for comparison

    • ilikeit on 17/01/2016 - 01:07
      +4

      I use the feature to return the drive so it can be read after ejecting, without physically withdrawing and reinserting the drive.

      • [Deactivated] on 17/01/2016 - 02:03

        Expert tip!

        • ilikeit on 17/01/2016 - 07:08
          +2

          Sarcasm noted. I haven't actually had it installed for a few years - wrong tense in my previous comment. However, some of my work computers running older OSs are in challenging locations and often students would eject incorrect drives and then rip out their own. This program was helpful since I didn't have to get off my ass and go digging behind a computer - time is precious in work my environment. Also, I was able to hide USB devices that were never removed from the list of devices.

        • [Deactivated] on 17/01/2016 - 12:00

          @ilikeit:

          :)

  • AirMartino347 on 17/01/2016 - 01:05
    +21

    Is this a joke?

    • [Deactivated] on 17/01/2016 - 01:10
      +3

      I believe it is.

      • [Deactivated] on 17/01/2016 - 02:02
        +1

        Hilarious, ain't it?

        • jv on 17/01/2016 - 09:27
          +2

          I LOL"d

        • [Deactivated] on 17/01/2016 - 12:00
          +1

          @jv:

          lol

  • lyl on 17/01/2016 - 01:06
    +25

    safely remove? ain't nobody got time fo dat

  • [Deactivated] on 17/01/2016 - 01:09
    +3

    This is BS. Free part of Windows since USB was probably discovered.

    Not a deal.

  • donnot on 17/01/2016 - 01:16
    +4

    That site looks a lot like something I'd see in a popup window…

  • ChesoRepresent on 17/01/2016 - 01:23
    +5

    Don't really see much of a bargain here, still exists a PRO version to be bought, so we're still presented with a partial product.

  • [Deactivated] on 17/01/2016 - 01:28
    +1

    …This is free built in to Windows? Wtf

  • syousef on 17/01/2016 - 01:37
    +4

    This is for users who don't realize that Windows Explorer doesn't let go of file handles properly when you navigate away from a page. So you get a message that the device can't be removed because it's in use.

    If you shut down all the explorer windows and any other program that was used to access the drive you'll find Windows will then let you remove the drive. On some occasions I've actually had to kill the explorer process.

    Presumably all this software does is kill all the file handles. You can do it easily enough with Sysinternals Process Explorer if you know what you're doing and what to search for but this offer is for end user software, not admin and troubleshooting software like Sysinternals.

    Bottom line: There are free alternatives. Learn to drive your OS. Learn its shortcomings.

    • greenie4242 on 17/01/2016 - 11:51
      +3

      This is for people like my grandmother who don't, and shouldn't have to understand how the operating system works. I myself do understand the OS inner workings, but I PREFER to use this tool, as it's easier than opening three different applications to just find out why a USB drive won't eject on its own. This tool also allows USB keys to be easily remounted without unplugging them, which is great for testing, or for trouble-shooting, or for software that refreshes things automatically.

      I perform a LOT of data recovery for people. Many times people lose files because they yank out a USB stick or hard disk without realising Windows is still writing to it, or Office still had a temp file open. This software has even stopped ME from losing data when I went to click "eject" and nearly pulled out the wrong USB drive. Because I can assign descriptive names to each USB port with this software, I have much more control. Windows Explorer doesn't do this.

      This software allows me to rename USB drives to "Top Left USB Socket" - "Bottom Right USB Socket" so if I have five indentical USB flash drives, I know exactly which one I'm pulling out. Does Windows Explorer do this? NO!! It also allows me to easily unmount and remount SATA drives, which is fantastic for troubleshooting!

      I really don't understand the hatred for this software. People upvote multivitamin deals all the time, when most vitamins are expensive but are just pissed down the toilet unless you have a specifically diagnosed deficiency! But this is free and works very very well, far better than Windows alone.

      • syousef on 17/01/2016 - 11:55
        +1

        Just be aware that there is some potential loss of data killing the file handle. You're still better off closing all programs that are accessing the drive.

        Nevertheless try this for free if you're looking for something for your grandmother that's always free. When you recommend a piece of freeware rather than a time limited deal you can share it with others more readily when it's not on a windows deal.
        http://quickandeasysoftware.net/software/usb-disk-ejector

        Yes most supplements are "not backed by the evidence".

