Windows 10: Please fix: "This device is currently in use. Close any programs or windows that might be...

All programs are closed. When I click on Eject first it takes like 20 seconds until the popup appears, the message comes "This device is currently in use. Close any programs or windows that might be using the device, and then try again."


I closed already all programs and I honestly don't have the time sometimes to look for it. I don't care which program is using it. Please tell the program to stop using it and eject the device. E.g. I am at the airport and I have to check in, or whatever happens, I have to give a talk NOW. And I don't want to risk to corrupt the hard-drive. So, please figure out which program is using the hard drive and, I don't know, kill it. Whatever, especially when there is no process started by the user. I don't care about the indexing service etc. This is a common frustration under Windows since years, and I don't understand why the windows community is living with this up until now.


Under Linux this is working properly most of the time, under Windows there is, I would say, a high probability as it happens frequently.


I also, don't understand why all the related posts are blocked. There are dozens of related threads from the past, so it is a very common problem.

:)

 

Cannot safely eject external drive. Error: This device is currently in use. Close any programs or windows that might be using the device, and then try again

Hi RishabhPatel9,

Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.

I understand how frustrating the situation can be. This behavior can occur if there are open handles with any files in the USB Mass Storage Device are in use by another program. To resolve
this issue, we need to determine which program is currently running on the device and then close it.

I suggest you to follow the steps mentioned below and check if it works:

Method 1: End the task from Task manager.

1. Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc
   at the same time on the keyboard.
   
2. Under the Process tab, locate the application that is using the USB device.(For ex: Windows Explorer)
   
3. Examine the list of processes, if you find any process belonging to the drive or device, simply end all such processes. Check if you can remove the drive now.
   

Method 2: Sign out and sign in back.

1. Press "Ctrl + Alt + Del" at the same time on the keyboard.
   
2. Select Sign out. (Note: Make sure you save all the opened files on the computer)
   
3. Sign in back to the computer and check if you can eject the drive now.
   

You can also run the built in troubleshooter for ‘Automatically
diagnose and fix Windows USB problems’.

Method 3: Eject the USB from Disk Management.

1. Press Windows and
   R key together on your Keyboard.
2. Type diskmgmt.msc and hit enter.
3. Locate the External drive you want to remove and right click on it, then select Eject. (Note: Sometimes it is located as
   Offline for External drive, the next time you put the drive back to the computer for use, you need to go back to the Disk Management and turn it to ‘Online’ state.

If that doesn’t work, I would also suggest you to refer the article from the manufacturer of Seagate on
Windows will not allow me to safely remove my drive.
If you would like me to provide additional advice, simply respond to this thread. I will get notified and I’ll reply to you as soon as I can and let us know if the above steps worked out for you.

Hope it helps.

Roohi Taj S​

Microsoft Community – Moderator

 

Why did the startup window get cleared?

I didn't missed any step, the list was gone and gone , even after using lot of programs the programs were not listed in that list.

 

The device is currently in use. Close any programs.....

Hi,

Sorry for the inconvenience caused to you, Thank you so much for your valuable question please, I would suggest you to please see the below mentioned thread and see it if it helps. I am hopeful that your query will be resolved, If the issue persists kindly
do let me know,waiting for your kind reply please. Please check the solution given by Gokul T

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/for...

Please let me know, if that helps and feel free to ask back any question.

Kind Regards:

Yasir