When ejecting a USB device, you may get the following error message:
The device ‘generic volume’cannot be stopped right now. Try stopping the device again later.
This error usually comes because some files from the USB device are being used or open by some running process. You can’t eject the device until you close all the files that are open from the USB device. Sometimes, even though we have closed all the programs but the USB eject still displays the same error. This is because some process is accessing the file. There are several ways to see which files are open from USB device. Two of them are as under.
Method 1: Using EjectUSB
EjectUSB is a small utility which will automatically close all the files that are being used from the USB device and then eject the USB for safe removal.
How to use EjectUSB
Just download EjectUSB from the below link:
Download EjectUSB
Extract the zip file and then copy EjectUSB.exe and EjectUSB.ini in your Windows folder (C:Windows). This is recommended for easy access from your Run menu.
Now whenever you want to eject your USB device, just go to Start –> Run –> ejectusb O:
(Replace O is your USB drive you want to eject)
This will automatically close all the open files from your USB device and then eject it automatically.
Method 2: Using Filemon
If you want to see which files are open from your USB device and manually close all of them, then you should use this method. Download Filemon from below. Unzip it.
Run Filemon.exe. It will show up all the files that are open in your computer.
Now go to Volumes menu and select No Volumes. This will deselect all the selected volumes. Now go to Volumes menu again and select your USB drive. This will give you all the files that are open from your USB drive.
Now you can see which files are open from your USB drive and which process is using it. Identifying that, you can easily close the process to release the file.
If you have any other cool ways to eject the USB device, please let me know through comments.
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[...] Note: To be always safe with data using NTFS, always safely eject the USB drive. See my article how to Eject the USB drive Safely [...]
thanks Sanix,,,
Nice post…but there are other easy ways
if the error occurs just open the pen drive,refresh twice,and try to “safely remove “.It will work.
I just pull out USB devices without worrying
This is really handy. Thanks.
FileMon has solved my problems. I have found processes that are keeping my drive busy.
Thank you.
Unlocker can do the job of killing the busy file/process…after that which you can safely remove your usb. Just another way of sharing
There is usb monitor in the windows xp. Why can’t we use it from command prompt?
why are computer programs (Windows) becomming more and more manual. Everything must be done by hand now days.
The tip above is helpful if I know usb-id, but how do you do it automatically.
I automatically run a number of programs from a USB disk. Now I want to automatically close all programs and even close the USB disk. How do I do it?
Let me start by saying excellent post. Im not sure if it has been talked about, however when using Firefox I can never get the whole site to load without refreshing alot of times. Maybe just my computer. Appreciate your work
Thanks a lot Tenesha. I’m looking into the matter of firefox not opening the site fully. On my side, it’s opening perfectly in Opera, IE and Firefox. Can you tell me which part of the site is not loading?
maybe you can try thie web,to find something you want :http://www.partitionwizard.com
http://www.mt-solution.ca/products.htm
im curious of the differences between right clicking on a usb key and clicking eject or simply removing the device as Brad has mentioned.. anyone care to enlighten me?