    • SlickMick on 17/01/2016 - 23:02

      or use a handy tool to circumvent the shortcomings??

  • Sage on 17/01/2016 - 01:54
    +4

    just rip it out. unless you're using a mac computer it will be okay. it only stuffs it up if it's doing something but logically it only does things after you've told it to.

    • Lord Fart Bucket on 17/01/2016 - 08:02
      +6

      I haven't had any issues with ripping it out on a mac. Other than being told in a somewhat condescending way not to do that again.

      • greenie4242 on 17/01/2016 - 11:58
        +2

        That's the spirit, rip it out. As a person who is paid big $$$ to recover corrupted university dissertations for PhD students, legal documents that could send or keep people from going to prison, medical documents that can save people's lives, I wholehardedly support just ripping out the USB drive. It keeps me in business! It works well for many people. But if you lost weeks or months worth of research because it was 3am and you had a presentation the next day, were half asleep, and pulled out a USB stick before ejecting it while the file was still open, you might wish you'd trained yourself to eject things safely.

        For people who want a very easy way to name their USB ports so they know which one they are pulling out, people who want to re-mount USB drives without unplugging them (useful for trouble-shooting or testing software, or if you ejected something then realise you have to add another file) and people who don't understand computers very well but want large icons for something that helps them through the process, this is VERY GOOD SOFTWARE!

        • punk000 on 17/01/2016 - 19:32
          +3

          Come on, a PhD student should know better to have back up of a backup of a backup of her/his thesis write up and data etc. I still remember a decade ago seeing a print out on a notice board at RMIT going something like "To the person who has taken my lap top and the zip drive (remember those zip drive that gives 100+ MB), you can keep the laptop, but please return the zip drive to xxx pigeon hole as it contain my PhD thesis work".

        • Lord Fart Bucket on 17/01/2016 - 19:45

          I barely use USBs nowadays. Cloud for my documents.

        • Lord Fart Bucket on 17/01/2016 - 19:49
          +4

          As a person who is paid big $$$ to recover corrupted university dissertations for PhD students, legal documents that could send or keep people from going to prison, medical documents that can save people's lives,

          I have to ask…are you in the data recovery marketing department?
          Please publish a client list. I will never use the lawyers and doctors that use your service.

        • justtoreply on 17/01/2016 - 22:58

          Genuine curiosity, whats the difference between professional service from a company like the one you work for and downloading stuff like GetDataBack etc etc and doing it yourself?

  • testeagles on 17/01/2016 - 01:55
    +1

    I have used this and recommend you to try it before passing judgment

    • Duff5000 on 17/01/2016 - 10:15
      +1

      When it is ever useful?

  • conio on 17/01/2016 - 01:57
    +10

    this is what happens when people are drinking and playing on the internet on a saturday night … friends dont let friends drink and ozbargain

    • [Deactivated] on 17/01/2016 - 02:01
      +1

      Like drunk dialling, it's called drunk bargaining…

      • [Deactivated] on 17/01/2016 - 02:03
        -3

        After a big night it's OzBarfin'

  • [Deactivated] on 17/01/2016 - 02:19
    +6

    Never once have I ever lost data by removing a USB drive without disconnecting first.

    • samfisher5986 on 17/01/2016 - 03:54
      -1

      Its actually impossible to lose data in the traditional sense.

      It is however possible for a file copy or similar to claim its finished but its not actually finished. If you remove the usb before its finished you will simply not have the files it has not finished copying yet.

      This is not a big deal since you can just copy it again or alternatively fix the issue as this is normally caused by a cheap or slow usb.

    • [Deactivated] on 17/01/2016 - 04:15

      You can lose data, it generally happens with fat32 fs and issues with the usb port. It has happened to me while onsite when I needed that usb. You can't really get around it though because you can't control their hardware and you need fat32 for various boot reasons.

      • Duff5000 on 17/01/2016 - 10:16
        +1

        And this "deal" wouldn't have helped anyway as it would have killed the file copy process if you used it surely?

        • [Deactivated] on 17/01/2016 - 20:53

          Dude, I'm not trying to defend the deal I said "You can't really get around it though because you can't control their hardware and you need fat32 for various boot reasons."

          I'm just trying to educate people there is a risk. Haters gonna hate.

        • Duff5000 on 18/01/2016 - 01:25

          @voolish:

          I think you are reading more into my comment than what was written. I wasnt arguing with you.

