Eject HDD in Windows 10 doubt

[cloudff7]

Some people say that ejecting the external HDD (2.5" HDD + Orico or Kesu case) through Windows 10 puts the HD in safe parking mode. Other people say that ejecting in Windows 10 only closes processes and stops file transfer and reading but does not put it in parking mode. I contacted Seagate's chat but they didn't even know how to answer. Is there a study article on this specific subject? What really happens? This parking mode was introduced in 2.5" HDs from which year on all HDs of any brand?

[hdsentinel]

The purpose of the safe ejecting is not really to park/spin down the drive. Generally ALL modern hard disks automatically place the heads to parking area, so there is no need to specifically ask them to "put the head to parking zone". (Maybe some users remember the VERY OLD drives we needed to park before power OFF the PC).

The main purpose of the safe ejecting is that the OS should close all files, folders and prevent further writes, so then if you disconnect the drive, the file system (the partition on the drive) should not damage: without safe ejection (if write cache enabled), there may be some partially written files/folders (or just file system metadata) which could damage if the write can't be completed.

[cloudff7]

My 2.5" HDDs are a bit old, from 2013, models WD10JPVX-08JC3T5 and HGST HTS541010A99E662. I couldn't find their datasheets. i have other new hdd 2.5" seagate ST500LM030

Do these tree HDD models have auto park? In what situations do they enter the park area automatically?

In Windows 10 I ejected these 2.5" HDDs + Kesu 2530 or Orico 25pw1 cases USB3.0. When I removed the USB3.0 cable connector from the PC, my hand hit the HDD case and it moved on the table. I wondered if this impact is enough for needles and the mechanical arm to touch the magnetic disks and generate bad sectors and damage files.

[hdsentinel]

No, when I wrote VERY OLD hard disks, I mean really VERY OLD MFM hard disks, eg. Seagate ST225 model (20 MByte capacity!) released in 1985.
It was the first hard disk drive I ever used.

Your hard disks automatically park. No need to worry.

[cloudff7]

This technology was implemented in which year in 2.5" HDDs?

If the ejection of the 2.5" HDD + USB3.0 case in Windows has no relation to parking the HDD, then after this ejection, the HDD is sensitive to any type of impact or shock or contact with it on the table? Needle and arm touch magnetic disks any type shock?


Do 2.5" HDDs have any protection against shocks or impacts when they are in operation?

[hdsentinel]

> This technology was implemented in which year in 2.5" HDDs?

Generally as I wrote, ALL modern hard disks automatically implemented this. If your drive is any IDE/ATA or SATA drive, you can be sure.
Please ask the manufacturer of the actual drive, probably they can explain it specifically for tha actual model.


> If the ejection of the 2.5" HDD + USB3.0 case in Windows has no relation to parking the HDD,
> then after this ejection, the HDD is sensitive to any type of impact or shock or contact with it on the table?

Yes of course, but it is independent from the safe ejection.
If the drive reaches big impact/shock (hit or fall from the table) then it can be damaged, regardless of safe ejected from Windows or not...


> Do 2.5" HDDs have any protection against shocks or impacts when they are in operation?

Yes, many 2.5" HDDs have G-sensor: if the drive detects some movement (detects if the hard disk is falling or so) then it automatically removes the head from the data area to the park position to avoid damage of the heads/disks.
You can check the S.M.A.R.T. page: if you see attribute "191 G-Sense Error Rate" (or attribute 221 with same name) then your drive has a such sensor and may record the number of such impact events.

Some (rare) drives can even have option to specify the sensitivity of this G-sensor. In some HDD manuals this is referred as Free-fall control: if this function is supported, then in Hard Disk Sentinel you can adjust the sensitivity at Disk menu -> Free Fall Control option. If this is not supported by the drive, then the option is greyed out (not available). Personally I expected that this function will be more widely adapted but only very few hard disks support this option.

[cloudff7]

I contacted Western Digital and managed to speak to technical support but I was unable to contact an engineer. They said that my models WD10JPVX-08JC3T5 and HGST HTS541010A99E662 have Auto-Parking and NoTouch Ramp Load technologies, but they did not explain exactly how these systems work.

On CrystalDiskInfo, only the HGST HTS541010A99E662 model has G-Senser. The WD10JPVX-08JC3T5 model does not have this sensor. They are 2.5" HDDs from 2013.

Another question: is it information about whether my USB3.0 Kesu 2530 and Orico 25PW1 cases cause a delay of seconds in the autoparking of these HDDs after ejecting them in Windows 10? I was unable to contact Kesu and Orico.

