If girlfriend have ever used a mac you will have actually undoubtedly unplugged a tough drive and also been told friend shouldn’t have done that. Home windows doesn’t tend to tell friend off yet the same thinking applies.
You are watching: Can i plug in a hard drive while my computer is on
You can unplug a USB exterior hard drive while the computer system is running. Usage the safely remove hard drive switch on windows or eject button on Mac come ensure no data is corrupted. Execute not eliminate internal hard drives while the computer system is on. That is the general preeminence to follow but there room variables here and also the safely eliminate drive button isn’t always necessary.

Can ns unplug one internal hard drive when the computer system is on?
Internal hard drives utilizing SATA must not be unplugged if the computer system is on. Electrical products should constantly be disconnected indigenous the mains anytime you remove the casing.Apart from the hazard of electrical shock internal drives often tend to be collection up for create caching together they don’t tend to go walkies therefore often and if they perform it’s safe to presume the you have actually shut down your PC and that all the cache has actually been effectively distributed.Conclusion
While it is ok to plug in and remove external hard drives without issue it is worth doing it appropriately if you want to stop data loss and corruption. The best practice is to usage the safely eliminate hardware function on windows and also the eject attribute on Mac. That method you recognize your data has actually the best chance at being there following time you plug in the drive. As for inner drives.See more: Revealed: Why Do Divers Fall Backwards Into The Water ? Why Do Scuba Divers Dive Backwards
Simply turn the device off and unplug it. There is no advantage from adding or remove a drive and the threat of shedding data is together high as getting electrocuted. As always, back up her data!