removing external USB drives

I was searching the internet and especially help from MicroSoft in order to attend to a problem that I face in 9 of 10 times when I want to disconnect an external USB drive in order to remove it safely.

The built-in 'safely remove….' function of Windows XP works without problems for USB memory sticks but when it comes to external hard drives I usually get this message:

" The device 'Generic volume' cannot be stopped right now. Try stopping the device again later. "

And it doesn't help to exit all programs and even close Windows explorer. There seems to be a process still accessing the drive, however without telling me so, so I could manually kill that process, stop the drive and safely remove it.

Fortunately today I came across a software that replaces the Windows XP built-in remove routine. The best is, it not only shows a friendly name of the connected device that can be freely edited including an icon to be chosen from a list, but it tells you which process is blocking the external USB device, giving the user the possibility to manually terminate that process by either exiting the program associated to that process or killing the process from the task manager. If nothing helps the software will do what's necessary to stop all processes and enable the safe removal of the USB device.

The software I'm talking about is 'USB Safely Remove' from (EDITED by paws URL Removed) and the current version is '3.3'.

Te US$ 20.00 is money excellently spent.

Hmmm, with all due respect and without making any accusations here, 99 times out of 100, when a new user comes to a help forum and his very first and only post is pushing a commercial product, then the odds are good the poster is simply, and shamelessly, abusing the forum and disrespecting its members by trying to drum up business. At the very least, that is certainly how it appears. I might suggest that if you do not wish your name (and this product) to be associated with scumbag forum spammers, you edit your post so that it no longer "appears" to be an advertisement for something you might have a financial interest in.

JMHO and mine alone for I have no official ties with this site, nor do I speak for any members of the staff here. But I have been around technical support forums for a long time, and this "appears" to be spam. If this site had a "report" option, I would be reporting this thread.
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Concerning the product, $20 seems way too high to me and, assuming you have nothing but respect for this site and its members, if you have not already laid down your money, I would say wait! This is not a major utility. It should be free, or shareware. Or be like many reputable companies, and offer a pro version with no limitations in functions for a reasonable price, for those that are willing to pay.

I will add that the problems you describe have been around for years and are most usually caused by cache related problems. SP2 did much to eliminate most, and all XP users should already be up to SP2.

To minimize cache related problems further, under My Computer, right click on the Removable Disk, then select Properties > Hardware, then highlight the removable device and select Properties > Policies, then ensure the "Optimize for quick removal" radio button is ticked and then "Ok" your way back out. You still should wait a second or two to ensure the write is complete, but then you can just safely pull the stick or disconnect your other USB devices out without going through the Safely Remove Hardware icon.

I will note this solution, while not as fancy, is free and worth trying first - for all USB devices.

If the "cannot be stopped" error is a persistent problem, then it is being caused by a program that has locked a file (or several files) on the removable device. Close the program! That is, if running a program from the removable drive, or if using a file from the removable drive, such as a Word document, save and exit! If a file is staying open, there's a problem that needs to be resolved - not just bypassed every time.

You can use Process Explorer (an enhanced Task Manager) to see what programs are running, and determine which one may have a hold on the removable drive. Or another good program is Unlocker to determine what is running, and from where. With Unlocker, you can see what has a hold of the file, and unlock it so you can move one and correct the error. And these are free too.

Thanks Digerati for your valuable input. You will see that our thoughts were similar and I have edited out the URL, I have also posted details to the Administrators of the forum so that they may consider the correct action to take. Regards paws

Hi

I just thought I would add my 2cents.

First off, I agree with Digerati and the advices given..

Secondly, some older USB devices and for those using Win2000, sometimes the problem can be as simple as the Recycle-Bin!
Rightclick the bin, properties, check/tick "configure drives independently". Select the tab for your drive and select "do not move files to recycle bin"…..Reboot!

Thirdly, whenever the name generic pops ups in an error-message 90% of the time its an driver issue. Resolve by reset all your USB controller, reboot and let windows find all the devices again. This method, however doesn't always works with some USB drives, specific drivers may be then be obtained through the manufacturer.

Regards Abydos

whenever the name generic pops ups in an error-message 90% of the time its an driver issue. Resolve by reset all your USB controller, reboot and let windows find all the devices again.

I knew that! But forgot to add it.

This method, however doesn't always works with some USB drives, specific drivers may be then be obtained through the manufacturer.

Had I remembered to include first part, I would have mentioned the second, and added that updated drivers (at a minimum, SP2 drivers) may be available on the maker's site too.

whenever the name generic pops ups in an error-message 90% of the time its an driver issue. Resolve by reset all your USB controller, reboot and let windows find all the devices again.

I knew that! But forgot to add it.

This method, however doesn't always works with some USB drives, specific drivers may be then be obtained through the manufacturer.

Had I remembered to include first part, I would have mentioned the second, and added that updated drivers (at a minimum, SP2 drivers) may be available on the maker's site too.

NP, as long as we got the (free) options covered between us