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Copper Contributor

May 22, 2020

cannot eject external drive

I have an external drive that I cannot eject. The error is that the disk is in use, but even when I close all of my apps, it is still locked. I've tried device troubleshooting and nothing... I've ...

MVP

May 23, 2020

Hello,

You might need to identify the process that is using the drive and have to terminate that first. Have you tried turning off the device and eject that external drive?

Regards.

newmarket2
Copper Contributor
May 23, 2020
KapilArya

Yes, I know that I can shut down and disconnect, but I don't have enough ports so am unplugging a lot and need to make this work
The warning is telling me that a process is locking the drive, but it isn't telling me what that process is. In Task Manager, I've closed all my apps except Malwarebytes tray app. Might that be the problem?
I've also used procexp and it shows 2 instances of explorer.exe. Why would those be running when they aren't appearing in the Task Mgr? Might they be indexing?
- Reza_Ameri-Archived
  Bronze Contributor
  May 23, 2020
  There is possibility that Malwarebytes might scanning it.
  If possible, try run scan on it and if it is safe, temporary close Malwarebytes and see if you are able to eject it?
  - newmarket2
    Copper Contributor
    May 23, 2020
    Reza_Ameri-Archived
    Ended Malwarebytes tray task...still didn't work
    
    Went to indexing in the Control Panel
    The external drive was not selected.
    
    I'll add that this is a relatively new laptop. When I first started using it, this was not a problem. It appeared more recently. But I can't associate it with anything I did because I didn't attempt to eject for several months

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