Problem ejecting USB mass storage device

Mel,

If you were using Windows Explorer to access the USB device, you should
close that first. Just a thought.
"Mel" <mel44@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:1A17E6B7-B14B-47A7-8952-930A85EC876B@microsoft.com...

> when i select to safely remove my usb stick, i get the following error;
>
> "Windows cant stop your Generic Volume device because it is in use." etc.
>
> now, ive used Process Explorer to try to find what process has a handle on
> my usb, but a search yields no results, there is nothing binding my usb!
>
> im using the same usb (DSE MicroDrive) that i used to use on my xp
> machine.
> this only started on this xp machine.
>
> any advice would be appreciated!!

i duno, im not comfortable just pulling it out. i have really important
documents, i wouldnt want to lose. either way, its the principle of the
matter, something is not right, and id rather fix it the proper way

"freddy" wrote:

> Mel,
>
> If it were me with this issue, I'd just go ahead and remove the USB stick
> and not be concerned with the message. That message is intended to make sure
> you don't remove it before all data has been written, to prevent interruption
> of data transfer. That's what the "safely remove" part of the message means.
> If you're finished and data transfer is done, just go ahead and remove the
> device. In the past, some people unplugged their USB devices before data
> transfer completed and thus lost data. So, Microsoft came up with this
> procedure to prevent that.
> --
> freddy
>
>
> "Mel" wrote:
>

> > when i select to safely remove my usb stick, i get the following error;
> >
> > "Windows cant stop your Generic Volume device because it is in use." etc.
> >
> > now, ive used Process Explorer to try to find what process has a handle on
> > my usb, but a search yields no results, there is nothing binding my usb!
> >
> > im using the same usb (DSE MicroDrive) that i used to use on my xp machine.
> > this only started on this xp machine.
> >
> > any advice would be appreciated!!

I with you. I also have the same problem as you do.

"Mel" wrote:

> i duno, im not comfortable just pulling it out. i have really important
> documents, i wouldnt want to lose. either way, its the principle of the
> matter, something is not right, and id rather fix it the proper way
>

I use a USB drive to backup my PC. I do NOT use the "schedule" feature of
my backup software because I prefer to backup manually, on my terms, when
the PC is not in use.

When I plug in the USB drive, or even from a fresh boot with the USB drive
already plugged in, I am unable to "safely remove" it. When I attempt to
remove it by using the "Safely Remove Hardware" program, I get an error
message that says:

Problem Ejecting USB Mass Storage Device
Windows can't stop your "Generic volume" device because it is in use.
Close any programs or windows that might be using the device, and try
again later.

I have gone through the Task Manager and closed all applications that are
running (usually, there are none running). I also click on the Processes
tab of the Task Manager and close any processes that I suspect may be
accessing the drive, e.g. all Symantec processes (on the hunch that perhaps
some of the Norton products such as "Antivirus" or "Save & Restore" may be
using the drive. Nothing seems to work.

There are always dozens of other processes running, most of them Windows
processes, which I am reluctant to start shutting down because I don't know
what they do and whether they are vital to Windows. For example, there are
13 instances of "svhost.exe" with user names like System, Local Service, and
Network Service - all with different amounts of memory usage.

The error message is typical of many Microsoft error messages: vague and
with no specific indication as to which program needs to be closed. As
there are no other applications running, my assumption is that there is some
background process that has locked the drive but, once again, no clue as to
which one.

Suggestions? other than to close every process - it is less time consuming
to simply shut down and reboot than to go through the task manager closing
every process, one at at time, to isolate the offending program.

As I understand, 'save removal' is not possible on a a USB Mass Storage
Device AKA Hard Disk Drive.
The X:\System Volume Information area on such a drive is constantly in use
and as such will prevent removal of such a drive.

This is different from 'Removable Storage' devices (USB thumb drives, memory
cards for instance) which can be easily removed.

Michael


"VistaUser" <wpla@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:EF84777B-F31C-4713-A65E-8B39D432B511@microsoft.com...

