Your IT Consultant

Information Technology Blog
by John W. Simek, Vice President of Sensei Enterprises, Inc.

Disconnect External Media if Upgrading Windows 10

April 24, 2019

It has always been recommended to disconnect any external USB drives if you are not using them. Many people use an external USB hard disk to back up their computer, which is perfectly fine. However, you should disconnect the drive when the backup is done. Disconnecting the drive will protect your backup should you be the subject of a ransomware attack. Another reason is to allow the computer to function properly during a system update.

The May 2019 update of Windows 10 will force you to disconnect your external media or SD card. This is because USB drives or SD cards could have their drive letters reassigned in a way that causes a conflict with other drive reassignments or prevents necessary software to properly load after an upgrade. The best course of action is to remove the external devices prior to the upgrade to avoid the error message and allow the upgrade to proceed.

Email:   Phone: 703.359.0700
Digital Forensics/Cybersecurity/Information Technology
https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnsimek
https://amazon.com/author/johnsimek
https://senseient.com