When Windows refuses to eject mass storage: 5 ways to safely remove a USB drive - mcdanielhilen1975

If you unplug a USB external drive in front making doomed IT's safe to answer so, you're courting disaster. The abrupt, spur-of-the-moment removal of a storage gimmick can corrupt files. I've even heard stories of it bricking flash drives.

Here's how to murder the drive safely, even when Windows tells you information technology's not safe. Seek these five steps in grade until one of them works.

1: Enjoyment Windows' personal tool around

Click the Safely Take Hardware ikon in the notification area, then click your device. Expect until a message pops up. If the subject matter says "Safe to Remove Hardware," remove the hardware.

But if the substance that pops up tells you that "This device is currently in use," you indigence to go on to step 2.

2: Make an educated guess

Flirt with what you're running and what mightiness be holding on. Did you load a portable program from that drive? If indeed, hit trusted it's unreceptive. Same with any document, photo, or other file on the external motor.

If you yawning a document in, say, Microsoft Word, and then closed the document, try closing Word. Sometimes an lotion derriere hold onto a file even after you unopen it. You shouldn't have to close Windows/File Explorer to transfer outward storage, but sometimes it helps.

You can also open Task Handler (right-click the taskbar and select Kickoff Task Manager) and examine both the Applications and Processes tab to encounter if anything is hanging on.

3: Use a one-third-political party public utility

I tested a number of free programs that are conjectural to help with this problem. None of them did. So I'm going to recommend USB Safely Remove, even though its $20 pricetag (after a 30-day free trial) seems a bit steep.

Once installed, it replaces Windows' own Polish of Hardware tool and behaves very much like IT.

Only when it fire't safely hit the drive, it tells you what syllabu is causing the problem, and offers to stop the computer program or flatbottom force it to break off.

All of which brings up another takings: Why doesn't Windows' own tool offer this capability. I Don River't stimulate an answer.

I powerfully suspicious that if you buy USB Safely Remove, you'll ne'er wealthy person go to step 4 or 5. But if you don't wish to pass the money…

4: Log off and on

Logging off your account will close every charge and program you've opened, including whatever is holding on to the foreign drive. But it's annoying and clip consuming. You'll have to save and close all of your open files.

And after you log back on, you'll have to open everything raised again.

Besides, information technology might not work. If other substance abuser account is running on that machine, it barely mightiness be holding onto something along the extraneous drive.

So you may have to go to the one trick that always works:

5: Shut down the PC

This is all bit as much a hassle as logging on and off, and takes straight more time. But it will lic; no question about it.

Rightful shut down PC, remove the external motor, then boot your calculator. Hopefully, you'll find another resolution before this one.

Source: https://www.pcworld.com/article/427712/when-windows-refuses-to-eject-mass-storage-5-ways-to-safely-remove-a-usb-drive.html

Posted by: mcdanielhilen1975.blogspot.com

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