Windows 10: 20h2 - usb hard drive won't eject

I've searched this forum and tried several solutions with no joy... After running freefilesync yesterday my WD Elements usb drive would not eject using the task manager. Tried explorer but there is no eject option that I can see. Also tried disk management but no eject option there either. Finally, powered off and removed the drive then rebooted - all files on the drive seem ok. Is there a known solution to this problem? TIA for any help.

:)

 

20h2 - usb hard drive won't eject

Right-click on the "Safely Remove Hardware and Eject Media" icon on the system tray.
Do you see the external hard disk?

 

20h2 - usb hard drive won't eject

If the drive policies are set to Quick Removal, it is not necessary to use Safely Eject and you may not even see the option, since it is not needed.

 

20h2 - usb hard drive won't eject

As Matthew says, the normal way to eject a USB HDD is from the taskbar icon, click the ^ to look in the hidden icons if you don't see it on the taskbar.





Having said that, you cannot safely eject if any file on the HDD is open. Closing all apps should close all the files they have opened, but sometimes a file is left marked as 'open'. It's not always obvious what process may still be holding a file open. Try signing out then in again to close all your processes, that works 9 times out of 10. If all else fails, it is always safe to power off and remove the drive as you did.