Is safely removing hardware important?

[flobadob]

Down at the bottom of the screen on my PC there is a little icon with a green arrow called safely remove hardware and it gives the option of a USB stick etc. to remove if it is connected but is this important or does it make a difference if you just unplug the USB stick without clicking the icon first?

[Ethel]

Apparently it is important - it ensures the device is not communicating with the pc, such as downloading or uploading, when you unplug it.

[ACtheTROLL]

it depends on the device ... and how it's set up
some are hot swappable (just yank it out) .... others aren't (remove hardware)

disc drives tend not to save files immediately they hang on untill there is a lull in your useage - (write cacheing)

you can disable it - and then files are written immediately ... so you can pull the device as soon as the flashy lights stops flashing
(for MP3 players it could be 5 mins or more if you are transferring lots of files)

printers, scanners etc .... as long as they're not working ... you can just pull them
remember that cameras, mp3 players etc are classed as discs in this context.

[heathfield]

USB connections are designed to be connected and disconnected at any time. The problem that arises with this is as AC describes