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Eject MJ from USB



 
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rose
MagicJack Newbie


Joined: 21 Feb 2011
Posts: 2

PostPosted: Tue Feb 22, 2011 12:17 am    Post subject: Eject MJ from USB Reply with quote

I cannot eject the MJ drives using the Safely Remove Hardware icon in the tray; I get an error that it is being used by another program. Sad

Is it safe just to leave the MJ attached and turn off my computer at night?
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nailgunner
MagicJack Sensei


Joined: 18 Mar 2010
Posts: 1548

PostPosted: Tue Feb 22, 2011 2:34 am    Post subject: Re: Eject MJ from USB Reply with quote

rose wrote:
I cannot eject the MJ drives using the Safely Remove Hardware icon in the tray; I get an error that it is being used by another program. Sad

Is it safe just to leave the MJ attached and turn off my computer at night?


Yes. As far as I know there are absolutely no adverse effects for leaving it in with the computer off.

There is another way to safely "remove" your device. RIGHT click on an empty space on the toolbar at the bottom of your Windows screen. On the menu that pops up, click on "Start Task Manager". In that window, click on the "Processes" tab. Look for magicjack.exe or magicjack.exe*32, highlight it, and then click on the "end process" tab at the bottom right and MagicJack will quit and you can safely remove your device.

There is a theory that continually removing the device without using the "safely remove" function or the method I outlined above will actually cause the device to fail, so you are better off leaving it in, then just pulling it out, I believe.
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cell14
Dan Should Pay Me


Joined: 23 May 2009
Posts: 673
Location: South FL

PostPosted: Tue Feb 22, 2011 2:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
There is a theory that continually removing the device without using the "safely remove" function or the method I outlined above will actually cause the device to fail, so you are better off leaving it in, then just pulling it out, I believe.

It is only a theory indeed. I pulled out the device hundreds of times with no ill effects, now I am in the 3rd year with the dongle. It is true, though that it does not hurt to leave it plugged in.
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nailgunner
MagicJack Sensei


Joined: 18 Mar 2010
Posts: 1548

PostPosted: Tue Feb 22, 2011 3:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

cell14 wrote:

It is only a theory indeed. I pulled out the device hundreds of times with no ill effects, now I am in the 3rd year with the dongle. It is true, though that it does not hurt to leave it plugged in.


I think it's tied into the flash-drive removal theory. I've yanked out so many of those without using the safely remove function, that I should have had some of them fail too. I generally don't bother doing anything special with the MJ device either.

I would almost think that grabbing the not so firm case time after time to pull it out would create more risk of breaking the device then not "safely" removing it. Although when I took apart my old device to play with it, it wasn't the easiest thing to get open.
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cell14
Dan Should Pay Me


Joined: 23 May 2009
Posts: 673
Location: South FL

PostPosted: Tue Feb 22, 2011 5:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
I would almost think that grabbing the not so firm case time after time to pull it out would create more risk of breaking the device then not "safely" removing it.

That's why I use that dreaded extension cord-with no ill effects either... Cool
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hsweiss
Dan Should Pay Me


Joined: 28 Mar 2008
Posts: 563
Location: Maryland

PostPosted: Thu Mar 24, 2011 12:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The safely remove stuff is typically for mounted file systems (e.g., flash drives that look like disks). The operating system may employ delayed writes - that is, you write to the device but the I/O is queued up and doesn't happen immediately. You use the safely remove stuff in order to ensure that the queue is drained and that no data is lost if the write is delayed. This is the moral equiv of mount/umount in UNIX/Linux.

The hardware will not be harmed by simply pulling it out - USB is made to be inserted and removed with power applied.

Since MJ is not a read/write file system (yes, I know it shows up as two drive IDs), it can simply be pulled out w/o harm. The software recognizes via a USB device reset that the dongle has gone away and shuts itself down.
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nailgunner
MagicJack Sensei


Joined: 18 Mar 2010
Posts: 1548

PostPosted: Thu Mar 24, 2011 1:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

hsweiss wrote:
The safely remove stuff is typically for mounted file systems (e.g., flash drives that look like disks). The operating system may employ delayed writes - that is, you write to the device but the I/O is queued up and doesn't happen immediately. You use the safely remove stuff in order to ensure that the queue is drained and that no data is lost if the write is delayed. This is the moral equiv of mount/umount in UNIX/Linux.

The hardware will not be harmed by simply pulling it out - USB is made to be inserted and removed with power applied.

Since MJ is not a read/write file system (yes, I know it shows up as two drive IDs), it can simply be pulled out w/o harm. The software recognizes via a USB device reset that the dongle has gone away and shuts itself down.


It's good to know. My powered USB hub (the one recommended in here and by MJ), turned out to be such a poorly made piece of crap, that the slightest bump of the dongle was causing a disconnect of my MJ. So in the last 2 months I have probably done about 50 un-safe removals by accident.

And yes, like one of Pavlov's dogs, I finally just unhooked the hub. It is nice to learn a new trick every 5 years or so.

The interesting think is that the last time I had a "serious" chat with MJ customer service(?), about 4 months ago, the expert(?) had me stop the process before removing and reinserting the device. Should have known then to do just about the exact opposite of what they suggest.
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cell14
Dan Should Pay Me


Joined: 23 May 2009
Posts: 673
Location: South FL

PostPosted: Thu Mar 24, 2011 9:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
My powered USB hub (the one recommended in here and by MJ), turned out to be such a poorly made piece of crap


I use powered usb hub/ laptop stand combo from Logitec and it works great.( Logitec's wireless keyboard is a different story, a true piece of dung).
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SIR****TMG
MagicJack User


Joined: 17 Feb 2008
Posts: 39
Location: Madison,Wisconsin

PostPosted: Sat Mar 26, 2011 5:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I leave mine in all the time
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