Safely removing my external HDD is a chaotic mess.

Hello people,

At the beginning of my topic, I would like to mention that this is (maybe) the first post for me, so, if I messed up with any of forums rules, just tell me.

Well, let us get into the topic directly:

* Problem Define:
- Can not do a safely remove to my external hard drive, I always get the "can not stop" messages.
- Shutting down/Restarting/Logging off take way more time when the external hard drive is plugged.
- When trying to use any trick found in Disk Management, I just get "Not responding" at the top of window.
- Can not get rid of "vds.exe: Virtual Disk Service" in task manager, even after removing cable from USB.

* Solutions tried that failed so far:
- Uninstalling the drivers and re-installing them again.
- Using some programs to force remove.
- Closing everything that is suspected to be locking the external HDD from being safely removed.
- Using process explorer.

My regards,
SinovenatoR

Hello SinovenatoR and welcome to Seven Forums.

When you used Process Explorer did you click File > Show Details for All Processes.

Click Find > Find handle or DLL...

Type the letter for your USB device (e.g. type G: if "G" is your drive letter)

Click Search. Then look at the results and note the processes. They will tell you what's currently using the drive, so you can terminate it/them.

You could also try the free program called Unlocker if you haven't already done so. This thread has some additional info in the last few posts.

Solved: This device is currently is use message with any usb connections in Windows 7 - Tech Support Guy

None of these worked, I already tried them.