removed the USB drive without properly ejecting it, the data might become corrupted or potentially lost forever since it was still in memory cache. By safely removing it, the operating system performed some maintenance tasks, like clearing the cache to finish any outstanding write operations before disconnecting the device.
However, this has turned into a misconception as Windows users are not required to do so any longer. With the introduction of Windows 10 version 1809 in November 2018, Microsoft incorporated a function known as “Quick removal” and set it as the default external storage removal policy. Windows no longer utilizes memory to cache disk write operations, generally allowing external drives to be removed at any moment without adhering to the safe ejection procedure. Nonetheless, “Quick removal” does not entirely eradicate the necessity for safe removal. There are certain situations in which it is still essential to use it.