        • [Deactivated] on 19/01/2016 - 21:07

          @Duff5000: no worries

    • Carnivean on 17/01/2016 - 15:31
      +5

      I have seen it happen more than once. Whose anecdote wins?

    • ozkiwi75 on 17/01/2016 - 19:15

      I lost 2T of data on my external hard disk. Very frustrating and wasn't able to recover any of it. It may never have happened to you, but it only takes once to learn your lesson! Having said that, if for some reason the drive gets locked up and can't disconnect, I just shutdown the machine and unplug the device afterwards.

      • samfisher5986 on 18/01/2016 - 02:51
        +1

        You didn't lose 2TB of data because you didn't safely remove.

        Even though its very unlikely lets say you couldn't access your data because of this, you could have easily recovered it using any kind of software as the data is still there.

        But it looks like a simple coincidence.

        • ozkiwi75 on 19/01/2016 - 17:35

          Whilst I agree with you that it 'should' have been an easy recovery, in my case somehow the hdd master file table got corrupted. I couldn't even get the drive recognised to run chkdsk on it. A family friend who is an IT technician was also baffled how it could've happened. But the point is that it did and could happen to others. Just saying better safe than sorry.

  • skazclaw on 17/01/2016 - 03:02

    My dad ejects USB drives. smh

  • Apple96 on 17/01/2016 - 03:27
    +2

    Windows actually, by default, has an option checked so you can just take usb's out. I wouldn't do it to a hard drive however, always eject your hard drives before unplugging.

    • fickre on 17/01/2016 - 10:06

      That's because HDD has movement while flash drive doesn't. Suddenly stop the moving process is not good.

      • Apple96 on 17/01/2016 - 11:27

        Exactly. its why you shouldnt just turn off power to your computer if it has a hard drive. it will mess it up data wise.

      • retiredfeline on 17/01/2016 - 11:43
        +1

        No that's because flash drives usually use relatively simple filesystems like FAT, whereas HDs use complicated filesystems like NTFS or ext4 which have more data structures, hence more at risk if unflushed before disconnect, in the quest for speed and efficiency. If you used NTFS on a SSD and suddenly disconnected it, you'd also have a high risk of filesystem corruption. So it's not the mechanical motion.

        Where FAT filesystems risk losing data is when the writes are buffered and data is still in RAM uncommitted to the flash drive.

  • OzBragain on 17/01/2016 - 06:18
    +4

    Have you ever lost important data due to inappropriate removal of external drive?

    Nope. Wish I could somehow lose useless data like Safelyremove.com

    • greenie4242 on 17/01/2016 - 12:02
      -2

      As somebody who is paid to recover data from flash drives and USB drives, I haven't. But many of my clients have. $320 for me to spend a day recovering a thesis vs $0 to eject a USB drive safely. People suddenly realise $0 is a deal, whereas $320 might save their PhD project.

      • OzBragain on 17/01/2016 - 12:57
        +2

        There's nothing to say that this software would've saved their data!

        If someone is silly enough to have only 1 copy of their PhD project then I hope they're going into a career like politics that demands a certain level of stupidity. $320 is a cheap lesson. Always keep more than a single copy of data you value.

        • greenie4242 on 17/01/2016 - 13:30

          They usually have more than one copy, but they might have been awake for two days entering new data, spell-checking, adding references and cleaning up their document, so the current copy is very much a different document to their backup. A comment like yours makes it clear you've never been involved in production of any suck documents.

          A VERY common scenario is when they hit save, closed Office, then unplugged their USB drive yet not realised the file was still open because it was being scanned by their antivirus software before being written to disk. It happens more often with USB hard disks because - unlike flash drives - some default to using the Windows cache. That means files can still be sitting in a temporary file in memory or on another disk before they are physically written to the USB disk. Some antivirus programs take a while to initialise and can slow down the writing of data. If you safely eject the disk, it will warn you that the antivirus is still accessing the disk. Wait a few minutes and try again, it should eject safely. If the drive simply will not eject and you have an important file on it, best practice is to shut down the computer, wait till it's turned off, then unplug it. That way you make sure everything was written to disk and no background processes are still accessing it. Paranoid? Maybe. But if you've spent years doing a PhD and it's due next week and it's all down to presentation of this one document, it's worth the wait.

