Comments for

Comment from Merineth Cally on 2011-07-25

2011-07-26T05:02:29Z

Hey, it is more simple than all the above comments...just remove the maxtor icon and the autorun.inf and you're done...
Computer Courses Brisbane

]]>

A comment on:

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from New_Windows_7 on 2011-05-25

2011-05-25T22:59:33Z

I had the same problem with the PID 4/System process. The solution Michael Carter proposed worked for me: I opened the Task Manager, closed explorer.exe in Task Manager and then re-opened explorer.exe in Task Manager. I was then able to remove the external hard drive without a problem. Let me add that this problem occurred repeatedly during the FIRST TIME I used my brand new Windows 7-running laptop. I will shortly contact Microsoft about this.

]]>

A comment on:

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Abdullah Eyles on 2010-12-28

2010-12-29T07:10:17Z

I was thinking to use Process Explorer as Leo recommends but I've got it installed as a portable version on the HD I want to remove! ;-)) Talk about shooting myself in the foot! (but then I suppose it would be useful to find what else is jamming up the system!)

]]>

A comment on:

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Ravi Agrawal on 2010-12-21

2010-12-21T17:44:44Z

Most of the time it is the System Volume Information folder being accessed for creation / addition of Restore points which are not needed on USB drives.

I disable System Restore on all Drives except the Windows System drive, in most cases c:

With system restore disabled on all other drives & without any explorer windows focused on any of the drives' (sub)folders, I rarely encounter this sort of dialog.

Ravi.

]]>

A comment on:

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Les Millgate on 2010-12-21

2010-12-21T17:07:48Z

I get it in WXP.
Download Unlocker (Google it, or http://unlocker.en.softonic.com/) Start Unlocker, find offending USB drive in the list, Click/double click, click 'Unlock all' (or all of the tabs!), message should have disappeared when you now try again.

]]>

A comment on:

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Bruce Bon on 2010-11-05

2010-11-05T14:27:45Z

I have the same problem, under Win 7, and after using Process Explorer in the All Processes mode, I see that PID 4 is the culprit, accessing several metadata and volume info files. This was also identified in the Event Viewer Warning associated with not being able to eject the USB drive. Task manager shows PID 4 to be "System", with description "NT Kernel & System". Pretty obvious that I can kill this process. What do I do, short of shut down??

]]>

A comment on:

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Sian Doherty on 2010-10-15

2010-10-15T20:45:48Z

I also followed Leo�s advice, using process explorer and searched for \device\harddisk. 0 results. So I thought maybe explorer didn't close properly or something even though I had no windows open. I ended explorer.exe process in task manager (i had 2 processes of it running). then i restarted explorer.exe through task manager and voila i was able to safely remove the device. Does this have any detrimental effects on the system? or is it another legitimate alternative to the safely remove method when the process explorer method displays 0 results for \device\harddisk??

]]>

A comment on:

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from bam on 2010-05-07

2010-05-07T07:23:35Z

\device\harddisk
doesn't works on w7

Wished I'd thought of this a couple of months ago - sorry for the delay.

For whomever follows, in Windows 7 make sure that you click on File -> Show Details for All Processes. The security model in Windows 7 has of course changed somewhat. This option causes Process Explorer to re-launch itself with full administrative access. You'll probably get a UAC confirmation when you do it. Without this Process Explorer can't see inside of all processes.

07-Jul-2010

]]>

A comment on:

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from skinsman on 2010-04-25

2010-04-25T13:54:17Z

Response to "didn't work" who commented "/device/harddisk returns 0 results" - maybe it would work if you tried "\device\harddisk" as advertised?

]]>

A comment on:

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from nascent on 2010-03-07

2010-03-07T13:12:58Z

If you have AVG then that is the cause. It is a big bug that they plan to fix in the next version
http://forums.avg.com/ww-en/avg-free-forum?sec=thread&act=show&id=65437#post_65437

]]>

A comment on:

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from didn't work on 2010-02-20

2010-02-21T01:11:50Z

/device/harddisk returns 0 results. I guess this doesn'tw ork with windows 7? Thanks anyway.

]]>

A comment on:

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Michael Carter on 2010-01-17

2010-01-18T06:49:19Z

I use an external Western Digital �Elements� drive to store old TV shows. I�d turn it on, watch a show, and could never disconnect safely no matter what trick I tried. So I followed Leo�s advice, using process explorer, and noticed the process explorer.exe with a lot of handles on files on the drive, although no explorer browse window was viewing any of them. So using task manager I stopped the process explorer.exe, and also using task manager I restarted it. I was then able to remove the drive safely.

]]>

A comment on:

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Phil Goetz on 2010-01-17

2010-01-17T17:01:29Z

My Windows XP ALWAYS gives me this message, no matter what. There is no program using the USB drive. I can plug it in, copy one file onto the USB drive with Windows explorer, then shut down windows explorer, and it will still give me this message. I always have to shut my computer down to disconnect a USB drive.

