How to Safely Remove a USB Drive on a Mac

What you need: A Mac with a USB flash drive or external drive connected. Know the name of the drive you want to remove.

Before you begin: Wait for copying or moving files to finish. Save and close any documents opened from the drive.

1. Click Finder (the blue smiling face) in the Dock, the row of app icons along the edge of the screen.
2. In the menu bar at the top of the screen, click Go, then Computer.
3. Find the external drive with the name you want to remove and click it once.
4. Click File at the top of the screen, then Eject followed by your drive's name.
5. Wait for the drive to disappear from the Computer window. If the Mac says the drive is in use, leave it connected and stop here.
6. Once the drive has disappeared, unplug it from the Mac.

Expected result: Your USB drive is safely disconnected from the Mac.