Windows 10: "This device is currently in use" message -- with WD external USB 3.0 discs.

I have been getting this message consistently with a Western Digital USB 3.0 Passport (2TB) disc which I just bought recently. I have been using it to keep files, backup, etc. on my Win10 laptop.


When I plug USB 3.0 sticks (16GB or 64GB) from generic brands, they eject/release smoothly without any errors. Of course, I have to make sure that there are no open files or there are no programs still actively using them. But with this -- and only this specific WD USB 3.0 Passport (2TB), which is brand new -- I am always getting the " ... in use" message every time I do an eject/release, even when there's no activity on my Laptop. My last resort is to force a shutdown of the laptop and then disconnect the device, but this is becoming a nuisance.


Any advice, tips or guidance would be highly appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

:)

 

WD Elements external drive

Hi Edward,

To assist you further, I would like to ask some questions:

• Do you get any error message?
• How are you connecting your External Drive to your computer?

I suggest you to run the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter by following the steps provided below:

• Type “Troubleshooting” in search box and press Enter.
• Click on “View all” on the top left pane.
• Click on "Hardware and Devices" from the list and follow the prompts for troubleshooting.

Hope this helps. Keep us posted on the status for further assistance.

Thank you.

 

WD and NEC Electronics Collaborate to Promote USB 3.0 with New Storage Devices

WD, the world's leader in external storage solutions, and NEC Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723), a leading provider of semiconductor solutions, today announced that the companies have collaborated to promote the new SuperSpeed Universal Serial Bus (USB) 3.0 standard, a next-generation interface to be used in a wide range of electronic devices including PCs, PC peripherals, and digital appliances.

USB 3.0 is capable of supporting data transfer rates of up to 5 gigabits per second (Gbps), which is 10 times faster than the previous high-speed USB 2.0 transfer speeds. With its higher speeds and enhanced power efficiency, external hard disk drives are the first SuperSpeed USB 3.0 devices to appear on the market.

As the first step toward WD's and NEC Electronics' goal to promote the SuperSpeed USB 3.0 standard, the companies plan to develop a USB Attached SCSI Protocol (UASP) driver to deliver hard drives with very high performance, mass-storage capacity. UASP is a new industry-standard, high-performance mass-storage protocol being developed for SuperSpeed USB 3.0 to overcome the performance boundaries of the Bulk Only Transfer (BOT) protocol, which has been used for traditional USB 2.0 speeds. The new UASP driver will be used with NEC Electronics' USB 3.0 xHCI (eXtensible Host Controller Interface) host controller (part number µPD720200), which appeared on the market as the world's first USB 3.0 host controller in June 2009.

Key features of the new UASP driver:

• Support for the UASP mass-storage protocol
• Data transfer rate is enhanced by 30 percent, with optimized power efficiency and smooth interoperability, compared to the existing BOT protocol
• NEC Electronics' license program is available for any LSI (large scale integration) vendors who develop UASP-based LSI devices

"The wide adoption of external storage, for both expanding and backing up internal computer storage, highlights the need for faster interface transfer rates. The USB 3.0 interface offers a significant advance in data transfer speed," said Robert Caddy, Jr., vice president of engineering for WD's Branded Products Group. "We are pleased to collaborate with NEC Electronics as a leading supplier of USB host devices in the introduction of USB 3.0 technology to the storage market."

"Partnering with WD enables us to combine our USB transfer technology with WD's data storage technology and provide added value to our customers," said Masao Hirasawa, deputy general manager, Home Multimedia Division, NEC Electronics Corporation. "Starting with the new HDDs, WD and NEC Electronics are working together as the industrial leaders to expand USB 3.0 marketplace offerings with the highest quality and performance solutions while speeding time to market."

 

Windows 10 not finding WD passport external hard drive

Hi Shirley,

Thank you for posting in Microsoft Community.

I understand that the external drive is not detecting in Windows 10. We will help you.

To assist you better, I suggest you to answer the below questions.

• Is the issue specific to the WD external drive or any other devices also?
• Are you getting any error messages?
• Did you try connecting it to any other devices and check what is the result?

Please post us back with more information to help you better.