Better "Safely remove" software?

This is one of the few things I really REALLY want MS to clear up FAST, but for now, are there any good third party apps that will at least tell me WHY I can't remove my external HD?

 

No need for a third-party application. Windows logs an error in the System event log whenever it can't unmount a drive. The error contains information on the process that prevents the drive from being unmounted. Which may or may not be helpful...

 

Ok, so I got this:

Code:

Device action request for device 'USB\VID_0BC2&PID_3300\2GHK96X5____' was vetoed by 'STORAGE\Volume\{e40e7bbe-f939-11de-9f77-002170793361}#0000000000007E00' with veto type 6.

Now where?

 

Hmm, interesting; I never had these. This sounds like the device you wanted to remove itself vetoed removal, because it felt it was not ready. Something like that would be expected if you are trying to remove the device while the system is still writing to it, while part of a previous operation is in a cache that hasn't been flushed, or while the device is writing its own cache to the platters (if it's a hard drive we are talking about). You could try searching your registry for the string "e40e7bbe-f939-11de-9f77-002170793361" to see if that gives you a clue.

 

Well it's a big hard drive, but all it's used for is videos I watch with vlc...
If I can't get it sorted it's not THAT big a deal, I rarely disconnect it, and it's quick enough to just shut down the laptop, but it's a royal pain...

Screencap of the search result.
It wouldn't let me into the properties folder in the tree...

 

If you use Intel Matrix Storage Manager, try updating it to the latest version... I find it much more safely-remove-friendly than earlier versions.

 

did you google that particular error message.

 

Please make sure that your drive is set in Windows as "Quick removal" in it's properties in Device Manager panel. If it's not, then Windows uses writing cage, meaning: as HDD are very slow, Windows will show you that the task is done while in reality it's doing it on the back - very slowly to not play with performance while you access other data. You may need to restart your computer to apply the settings. Restarting your computer will finish wtv task Windows was doing, and also closing all processes/services that might keep the lock on the drive.

As it might seam lame idea to implement, it's ideal and preferred for internal HDD's (well until we jump with much faster USB flash drive memory read/writes and SSD's).

Also make sure you close all explorer windows open showing the content of any folder of the drive.

A replacement program won't help you eject the drive. Operating System are there for that.. that is why it's called that.. as it well operates systems, whatever they are. Windows (as well as the Linux/Unix) is an extremely complicated software, the interface is just a very small part of it. A replacement software will simply execute the API command of Windows, which then will make Windows handle the task, the very same way as when you do it via Windows.

 

Yup, quick removal was enabled.

And as for a replacement program, I was looking for something to automate the process of finding out WHY it wouldn't work, I understand the concept of an OS.

And yes, I tried googling it, nothing came up

 

kill explorer and restart explorer, and see if you can eject it now.

BTW, what connection are you using for your external HDD?

 

USB 2.
I may try using a different usb port, but I don't think it's made a difference in the past...

 

If you know it isn't being used, just yank it. Been doing that for years now....

 

I've lost college stuff before doing that. While nothing on this hd is irreplaceable, once stung an' all that.

 

I'll admit to just yanking mine out most of the time over the years, but it's probably not best to do that. I guess I was just one of the lucky ones that never lost anything.

 

Never! Most of the time, in my experience, the data ends up not been transferred on the device or corrupted.

 

Used this for a while with an old external hard drive that was doing the same thing as yours. Dropped the damn thing and had to replace it, but software worked like a charm.
Give it a try, 30 day free trial. If does not work nothing lost.
http://safelyremove.com/

 

In my experience surfasb is right.

 

This is might remote possibility mate .. just check if there is any virus infection or a hidden autorun.inf file

hmm windows 7 by default disables auto-runs still ...

 

Problem solved, I think.
Folders on the drive were in one of Windows' libraries, I changed the "optimize this library for" to "general items, et voila!