]]>

A comment on:

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from DaveK on 2010-01-05

2010-01-06T02:32:37Z

Ray wrote:
To unhook whatever is accessing your device, simply create a new folder anywhere, cut it and paste it in your recycle bin then emty your recycle bin. Now you should be able to safely unplug your device.
SORRY RAY, THIS DOES NOT WORK FOR ME.
It is insane that MicroSHAFT has not fixed this crazy bug and everyone has to suffer for it. There are NO APPLICATIONS running and I cannot remove the USB drive because it says there are applications running. Crazy. This is why some people HATE computers, can you blame them???

]]>

A comment on:

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Urso BR on 2009-05-09

2009-05-10T04:40:00Z

I am having this problem right now. I wish there was a way to know which disk is which (\Device\HarddiskN etc.). However, the drive properties in Device Manager say that it's optimized for quick removal and "this setting disables write caching on the disk and in Windows, so you can disconnect this device without using the Safe Removal icon." I am just going to do that, by lack of an alternative. It is empty right now anyway, I just formatted it and wiped it with PGP Shredder to eliminate malware that often comes with new flash disks.

Question: doesn't the error occur simply because of the "quick removal" setting, meaning Windows has no cache to flush and can't "remove" something that is already not permanently attached?

]]>

A comment on:

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Robert on 2009-02-19

2009-02-20T04:06:16Z

The drive may also be optimized for quick removal as opposed to performance in the device manager. If you check it in the list of drives you can change the option with a restart required.

]]>

A comment on:

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Galane on 2009-01-15

2009-01-15T08:41:03Z

Why, after so many years and so many versions of Windows, does Windows still do this? What SHOULD happen when the user selects a device to Safely Remove is Windows should AUTOMATICALLY and QUIETLY close all open file handles and flush all pending writes to the drive, then pop up the OK box. If for some reason it thinks some file is still open, it should present a list to the user. If the user knows nothing on the drive is in use, there should be a button to smack Windows upside the head. If the drive happens to be open in Windows Explorer, Windows should simply and QUIETLY move to C: or somewhere else WITHOUT COMPLAINING, just like it does when you eject a CD while looking at it with Windows Explorer.

Why, after all this time, does Windows not behave in this logical manner? Will the current dumb behavior be perpetuated in Windows 7?

]]>

A comment on:

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from ray on 2009-01-09

2009-01-10T07:42:17Z

To unhook whatever is accessing your device, simply create a new folder anywhere, cut it and paste it in your recycle bin then emty your recycle bin.
now you should be able to safely unplug your device

]]>

A comment on:

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Wizzardofoz on 2008-12-24

2008-12-25T03:11:26Z

If you are in Vista you can use the inbuilt Resource monitor to check what is accessing the disk. Resource Monitor actually lists the drive letter so it is a little easier to identify the correct disk if you have many drives.

However I am not sure if it is present in all the flavors of Vista.

]]>

A comment on:

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Brian Bozwick on 2008-12-03

2008-12-03T16:08:46Z

closing outlook took care of the problem for me. I had sent an attachment from my usb drive and though e mail had been sent, I was still getting the "cannot be stopped error"

]]>

A comment on:

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from WiseJoe on 2008-01-22

2008-01-22T18:18:58Z

Also there is another way of getting rid of this problem without any additional cliks - to use USB Safely Remove ( http://safelyremove.com ). It fully replaces native safely remove utility and allows to displays programs are locking the device. It's not free, but it's very handy when you use USB gadgets often

]]>

A comment on:

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from susan b on 2008-01-17

2008-01-17T16:32:25Z

re: using "unhooker" to close any handles on the removeable drive: Just r-click on the drive in explorer, unhooker shows, select it, and select close handles. cant find this and cant unplug my WD external drive. thanks 4 the help! Susan

]]>

A comment on:

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from ashoka on 2008-01-01

2008-01-01T14:07:31Z

Thanx Leo It was very good article.Now I am able to resolved the problem that I ever face.

]]>

A comment on:

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Bill Holland on 2007-12-29

2007-12-29T18:59:23Z

I frequently have .doc files on a USB drive that I may have been editing. I use Word as my default editor for Outlook, also. I have found that I have to close Outlook in order for the "Safe to remove..." message returns. It took me awhile to find that one.

]]>

A comment on:

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Robert Petteway on 2007-12-28

2007-12-29T02:16:20Z

I noticed, at the bottom of a Microsoft document, the author put a comment about using "unhooker" to close any handles on the removeable drive. It is free, donate if you want, and it works great! Just r-click on the drive in explorer, unhooker shows, select it, and select close handles. Done.

]]>

A comment on:

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Ken B on 2007-12-27

2007-12-27T19:01:25Z

Another useful feature of Process Explorer that you've pointed me to. Thanks. (I think I should take some time and just go through every menu choice and dialog box in that thing.)

In addition to "\device\harddisk", you may also want to search for "X:\" where "X:" is the drive letter of the USB drive.

]]>

A comment on:

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.