> I use a USB drive to backup my PC. I do NOT use the "schedule" feature of
> my backup software because I prefer to backup manually, on my terms, when
> the PC is not in use.
>
> When I plug in the USB drive, or even from a fresh boot with the USB drive
> already plugged in, I am unable to "safely remove" it. When I attempt to
> remove it by using the "Safely Remove Hardware" program, I get an error
> message that says:
>
> Problem Ejecting USB Mass Storage Device
> Windows can't stop your "Generic volume" device because it is in use.
> Close any programs or windows that might be using the device, and try
> again later.
>
> I have gone through the Task Manager and closed all applications that are
> running (usually, there are none running). I also click on the Processes
> tab of the Task Manager and close any processes that I suspect may be
> accessing the drive, e.g. all Symantec processes (on the hunch that
> perhaps some of the Norton products such as "Antivirus" or "Save &
> Restore" may be using the drive. Nothing seems to work.
>
> There are always dozens of other processes running, most of them Windows
> processes, which I am reluctant to start shutting down because I don't
> know what they do and whether they are vital to Windows. For example,
> there are 13 instances of "svhost.exe" with user names like System, Local
> Service, and Network Service - all with different amounts of memory usage.
>
> The error message is typical of many Microsoft error messages: vague and
> with no specific indication as to which program needs to be closed. As
> there are no other applications running, my assumption is that there is
> some background process that has locked the drive but, once again, no clue
> as to which one.
>
> Suggestions? other than to close every process - it is less time consuming
> to simply shut down and reboot than to go through the task manager closing
> every process, one at at time, to isolate the offending program.

Mine did that once because I was picking one of the 3 items presented in the
window. Try just hitting the stop button when that window comes up and
don't pick just one device.

Clark

"VistaUser" <wpla@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:EF84777B-F31C-4713-A65E-8B39D432B511@microsoft.com...

>I use a USB drive to backup my PC. I do NOT use the "schedule" feature of
> my backup software because I prefer to backup manually, on my terms, when
> the PC is not in use.
>
> When I plug in the USB drive, or even from a fresh boot with the USB drive
> already plugged in, I am unable to "safely remove" it. When I attempt to
> remove it by using the "Safely Remove Hardware" program, I get an error
> message that says:
>
> Problem Ejecting USB Mass Storage Device
> Windows can't stop your "Generic volume" device because it is in use.
> Close any programs or windows that might be using the device, and try
> again later.
>
> I have gone through the Task Manager and closed all applications that are
> running (usually, there are none running). I also click on the Processes
> tab of the Task Manager and close any processes that I suspect may be
> accessing the drive, e.g. all Symantec processes (on the hunch that
> perhaps some of the Norton products such as "Antivirus" or "Save &
> Restore" may be using the drive. Nothing seems to work.
>
> There are always dozens of other processes running, most of them Windows
> processes, which I am reluctant to start shutting down because I don't
> know what they do and whether they are vital to Windows. For example,
> there are 13 instances of "svhost.exe" with user names like System, Local
> Service, and Network Service - all with different amounts of memory usage.
>
> The error message is typical of many Microsoft error messages: vague and
> with no specific indication as to which program needs to be closed. As
> there are no other applications running, my assumption is that there is
> some background process that has locked the drive but, once again, no clue
> as to which one.
>
> Suggestions? other than to close every process - it is less time consuming
> to simply shut down and reboot than to go through the task manager closing
> every process, one at at time, to isolate the offending program.

That's not a solution. I had tried that after cycling through all the
options. The "safe removal" just seems impossible, especially if any
program uses the drive. Even after the programs that access the drive are
shut down, the message that "it is in use..." is displayed.

"Clark" <no-spam@tx.rr.com> wrote in message
news:ulA2UrQaJHA.1272@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

> Mine did that once because I was picking one of the 3 items presented in
> the window. Try just hitting the stop button when that window comes up
> and don't pick just one device.
>
> Clark
>
> "VistaUser" <wpla@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:EF84777B-F31C-4713-A65E-8B39D432B511@microsoft.com...

