Do you safely eject USB flash drives off computers? Or do you merely unplug them? Well as it turns out, all those years of ejecting USB drives for safety reasons do not need to be done at all. Microsoft recently has all but confirmed this rumour.

Why Eject a USB Drive?

Promotional USB drives need to be ejected to prevent data from being lost or corrupted when you unplug the key from your drive -- that's the oldest rule in the book! This is especially true if you were in the midst of transferring a file. If you disconnect the flash drive mid-way then obviously the file transfer process will be interrupted, leading to a loss in data. Even when you are not transferring files, a file transfer process may be going on in the background called caching ( when there is a small amount of data in the queue that also needs to be transferred).

Supposedly the caching data can cause corruption in your data if you merely yank out the flash drive. This rumour is put to rest now though. Microsoft has more or less confirmed that for operating system 7 and upwards, they have implemented a code into their software that disables write caching.

What does this mean? It means you no longer need to eject USB drives to safely unplug the key from your PC. But before you merrily go about randomly unplugging flash memory drives, you need to check into your device properties to ensure the Quick Removal setting is activated. However, that doesn't mean you should just rip your USB out no matter the circumstance. Remember, if your USB drive is clearly in use, DO NOT pull it out! It also makes sense to have back up copies of your relevant data as well, just in case something goes wrong (such as losing a USB drive).

Caring for Promotional USBs

Knowing that you can remove a flash drive without using the safe eject icons, does not mean your data will be secure on a Custom Branded USB Flashdrives. You still need to take care of it, by storing it in room temperature environments, not getting it wet, and not expose your flash drive to physical shocks.

Why Branded USB Drives Make Effective Promo Items

USB drives are a great way to inform people about your business. As promotional merchandise, they make for stylish, convenient and useful gifts that leave a lasting impression - perfect for creating visibility and optimising brand awareness! To use them effectively as part of your marketing strategy, personalise them with your company's logo or design of choice.

Populate the drive with helpful information about what you do such as brochures, product information sheets or even interactive multimedia elements like embedded video files. Give them out at exhibitions, conferences or events in exchange for contact details, so that you can track ROI down the line. If you're still not sure how USB drives branded with your logo might prove useful for your business, chat with our experienced team to learn more about the effective deployment of tech gifts for brand visibility.