I do not know if ejecting the HDD 2.5" + USB3.0 case in Windows 10, this Microsoft system sends some command for the 2.5" HDD to turn off or hibernate and knows that it is to enter Auto-Parking

With me, after ejecting the case LED is on and some people report that after ejecting the external HDD or 2.5" HDD + case, the hard drive does not turn off and continues to spin

Ejecting the USB 3.0 enclosure case + 2.5" HDD via Windows 10, does Windows send any command to the case and case to the 2.5" HDD, and the HDD translates this command and parks the heads automatically? cable usb3.0 remains connected pc and case

[InquiringMind]

...What really happens? This parking mode was introduced in 2.5" HDs from which year on all HDs of any brand?

...They said that my models WD10JPVX-08JC3T5 and HGST HTS541010A99E662 have Auto-Parking and NoTouch Ramp Load technologies, but they did not explain exactly how these systems work...

The discussion thread at https://www.pcreview.co.uk/threads/hard-drive-park-position.3882986/ covers these issues. Hard disk auto-parking became a standard feature in the 1990s - when power is cut the heads would be moved (either by a spring or using the inertia of the spinning disk) to a safe location. Initially this was to a specific track but now ("on ramp") away from the disc completely.

Ejecting the USB 3.0 enclosure case + 2.5" HDD via Windows 10, does Windows send any command to the case and case to the 2.5" HDD, and the HDD translates this command and parks the heads automatically? cable usb3.0 remains connected pc and case

As HDSentinel has said, when using eject (or "Safely Remove Hardware" as it was known in earlier Windows versions) Windows will flush any cached writes to the drive and close any files opened on it by applications. If an application has a lock on the drive though, it can block the eject and you should then receive an error message.

Any hard disk drive is far more vulnerable to shock when it is operating (see https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/a-sturdy-companion,758-2.html for some example figures from 2004). For your drives, Western Digital provides PDF specification sheets at:

WD10JPVX series - https://documents.westerndigital.com/content/dam/doc-library/en_gb/assets/public/western-digital/product/internal-drives/wd-blue-hdd/specification-sheet-wd-blue-mobile-sata-hdd.pdf
HTS541010 series - https://documents.westerndigital.com/content/dam/doc-library/en_us/assets/public/western-digital/product/hgst/travelstar-5k-series/data-sheet-travelstar-5k1000.pdf

The first document says nothing about shock resistance, but the second states an operating shock of 450G over 2ms or 225G over 1ms with a non-operating shock of 10,000G over 1ms.

[cloudff7]

These above two mentioned models manufactured in 2013 have autoparking when the 2.5" HDD + enclosure case is ejected from Windows?

I believe that park technology has received updates since the 90s and I think that the first ones parked only when 100% power supply was cut

Does USB3.0 enclosure case cause any delay in Windows/HDD communication?

after ejecting the hdd 2.5" + enclosure case usb3.0 in windows, how many seconds does it take for the hdd to go into parked? windows/case/hdd 2.5"/parked


If the USB3.0 case remains connected to the PC on and the enclosure case after ejection in Windows, is the parked of the 2.5" HDD canceled?

[InquiringMind]

These above two mentioned models manufactured in 2013 have autoparking when the 2.5" HDD + enclosure case is ejected from Windows?

I believe that park technology has received updates since the 90s and I think that the first ones parked only when 100% power supply was cut

Every disk since the 1990s has auto-parking when disconnected. The question I think you really want to ask is whether ejecting a disk counts as disconnection.

On Windows XP, it certainly does (when I use "Safely Remove Hardware" I can hear a click, presumably the head parking, as the disk drive motor spins down). I'm not aware of any reason for Windows 10 to change this, but I don't use Win10 myself so you'll have to wait for someone else to give a definitive answer.

With me, after ejecting the case LED is on and some people report that after ejecting the external HDD or 2.5" HDD + case, the hard drive does not turn off and continues to spin

Your case LED may only be indicating the presence of a power/USB connection rather than disk status - a spinning noise (or lack of) from the case is a more reliable indicator.

Also, as I noted above, when you eject a disk, Windows will notify applications that it is no longer available, but it is possible for a process to lock a disk and prevent ejection. In such a case you should receive an error message ("Problem Ejecting USB Mass Storage Device") - if you don't then check Disk Management to see if the volume is still present, if it is try ejecting again from there.

The discussion thread at:

https://superuser.com/questions/1660565/cant-safely-eject-external-hard-drive-on-windows-10-how-to-solve-it

lists some other possible causes and fixes also.

[cloudff7]

If the 2.5" HDD is old, 2013, old processor, old firmware, will this affect the speed of seconds to activate parked after ejection in Windows compared to a new 2.5" HDD manufactured in 2024?
I asked twice on WD chat and I'm confused because they said milliseconds then they said 10-20 seconds my models are the ones I mentioned before + usb3.0 case

USB3.0 enclosure case causes delay in Windows/HDD2.5" communication?

If I ejected the hdd2.5" + usb3.0 case in windows and then kept the usb3.0 cable connected to PC on/case, will this connection harm the parking of the hdd after ejection?