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Trying to safely eject my flash drive- keeps saying it's "currently in use"

Anonymous
2022-12-16T16:23:58+00:00

When I tried to "safely eject" my flash drive, I got the message that it was in use and to stop any programs that are using it (it sure would be nice if it actually listed the program that is supposedly using it). Eventually I opened disk management, then checked if it noted anything on there, and then pressed the eject option from there. All that did was basically remove the device from being listed on there- I didn't get that "ok to safely remove device now...." message. (The drive does still show up in Devices and Drivers in the cp) So I have no idea if that means I can safely remove it or not. Like, does doing that (clicking the eject option from the disk management) stop any programs using it (which I guess would mean it would be safe to remove the stick)? Really am asking if I can just take the stick out now without worrying, and then reinsert it so I can use it again?

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Devices and drivers

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  1. Anonymous
    2022-12-16T17:33:36+00:00

    I meant it would be nice if the actual message saying the flash drive is currently in use also included the name of the program using it. In disk management, I was checking to see if the drive was listed as healthy or any other notable info I might get from anything on there, and planned to try the eject the device from there, as I did. And I do have task manager open basically all the time, and it didn't say what program is using my flash stick. If there is a way to see that from there, then I don't know of it.

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  2. Anonymous
    2022-12-16T17:55:42+00:00

    If it has been ejected from disk management then does not matter if the icon is still on task bar. Most of the USB are set for quick removal wit write cache disabled. So, there is no harm even if the disk is in use actively and you pull it. The files getting transferred only corrupts. You should practice safe removal & in stubborn cases use diskmgmt.

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  3. Anonymous
    2022-12-16T17:49:57+00:00

    Yes, I know sometimes if I have file explorer folders open, I sometimes have gotten that message about the device being in use (with different storage devices, not only this one).... or sometimes I just have to open a folder then close it, and then I can safely remove. I thought this occurrence might have to do with Windows Updates. I had Updates on pause for a while, and then yesterday was the day for them to resume. Right after I saw they had resumed (although it said there were no updates), is when I tried to remove the stick and received that message and so have had the stick in since then.

    I figured it does disarm the drive but wasnt sure since, in the task bar, where you normally go to click that icon to safely remove/eject a device, it still shows that usb icon as though it's there. So, it doesn't really matter then that that icon is still showing in the task bar?

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  4. Anonymous
    2022-12-16T17:05:45+00:00

    Hi there

    Sometimes if any Windows explorer window is open or Defender scans the drive for malware or file check runs then it may appear there is no activity but the USB disk is actually in use, it generally disarms the drive within a few seconds after you issue the eject command. If you eject from disk management you will not get any notification but can see visually disk disappear from disk management, it is safe to remove now.

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  5. Anonymous
    2022-12-16T16:59:51+00:00

    You use Task Manager to see what might have been accessing that usb, not Disk Management

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