Cannot eject external HDD

Discussion in 'hardware' started by Krusty, Oct 25, 2020.

  1. Krusty

    Krusty Registered Member

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    Lately something has been stopping me from ejecting external HDDs from both of my Windows machines. It doesn't seem to affect UFDs, but occasionally I may need to click the eject button on them a second time. I know I can safely pull a UFD as long it isn't in use.

    Is there any way to find out what program is supposedly using the external HDD that stops me from ejecting it?

    Thanks.
     
    Last edited: Oct 25, 2020
  2. A_mouse

    A_mouse Registered Member

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  3. Krusty

    Krusty Registered Member

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    Thanks but...
    https://quickandeasysoftware.net/readmes/USBDiskEjector.html
    That one might have potential.
    Still, it would help to know what the problem program is.
     
  4. Surt

    Surt Registered Member

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    I run USB Safely Remove and it reveals the culprit and allows a forced eject.

    Run as admin, NirSoft's Opened FIles View is darned good at its job and offers close and kill functions if Task Manger don't do it for you. It's loaded with other management tools relative to its core processes...
    https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/opened_files_view.html
    Stand-alone (portable) and free.
     
  5. reasonablePrivacy

    reasonablePrivacy Registered Member

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    Logging out and logging in afterward should close enough programs to safely eject disks or usb flash drive.

    You can search for handles to files on specific path using Process Explorer.
    https://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/windows-in-use.html
     
  6. Krusty

    Krusty Registered Member

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    Oh the irony... next chance to test and guess what?! Yep, both machines ejected the external drive immediately, no problem detected.

    I guess that's always the way though.
     
  7. xxJackxx

    xxJackxx Registered Member

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    It's usually antivirus scanning your drive, or a file indexer for search purposes.
     
  8. Nanobot

    Nanobot Registered Member

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  9. zapjb

    zapjb Registered Member

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    Reminds of when I was just learning W98SE. I'd call my friend cause I borked it AGAIN. He said try this ........ I said I tried that 2 dozens times already. He said try it again. I did & it worked. LOL. The ghost in the machine.
     
  10. Krusty

    Krusty Registered Member

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    I think this is an issue with Malwarebytes, but I'll do some testing to confirm.
     
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