          A very large PowerPoint document can have hudreds of megabytes of images attached, which a slow USB drive can take ten minutes to completely write to disk. If the antivirus software is still scanning the file, it may not even have been written to disk yet. It's an easily reproducible set of circumstances.

          Why are people going to so much effort to defend doing the wrong thing? How bloody stupid do you think you'd feel if you lost even a few hours worth of work and had to do it all again simply because you were too lazy to click "eject" and simply assumed that hitting "Save" meant your document was actually saved?

          "If someone is silly enough to have only 1 copy of their PhD project then I hope they're going into a career like politics that demands a certain level of stupidity."
          You really don't get it, do you. You're arguing against yourself. You're saying people are stupid for wasting time safely ejecting their USB disks. Then you're saying they are stupid for not having copies to protect themselves when they lose data after their disk is corrupted due to unplugging it safely. I really hope you are never in charge of any important data. Assuming that a backup is a copy of the current document is asking for data loss. Opening a document, editing it, then hitting save means you already don't have a backup. Unless you have a RAID file system that automatically saves multiple copies at the time of writing, there is already NO backup for the most current file. The idea is to protect the data long enough to make a backup.

          Thankfully, most of the PhD students I know always safely eject their USB drives, and have never encountered issues. The ones who did have issues always make sure to safely eject them after they learn how to do so. Unfortunately, many were taught by so-called "experts" that simply unplugging the drive after hitting save was the correct way to do it - so how can you blame them?

        • OzBragain on 17/01/2016 - 17:51
          +1

          @greenie4242:

          1. Proper backups are essential for any critical data.

          Surely we can agree on this?

          The few scenarios you've suggested above are only a small number of many that would cause data corruption and/or loss. Since it's impossible to completely remove the chance of data corruption/loss the only way to keep critical data safe is with multiple backups (in multiple locations).

          They usually have more than one copy, but they might have been awake for two days entering new data, spell-checking, adding references and cleaning up their document, so the current copy is very much a different document to their backup

          A two day old copy of a document that has major changes is not a backup.

          A comment like yours makes it clear you've never been involved in production of any suck documents.

          No but I've spent many years working in environments with people who are writing large documents, databases etc. They know their content but aren't necessarily IT savvy. Regardless of how many times they're reminded to regularly save and backup work there's always one who comes crying that they were too busy to save and backup and now it's up to someone else to recover their data and they need it yesterday.

          Forget about what you think I know about mitigating data loss. If I'm in charge of critical data and lose it (through loss, theft, hardware failure, unplugging media before data is written, tsunami…etc) and I don't have a backup then it's my fault.

          Why are people going to so much effort to defend doing the wrong thing? How bloody stupid do you think you'd feel if you lost even a few hours worth of work and had to do it all again simply because you were too lazy to click "eject" and simply assumed that hitting "Save" meant your document was actually saved?

          You're missing the point champ. Not clicking eject isn't the stupid mistake, it's not having a current backup.

        • Vulvasaur on 17/01/2016 - 18:13

          @greenie4242: What about Dropbox or the myriad of other free cloud storage solutions? If you can still lose data that way while having cloud backups I'd love to know, because that's what I rely on.

        • dazweeja on 17/01/2016 - 21:55
          +2

          @greenie4242:

          Surely you provide your students with storage on a network drive that is using RAID (or at least Google Drive, Dropbox, etc). And you tell them to always back it up there before saving to USB? I would never, ever have the only copy of any document on a USB drive. Even if they eject safely, there's no guarantee that the drive won't get corrupted. I have a bunch of USB drives here that won't even format with a low-level format utility.

  • Darkii on 17/01/2016 - 07:03
    +1

    Thank you. I have never felt so confident removing my USB drive.

  • sonic2011 on 17/01/2016 - 07:07
    +1

    using this one is much better than windows "built-in". I used it with my windows 8.

  • g12345567 on 17/01/2016 - 07:09
    +2

    This software comes in handy.

    1) For hiding internal hard drive and other sata devices on some computers that still show up as being able to be safely removed.

    2) Safely remove those annoying external hard drives that have locked files and driver loaded that stop the drive from being able to be Safely removed from PC without just yanking the USB cable out.

  • ca6leguy on 17/01/2016 - 07:28
    -2

    Malware

  • Jamesx on 17/01/2016 - 07:50
    +2

    I just pull it out , never damaged any usb since my first <1gb usb and dozens I used

    • paulaus on 17/01/2016 - 08:22
      +1

      i agree i always just rip it out never lost anything since usb drives first came out years ago.