>>I use a USB drive to backup my PC. I do NOT use the "schedule" feature of
>> my backup software because I prefer to backup manually, on my terms, when
>> the PC is not in use.
>>
>> When I plug in the USB drive, or even from a fresh boot with the USB
>> drive
>> already plugged in, I am unable to "safely remove" it. When I attempt to
>> remove it by using the "Safely Remove Hardware" program, I get an error
>> message that says:
>>
>> Problem Ejecting USB Mass Storage Device
>> Windows can't stop your "Generic volume" device because it is in use.
>> Close any programs or windows that might be using the device, and try
>> again later.
>>
>> I have gone through the Task Manager and closed all applications that are
>> running (usually, there are none running). I also click on the Processes
>> tab of the Task Manager and close any processes that I suspect may be
>> accessing the drive, e.g. all Symantec processes (on the hunch that
>> perhaps some of the Norton products such as "Antivirus" or "Save &
>> Restore" may be using the drive. Nothing seems to work.
>>
>> There are always dozens of other processes running, most of them Windows
>> processes, which I am reluctant to start shutting down because I don't
>> know what they do and whether they are vital to Windows. For example,
>> there are 13 instances of "svhost.exe" with user names like System, Local
>> Service, and Network Service - all with different amounts of memory
>> usage.
>>
>> The error message is typical of many Microsoft error messages: vague and
>> with no specific indication as to which program needs to be closed. As
>> there are no other applications running, my assumption is that there is
>> some background process that has locked the drive but, once again, no
>> clue as to which one.
>>
>> Suggestions? other than to close every process - it is less time
>> consuming to simply shut down and reboot than to go through the task
>> manager closing every process, one at at time, to isolate the offending
>> program.

>

"VistaUser" <wpla@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:%236Y7t5VaJHA.5420@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

> That's not a solution. I had tried that after cycling through all the
> options. The "safe removal" just seems impossible, especially if any
> program uses the drive. Even after the programs that access the drive are
> shut down, the message that "it is in use..." is displayed.
>
> "Clark" <no-spam@tx.rr.com> wrote in message
> news:ulA2UrQaJHA.1272@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

>> Mine did that once because I was picking one of the 3 items presented in
>> the window. Try just hitting the stop button when that window comes up
>> and don't pick just one device.
>>
>> Clark
>>
>> "VistaUser" <wpla@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>> news:EF84777B-F31C-4713-A65E-8B39D432B511@microsoft.com...

>>>I use a USB drive to backup my PC. I do NOT use the "schedule" feature
>>>of
>>> my backup software because I prefer to backup manually, on my terms,
>>> when
>>> the PC is not in use.
>>>
>>> When I plug in the USB drive, or even from a fresh boot with the USB
>>> drive
>>> already plugged in, I am unable to "safely remove" it. When I attempt
>>> to
>>> remove it by using the "Safely Remove Hardware" program, I get an error
>>> message that says:
>>>

My drive just did the same as yours. I was looking at the Device Manager,
and I noticed under the Disk Drive - properties - policies, there is an
option for "Optimize for quick removal", which says you do not have to use
the Safe Removal icon. I would still be concerned about making sure the
drive was not running when I removed the device or unpowered it, but maybe
it works like it says.

Clark

>>> Problem Ejecting USB Mass Storage Device
>>> Windows can't stop your "Generic volume" device because it is in use.
>>> Close any programs or windows that might be using the device, and try
>>> again later.
>>>
>>> I have gone through the Task Manager and closed all applications that
>>> are running (usually, there are none running). I also click on the
>>> Processes tab of the Task Manager and close any processes that I suspect
>>> may be accessing the drive, e.g. all Symantec processes (on the hunch
>>> that perhaps some of the Norton products such as "Antivirus" or "Save &
>>> Restore" may be using the drive. Nothing seems to work.
>>>
>>> There are always dozens of other processes running, most of them Windows
>>> processes, which I am reluctant to start shutting down because I don't
>>> know what they do and whether they are vital to Windows. For example,
>>> there are 13 instances of "svhost.exe" with user names like System,
>>> Local Service, and Network Service - all with different amounts of
>>> memory usage.
>>>
>>> The error message is typical of many Microsoft error messages: vague and
>>> with no specific indication as to which program needs to be closed. As
>>> there are no other applications running, my assumption is that there is
>>> some background process that has locked the drive but, once again, no
>>> clue as to which one.
>>>
>>> Suggestions? other than to close every process - it is less time
>>> consuming to simply shut down and reboot than to go through the task
>>> manager closing every process, one at at time, to isolate the offending
>>> program.

>>