problem ejecting external usb hard drive

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industrykiller

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Nov 20, 2013
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When I try to safely remove my WD external hard drive, it says some process/program is using it. But I used process exploere to find which one, it did not find anything. I also used unlocker software, but nothing. Still the problem persist. I have been facing it since fast 15-20 days. Earlier it was working just perfectly
 
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Phillip Corcoran

Phillip Corcoran

Titan
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Sep 7, 2013
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It's a common problem & doesn't indicate anything wrong with your external drive.

By default, the "removal policy" for external drives is set to "Quick Removal", which means you don't have to use the "Safely Remove Hardware" utility at all, even though the drive in question is listed there.

Just ensure that the drive isn't reading or writing (check it's activity lamp) and you can safely unplug it.

I never use the "Safely Remove Hardware" now for any of my four external hard drives and pen drives.
I just ensure they are not busy then unplug them. It's never done them any harm at all.

Of course, if you change the removal policy to "Better Performance" (which tells Windows to use delayed-write caching) you must use the "Safely Remove Hardware" utility or just leave the drive connected till you shut down your computer.

Want to know where to find or change the current "Removal Policy" for a particular drive? It's in Device Manger. Double-click the drive you want to check, then click the "Policies" tab.
 
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industrykiller

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Nov 20, 2013
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10,510


I could'nt find the policies tab. and here's another thing I just noticed. When I removed the drive when the light was constant on and not flashing, and then when I tried to connect another hard drive it did not detect it. My computer showed me the last hard drive's name even when I refreshed it by pressing f5 key and USB mouse stopped working. I had to log off and then log in the user account again.
 
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benward

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Jul 26, 2015
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1. right click "my computer"
2. click manage
3. under computer management click device manager> disk drives> right click on WD external hard drive> click uninstall
4. restart your computer
5. open the external hard drive then safely eject the device

 
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