Is it safe to unplug a USB interface?

This may seem like a dumb question, but it has never been clear. Is it safe to simply unplug my audio interface after the computer is shut down and just plug it back in before booting up again without issues? I have two computers that I use for recording (one with Cubase and the other--a laptop--that uses Reaper). Just curious what others do. I want to take my laptop to gigs for recording or rehearsals for my big horn band. Mark

Yes. You won't physically damage anything even if you unplug it while the PC is turned on. You may freak out any software that might be trying to access the USB device though... It is absolutely safe to unplug when the PC is shutdown. I've been doing it for years with my Tascam US-122. D

yes it's safe, however, i buggered my oo2r right up by doing that. that was firewire though, and, although it's apparently common knowledge, i didnt know and the digi documentation didnt warn me. usb safe, firewire dodgy.

As stated above... you shouldn't have any problems unplugging a USB audio device. The only thing you need to be really careful with would be an external hard drive or a thumb drive or anything else that may be being written to by the computer. If you disconnect while it is still 'writing', you will lose data. :eek: :cool:

Sometimes in Reaper a corrupted project file or similar will cause my USB sound card to be lost.Just un-plugging and re-plugging it back in cures it.I've never had any trouble unplugging and plugging back in USB devices in WinXP pro.As per other post though if there's any data being written at the time from the device there will most likely be problems. My 10 penn'th.

Just be sure to turn off your monitors first if it's your sound card your unplugging.