  • Snoop on 17/01/2016 - 08:22
    +3

    Safely remove? Usually you have to pull out as quick as you can. And in the hundreds of times I've done it this way, I've only ever had the 3 accidents of leaving some of my data behind!

    • seanbaussie on 17/01/2016 - 11:02
      +4

      Yeah, then the problem is that 9 months later some of your data can be unintentionally reproduced.

  • Yumi on 17/01/2016 - 09:25
    +3

    I've used this for quite some time. The main feature for me is the ability to eject via a shortcut, rather than having to fumble with the mouse, find the little icon in the systray, click the icon and then find the USB from the list and click that.
    Set up correctly, I just tap Win+S, then Enter and it's ejected. Only really a convenience thing, but if you use USBs a lot, it's handy. Otherwise I haven't found any of the other features useful.

    There's a free alternative though, USB Disk Ejector, that's quite similar.

    For those suggesting that you should just pull the drive out, don't (unless you really don't care about what's on the drive). The feature in Windows is there for a reason. Although the likelihood is very low (assuming you're not stupid enough to actually pull the drive whilst you're writing to it), the FAT filesystem has no journaling capabilities and the possibility for the filesystem to end up in a corrupt state is there.
    With this tool, a quick key combo ejects the drive properly and it's really not that hard to do. If anything, it removes the annoying 'you did not remove the drive properly, do you wish to run disk check?' prompts when you plug the drive back in.

  • Slpm77 on 17/01/2016 - 10:06
    +1

    downloaded from the provided link and it's asking for License Key !
    where's the deal ?

    • ilikeit on 17/01/2016 - 10:34
      +1

      Use your spam email to register and then enter the code to remove the 30 day trial. Pretty simple really.

  • Qisme on 17/01/2016 - 10:35
    +3

    This software is basically a helper to enhance the user experience of Windows' built in USB device removal feature.
    I've been using it for years and it is pretty neat.

    Here's a comparison:

    Scenario 1. Insert a USB drive and browse the content.
    Windows built in:

    double click "This PC/Computer" => double click flash drive
    => 2 mouse movements + 4 clicks

    USB Safely remove:

    hover on taskbar icon => click on magnifier button
    => 1 mouse movements + 1 click

    Scenario 2. 1 USB flash drive and 1 USB harddrive are connected. Need to know which one drive label is hard drive
    Windows built in:

    double click "This PC/Computer" => read through all drive labels to tell
    => 1 mouse movement

    USB Safely remove:

    hover on taskbar icon => read through a USB device only list to tell
    => 1 mouse movements

    Scenario 3. Removed a USB device, still plugged in, want to check its content again.
    Windows built in:

    unplug device from computer => plug in device again => double click "This PC/Computer" => double click flash drive
    => 2 body movements + 2 mouse movements + 4 clicks

    USB Safely remove:

    hover on taskbar icon => click the disconnected device from list => click "yes" from comfirmation box (if it pops up)
    => 2 mouse movements + 1 or 2 click(s)

    Have a try and you might like it!

    • phunkyfeelone on 17/01/2016 - 11:48
      -4

      Whatever do you do with those extra seconds in your life?
      Oh, I see, write instructions on OZB on how to do something that we all do almost every day without thinking…

      • Qisme on 17/01/2016 - 22:24

        All I can say is old habits die hard.
        Never hurt to try something different though :)

    • syousef on 17/01/2016 - 12:11

      You can remount drives that have been safely removed with a command line utility

      RestartSrDev V2.0 (x64) - restarts 'Code 21/47' devices
      Freeware by Uwe Sieber - www.uwe-sieber.de

      Working out the proper thing to feed it can be a pain. But there are instructions on finding the correct device id.

      http://www.uwe-sieber.de/drivetools_e.html

      Saves having to unplug and replug.

      If you're keeping your drive mostly offline for backup purposes, don't forget that if the computer is restarted the drive will be visible again. If that's what you want then it really is best to physically unplug it.

    • [Deactivated] on 17/01/2016 - 16:36
      +2

      Are you serious? Windows already have a tray icon for this, why would you go to "my computer" in the first place. (in your scenario 1)

    • PVA on 17/01/2016 - 18:00
      +3

      windows has the taskbar icon as well. you dont need the long way you say.

