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This is a problem as old as Windows itself, however none of my old workarounds or those suggested more recently in forums I've searched for, are helping.
I often connect and disconnect external hard drives to my PC, but lately when I use Windows' "safely remove hardware" feature, I am always met with this infamous message :
However, no file from that drive is in fact open at the time, and no programs are open that access the drive in any way. Indeed, even if I try to eject the drive immediately after logging into Windows, with no programs open on the taskbar, I still get that message. It is therefore probably a hidden/system process that's keeping it locked, but identifying it is not trivial.
Before upgrading (not by choice!) to Windows 10, I used to easily fix such drive-locking problems using the freeware app Unlocker (from a developer called Emptyloop), which (on Windows 7 and earlier) was able to unlock both files and entire drives. However, this workaround no longer exists for me, since Unlocker does not work on Windows 10. Another unlocker-type-app that does work on Windows 10 is IObitUnlocker, however that app only unlocks individual files, not drives, which is not helpful, since, as I explained, there is no one file that's being kept open for the drive in question.
Since I want to avoid, of course, plugging the HDD out without the necessary eject stage completed, the only workaround at the moment is to shut down the PC, the only thing that puts also the HDD to sleep (can hear the mechanical noise turning off) but which is very inconvenient as a workaround.
Anything else I can try? Thanks!
z8080
Posted 2018-02-19T17:00:24.440
Reputation: 379
1Did you check any antivirus like Windows defender? Those may scan drives in background. – Biswapriyo – 2018-02-19T17:34:00.650
1I currently have Unlocker installed on my Windows 10. It functions perfectly. – Ramhound – 2018-02-19T18:15:30.817
@Biswapriyo I doubt it is that, as any scan would have finished by now, and I've been having this problem for several weeks. Also, I temporarily turned off my AV, but the lock is still on, so I guess this is not it – z8080 – 2018-02-19T19:11:47.907
@Ramhound For me, after installing Unlocker v1.9.2, I no longer get the Unlock command in right-click menus for files&drives. I can start the app from the start menu, which brings up a browse window - there, if I select the locked drive, it says that no locking handle was found..... – z8080 – 2018-02-19T19:14:31.177
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You might try Lock-Hunter, https://lockhunter.com/.
– DrMoishe Pippik – 2018-02-19T22:46:03.240Is it formatted as NTFS? – iTechieGamer – 2018-02-20T10:28:58.030
@iTechieGamer yes, all HDDs I refer to that manifest this problem are formatted NTFS – z8080 – 2018-02-20T10:56:22.490
Try this: https://superuser.com/questions/76707/how-do-i-get-windows-7-to-not-use-the-recycling-bin-on-a-removable-drive/103601#103601
– iTechieGamer – 2018-02-20T10:59:27.790@DrMoishePippik thanks for suggesting LockHunter, however when I try to unlock my drive with it, it gives the following comically circular message: https://imgur.com/a/4lt9B
– z8080 – 2018-02-20T12:12:33.957@DrMoishePippik their other tool, USBSafelyRemove, does do the job but it's not freeware. Turns out it was cmdagent.txt, a component of Comodo Internet Security Premium, that was holding the drive locked. A quick search revealed no obvious setting in Comodo to prevent this from happening. – z8080 – 2018-02-20T12:25:57.087
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@z8080, yes, when LockHunter (or other unlocking apps) hit a locking process or handle it can't remove, it gives a chance to try again, or to remove the offender after reboot. You might try an alternative to USBSafelyRemove, such as free USB Disk Ejector. See https://alternativeto.net/software/usb-safely-remove/
– DrMoishe Pippik – 2018-02-20T16:00:33.340Will do, thanks again - your comments have been helpful. – z8080 – 2018-02-20T19:21:35.463