unable to eject usb

Question

i have windows 7 on 3 computers but on this one when i click to eject a usb it says unable to eject as being used by another programme...but it is not.  This happens with all usb devices like card reader, ex hard drive etc

Answer 1

Hi Kia,

I found a few of these handles. Just to show two of them (since all of them are having these "\Sessions\2\BaseNamedObjects\IEHistJournal" in common):

\Sessions\2\BaseNamedObjects\IEHistJournalMx_1699bb90-bebe-4437-b6e8-a6b7123fa38e_3E9A4916_C::USERS:USERA:APPDATA:LOCAL:MICROSOFT:WINDOWS:TEMPORARY INTERNET FILES:LOW:SUGGESTEDSITES.DAT

\Sessions\2\BaseNamedObjects\IEHistJournalFm_24c20119-753b-4f33-887d-f2381810562d_3E9A4916_C::USERS:USERA:APPDATA:LOCAL:MICROSOFT:WINDOWS:TEMPORARY INTERNET FILES:LOW:SUGGESTEDSITES.DAT

I try closing, but it show me this error msg

"Error opening process: The handle is invalid"

Thanks!

Answer 2

Scan now repairs DLL registry files I believe??

This is also something else I did but using CC Cleaner (freeware) so Kia maybe on to something.

Thanks.

1. Download a free utility from a third-party Web site at the following address:

http://www.sysinternals.com/Utilities/ProcessExplorer.html

2. Click Find, Find Handle or DLL in the tool menu.

•    Type the drive letter of the USB device in the Handle or DLL substring textbox, and press Search Button.

•    Find the process and its PID in the following box.

•    In system process tree view, find the process according to the Find Handle or DLL dialog box.

•    Press Ctrl + H to show Handles in Lower Pane View.

•    Find the File according with the drive letter , and right click it, choose Close Handle.

Hope it helps. Although the method is for Windows XP, I believe it may work using sysinternals ProcessExplorer to end the usb and eject it. Give it a try and let me know the result. I believe there will be a patch for this soon.

AppendixFor Microsoft Windows XP - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555665

Answer 3

Hi,

Thanks for sharing, yes I saw the log file appearing and like you, I don't know how to access it.

I did some tests as well; on the amount of time plugged in and the amount of data transferred/accessing the drive.

1. If there were no data transferred, ejecting is not a problem. (tested on my Seagate PWII 500GB for almost 3hrs)
2. I transferred some photos, ~ 10GB, from my system to my other portable (Buffalo Mini Station 500GB). Deleted some photos, add another 3GB and did some photo editing for about an hour. I can't eject this drive after (in between the 3 hours while the other still attached)

In XP or Vista, if these happened, logging off can solve it, but not in Win 7. Hoping for a patch soon =X

Answer 4

1. Where to get the log file?
2. I have 3 drives, FAT32 and NTFS (X2), all having the same issue (500GB).
3. This the the msg that keep appearing is "Windows can't stop your 'Generic volume' device because a program is still using it. Close any programes that might be using the device, and then try again later."

I have basically 'end' all application from the task manager, as well as ending some processes, including my anti-virus, but nothing helps. The only way to remove is to shutdown or unplug direct. This is no good! I thought Windows 7 is supposed to be better than Vista? -.-"

Answer 5

I am having the same issue and it isn't related to best practice for removing the device. Resource Monitor seems to show a log file being written to the USB drive when I click the eject option.

I cannot see any files on the drive itself (with hidden files viewing switched on). No applications are running (including Windows Explorer) but Windows will not eject the device.

I have updated Windows 7 and the drivers for the device and formatted it today but I am still having a problem.

I have seen a few other posts on other sites also, but no helpful resolutions just yet.