Problem Ejecting USB Mass Storage Device "This device is currently in use. Close any programs or windows that might be using the device, and then try again."

Anonymous
2011-03-23T03:39:03+00:00

Original title:Problem Ejecting USB Mass Storage Device

When I try to safely eject my external hard drive safely I get an error message with this title telling me that "This device is currently in use. Close any programs or windows that might be using the device, and then try again." I have done this. I have also tried closing every program running on the computer and it does not help. I have also tried restarting the computer and this also does nothing. If anyone has any ideas that would be helpful please let me know.

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | 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.

0 comments
Answer accepted by question author
Anonymous
2011-03-24T03:24:11+00:00

Hi A. Cook,

1)       How long have you been facing this issue?

2)       Is this issue confined to any specific USB device?

This behavior can occur if there are open handles with any files in the USB (Universal Serial Bus) Mass Storage Device are in use by another program.

Method 1:

a)       Download Process Explorer from the link below

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653

b)       Click Find, Find Handle or DLL (Dynamic Link Library) in the tool menu.

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

d)       Find the process and its PID (Process Identifier) in the following box.

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

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

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

Reference:

Problem Ejecting USB Mass Storage Devicehttp://support.microsoft.com/kb/555665

Note: Using Third Party Software, including hardware drivers can cause serious problems that may prevent your computer from booting properly. Microsoft cannot guarantee that any problems resulting from the use of Third Party Software can be solved. Using Third Party Software is at your own risk.

**Method 2:**You may refer the steps provided by Diana D in the link below

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows\_vista-hardware/problem-ejecting-usb-mass-storage-deviceits-in-use/fd56805c-ed8e-491f-8a2b-39ed1c988a71

Method 3: Run an online scan for any threat and try to fix them

**http://onecare.live.com/site/en-Us/center/cleanup.htm**

Was this answer helpful?

30+ people found this answer helpful.
0 comments

53 additional answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2013-06-05T21:32:44+00:00

    Thanks to bill33 for stating that Process Explorer needs to be run in admin mode to see all of the processes.  When I first ran Process Explorer, it didn't show any processes using the drive which was supposedly in use.  After restarting Process Explorer in admin mode, the process using the drive became immediately apparent.  It was a non-essential service, which I shut down properly using Services from the Administrative tools in the Control panel.  After that, there was no complaint when ejecting the drive.  Easy!

    For those who don't know how to run Process Explorer in administrator mode: right-click on the Process Explorer program (or the link to it, depending on how you have it set up.)  A menu will open.  Select "Run as administrator" from the menu.  Then enter the drive letter, followed by a colon, in the search box, as described previously.  Including the colon will prevent the listing of thousands of non-relevant search results.

    Was this answer helpful?

    6 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2013-05-04T15:59:36+00:00

    Download the free **Process Explorer**.

    Run the program.

    Once it's running, click File > Show Details for All Processes.

    Click Find > Find handle or DLL...

    Type the letter for your USB flash drive (e.g. type G: if "G" is your USB drive letter)

    Click Search.

    Look at the results and note the processes. They will tell you what's currently using the drive, so you can terminate it/them.

    Source:http://forums.techguy.org/windows-7/1029584-solved-device-currently-use-message.html

    Was this answer helpful?

    6 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2012-02-16T11:30:15+00:00

    As an addendum, one must run proc explorer in admin mode for its queries to get state information from all processes.    Some of the extra items seen then could be held by SYSTEM and one can't go killing handles it has open without the proper knowledge, if at all.   But some handles held by services may show up too that wouldn't be seen otherwise, and one could try stopping those services, if permissable.  At least one will know for sure what is holding on to the drive.

    Was this answer helpful?

    4 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  4. Anonymous
    2014-02-18T22:34:54+00:00

    In Windows 8 you don't need to guess what process is stopping the eject of the USB device.

    Open the Even Viewer and under system you will see a message from "Kernel-PnP", example:

    "The application System with process id 4 stopped the removal or ejection for the device ..."

    Event ID: 225

    Task Category: (223)

    Once you know the process id (PID 4 in my example) you can use the task manager to kill that process. Note you might need to add the PID column to see it.

    I am not sure of older versions of Windows would have this in the Even viewer.

    Was this answer helpful?

    3 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments