Correct way to disconnect/eject an USB hard disk ?

[Polytropon]

On Thu, 20 Aug 2020 10:56:56 -0600, Gary Aitken wrote:
> But on a mostly unrelated note, I have a ritual I've been performing for nigh
> on ten years:
> 
> Before plugging in a USB stick on one particular box, I stick a finger over the
> USB stick connection, touch the box/case and run my finger down to the front
> panel USB connector and wiggle my fingertip over the connector.  Then plug in
> the stick.  If I don't do that, 9 times out of 10 the machine will freeze up
> and I have to manually power off, reboot, and fsck.

I had a comparable problem many years ago with a USB-based
SD and CF card reader: It was required to first plug in the
USB-A plug to the computer, then the card reader to the
USB-mini-B plug of the cable - worked. If the reader was
connected to the cable already, and it was plugged into
the computer, the system would freeze. That was very strange,
so I left the USB cable connected to the system, and only
connected the card reader when needed.

There is another important ritual:

First try to connect the USB-A plug. You'll immediately
recognize that it was upside down. So you turn it 180° and
retry. Again it does not fit, so you turn it 180° again and
retry. It will now fit. :-)

It might apply to all kinds of USB plugs (and in case of
USB-B, it needs 4 x 90° turns to make it fit...




-- 
Polytropon
Magdeburg, Germany
Happy FreeBSD user since 4.0
Andra moi ennepe, Mousa, ...