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Problem Ejecting External Disk - This device is currently in use

Anonymous
2023-09-23T23:48:30+00:00

Hello,

After I connect my external disk to my HP Z4 G4 business desktop, I cannot safely remove / eject it anymore. Windows 11 says "Problem Ejecting USB Attached SCSI - This device is currently in use." Also after I click the safely remove button 100 times. It happens even right after I start my PC without doing anything else. The only way to properly disconnect the external disk seems to be to shut down the PC.

When I connect the external disk on another PC that runs Windows 10, I don't have the issue. Both PC's have Norton installed, so that doesn't seem to be the cause.

Is there a way to find out which process is preventing me from safely removing the disk?

Thanks in advance!

SJW

PS My external disk is a Sandisk Professional G-Drive 12 TB.

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Devices and drivers

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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  1. Anonymous
    2025-01-17T16:09:39+00:00

    Hi all,

    My post is from a while ago and the issue has lasted quite a long time as well. I guess a year or so.

    Good news. Within my current Windows 11 Pro version (24H2) the issue seems to be solved. Within this version I can safely remove my external disk. After clicking "Eject" Windows shows the notification "Safe to Remove Hardware" after which I can turn off the external disk with its power button (resulting in a gentle Windows beep).

    Regards,

    SJW

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  2. Anonymous
    2025-01-17T16:24:37+00:00

    I’m not an expert, but what worked for me was figuring out what processes are still running. To do this, you can open Task Manager, go to the Processes tab, and look under the "Group" section. This will help you identify what you need to delete or turn off.

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  3. Anonymous
    2025-02-19T01:52:17+00:00

    This is actually a reply to your post about file associations. MS stupidly locks posts way too fast (why?), preventing anyone from contributing useful information after a relatively short period of time.

    Anyway, I had the same issue and detailed my solution on SuperUser. HTH.

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