Windows 7: Windows can’t stop your External USB device...

because a program is still using it. Close any programs that might be using the device.

I really hate it when they give you stupid statements like this, I mean... If I knew what program is holding it back, I would do something about it.

I have a WD 320GB USB passport and not until recently I have gotten this message. Now, every time I move a file from my HDD to my Passport, wait a while or a long while and try to "Safely Remove Hardware" I get the message.

In XP I just yanked the thing from the port but with Win 7 and Vista I was trying to be more civilized.

Is there a tool or utility that would tell me which application has a hold of the drive? I tried unlocker but it does not seem to work with my win 7 64 bit

I hope I am in the correct section.

Nobody? bueller?

Try closing any explorer windows.
Also close anything that will access the W-D drive.

Sadly i have the same problem and i dont have any program open. Been looking for a simple app to show me exactly what process is using which drives.
i mean if i just look at taskmanager->Applications i have nothing there (not even a single explorer window). Suspecting some Process or service might be doing something .....

Any tips is appreciated!

VAMPYREN - although your problem may be similar, there are many, many differences between systems.
Please start another topic for your problems so that we may give your issues the individual attention that they deserve.

Just a possibility, try HotSwap, it looks and works just like Windows 'Safely Remove Hardware' function, but it will stop whatever is still accessing the HDD. Might take a couple minutes in some cases but has worked for me.

This might help until you can get to the real cause.

Do you have Write Caching turned on? That will hold a drive until the buffer flushes. You can set USB drives to quick removal in Device Manager > Disk Drives. Right click the drive and select Properties. Click the Polices tab and chose between Performance (what you probably have now) and Quick Removal.

The thing is, you do have to make a choice.

@carwiz: yes i believe its on. How long would it usually take to flush the buffer?

@Dave76: thanks for the tips, it seems like a good tool. If i encounter the problem to often i will use it

@usasma: Sure can do that. It just seemed like the same issue really but ok i create a new thread if the problem sticks around,

This would be a combination of Windows write buffer and the drive buffer but probably no more than a few milliseconds, if full. If not, it may fall low on the tasking priority and just sit there.

Try carwiz's suggestion, this should be a permanent solution for an external drive.