Can I use USB external hard disk just like a USB thumb drive?

[buildingacomputer]

I need an 8GB or 16GB thumb drive to transfer files between computers. Can I use a USB-interfaced external hard drive instead? http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822136028
Can it be plugged in or out only when the host computer is off? Thanks.

 

[Foxery]

For your purposes, these are one and the same. Any external USB device can be plugged and unplugged at will. (Strictly speaking, use the "Safely Remove Hardware" icon in Windows before the unplugging part to make sure it isn't still acessing the drive.)

 

[drebo]

"Safely Remove Hardware" is only required if write caching is enabled on your external device.

If you have it disabled (I believe the term in Windows is "Optimized for Quick Removal"), then unplugging your drive at any time will not affect it. If it is enabled, then you will get the "Windows Delayed Write Failed" error.