Windows Defender stopping me from ejecting harddrive

I got an answer to this issue.  You do not have to safely remove USB drives anymore. If you look under disk management.  Right clik on the disc label in the  lower section. Select properties. Then select the policies tab. Under that is removal policy. Quick Removal(default) and Better Performance. As long as Quick Removal(default) is selected you can remove the drive anytime you want safely. I would  make sure the drive is not actually churning before pulling the plug. I've had no issues since someone explained this to me on Windows 10 help forums. https://www.tenforums.com/

Hope this helps.

After uninstalling Norton (as it came preinstalled after on my computer) I started to experience an issue, whenever I would try to eject my hard drive I would get an error, after looking in event viewer I saw an error talking about how msmpeng.exe was stopping it from ejecting. After researching I found out that this task was windows defender.

However I have tried everything to stop this from happening to no avail, Ive gone into its settings to turn it off and yet it still runs in the background still blocking be from ejecting my hard drive, attempting to close msmpeng.exe in task manager gives me an error that I dont have permission (with no way to change this) I have then followed guides about going into edit to make a file called disablelivespywareprotection (something like that) and now Im out of answers, Am I now forced to just unplug it unsafely or something? please help

 Hi harrison! 

     I haven't found any official solution but here is a simple trick:

          Go to Disk Management/Create or Format Partitions, in the lower part of the disk management window, find your disk, right click on it and click on 'offline' which will kill all the processes that the disk is running. After that, make it online again and then eject it as you would any other usb device.

I got an answer to this issue.  You do not have to safely remove USB drives anymore. If you look under disk management.  Right clik on the disc label in the  lower section. Select properties. Then select the policies tab. Under that is removal policy. Quick Removal(default) and Better Performance. As long as Quick Removal(default) is selected you can remove the drive anytime you want safely. I would  make sure the drive is not actually churning before pulling the plug. I've had no issues since someone explained this to me on Windows 10 help forums. https://www.tenforums.com/

Hope this helps.

 

Hi,

Useful info - but how do you make sure its 'not churning'.  Where is the 'stop churning' button?  I think mine is churning because of Windows Defender doing something.  When I do manage to safely eject the HD it spins down.  When it refuses to eject it won't spin down, and its churning.  When I pull it out when its spinning like this it makes a funny dying sound that doesn't sound normal.

I hope the UI expert who thought it sensible to have an 'eject device' button which then presents a 'Problem ejecting USB Mass storage device - device is currently in use, close any programs or windows that might be using the device and then try again' dialog box if the correct thing is just to pull the USB lead is 'needs improvement' on their annual review. 

Andy

@old-fogey, 

The problem with windows defender is not just for USB devices, the same happens with external SATA drives. This problem started with Windows 10 v 2004 and it is not happening with the same hardware with Version 1909, it is also not happening with insider build 20180 or other development builds.

It definitely looks like a bug caused by windows defender only with builds 19041 or 19042...

When the problem occurs, a restart of the PC seems to cure the problem temporarily and a clean eject is allowed before defender starts using the drive again.

The problem is definitely a bug it only happens with 19041 builds and MS should fix it.

Did that and I still get the error, heres what it says in the log

The application \Device\HarddiskVolume3\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Platform\4.18.2004.6-0\MsMpEng.exe with process id 4380 stopped the removal or ejection for the device USB\VID_1058&PID_25FE\575834314131393638334334.

I have the same problem

Windows Defender\Platform\4.18.2009.7-0\MsMpEng.exe

October 2020

Doesn't Microsoft have a testing team??

Fix it!!

Unfortunately, MS is not doing anything to fix this, I have seen the same issue with Insider build 20236.1005.

The only way around for me now is by adding the external device or devices on the exclusion list for windows defender.

Assuming the device assigned letter(s) are the same each time you plug in the external device.

You would think that Windows system could release the device from defender when it needs to be ejected, but with recent changes it does not, it is really silly !😜