  • cpho on 17/01/2016 - 12:35
    +4

    Awesome! Thanks OP!
    Now I can safely eject my C Drive

    • [Deactivated] on 17/01/2016 - 15:10
      +1

      Just make sure you eject your D drive in time or else you might have a B or G partition to deal with…

  • BargainKen on 17/01/2016 - 12:52
    +2

    Unless the application can tell you which application is using it, I don't see any value in this except for more bloat ware

  • g12345567 on 17/01/2016 - 13:17
    +1

    At least this application can be used to identify which driver or application is stopping the drive from safely being removed.

  • GLO on 17/01/2016 - 13:21

    Just a Q for others commenting on this.

    I use a usb3 video dock and when I unplug my usb3 cable it stops my usb3 hdd. Which I believe isn't the best as it's the same as direct unplugging it.

    Any work around to 'safely unplug the usb3 without cutting power to the usb3 hdd hanging off the dock?

    • Diji1 on 17/01/2016 - 18:23

      isn't the best

      You're trying to find a problem for some reason?

      • GLO on 17/01/2016 - 20:48

        No, but it is a genuine instance where you often just think you are unplugging the monitor. ( but have the hdd handing of the dock)

  • check on 17/01/2016 - 16:29

    Thanks for the direct link.

  • crudman on 17/01/2016 - 17:55
    +5

    Promoting junk

  • Agret on 17/01/2016 - 18:00

    I just use this exe on the root of my external drives

    http://www.portablefreeware.com/index.php?id=1425

    Free everyday, seems crazy someone would charge for this functionality

  • Iggemo on 17/01/2016 - 18:07

    who the heck ever uses any of these? i have never once in my life used any "safely remove" on any USB and i have never once had any error. Absolute garbage that u need this or anything else. Piss off.

  • Clear on 17/01/2016 - 18:26

    Every now and then I have devices corrupt after pulling out too soon when background processes are still going. Far more common with SD cards and cheap USBs.

    Simple things like pulling them out while playing media or installing applications and firmware.

    Even though I rarely safely remove, these are still useful when Windows decides it can't eject.

    • Captain Obvious on 17/01/2016 - 19:44

      Then… don't pull them out whilst you're using them?

      • Clear on 17/01/2016 - 20:07

        Thanks Captain Obvious. Obviously sometimes programs still have a process going in the background that can cause it.

  • figarow on 17/01/2016 - 21:23
    +3

    After reading the title of this post I realized that I do indeed live dangerously.

  • justtoreply on 17/01/2016 - 23:26
    +1

    "Have you ever lost important data due to inappropriate removal of external drive?"

    No.

    I guess this software isn't for me.

  • llama on 18/01/2016 - 11:25

    I've used this program for many years. Despite the various idiot comments in this thread, I can recommend it as excellent software, and there are many features and benefits compared to the inbuilt Windows crap.

    But it's "pro software", not really required for an average computer user.

    The ability to unlock a (incorrectly) locked file handle is great, as when you are working with Lots of files on MULTIPLE drives (and especially where you are also moving stuff to Network drives) there can be instances where reading/writing does get delayed or Windows loses the plot and you cannot get the files to unlock promptly.

    It's great to eject just one card from a Card Reader, without ejecting the whole thing.

    There is the ability to rename drives and the associated USB ports. I really like the ability to assign custom graphics, so each USB device actually LOOKS correct (rather than a generic icon) - I use that for my USB Sticks and some Camera cards (eg: Samsung EVO card would be silver, and named properly).

    It really comes into it's own when you are using multiple USB Hard drives in a storage enclosure like a Hotway or Drobo, as Windows does not have the ability to "assign" names to the drives themselves, and ejecting will disconnect the entire array.

    By using such software you can also make it so that Windows DOES cache the portable drive, which significantly improves copy/move performance and snappiness when there's a lot of files to get moved.

    I am often working on 5 or sometimes 10 x USB drives and Camera cards - copying stuff between them, and without decent software like this it's really easy to get muddled up and in a mess.

    None of these things matter very much to people who only use one USB device at a time.

    People saying "WOT? Windows has this built in" is about as relevant as saying that there is no need for MS Word, since Windows includes Notepad and Wordpad as standard, or that it's stupid to install Photoshop, because Windows has Paint built in.
    - Ignorance is bliss, I guess?

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