Windows will not release my externals drive - device is busy

I have been told to not disconnect the drive but to shut down the computer.

That's what I do and have never had a problem.

Others may have another opinion.

Nisko said:

Thank you - and I hope I get more opinions. It takes over 5 minutes to boot my PC.

Yeah, that's a problem. Mine boots in seconds.

I have tried every "release" program I could find and none of them work for me.

Try setting your AV not to scan the external drive - often it that which 'locks' it.

NoelDP said:

Try setting your AV not to scan the external drive - often it that which 'locks' it.

Nope, just tried it and no go.

Antivirus is ESET NOD32, external drive is a Touro 500G USB3.0 and the backup program is EaseUS todo V8.2

Thanks for the suggestion though, it was worth a try.

A reboot is the safe way to go.

whs said:

A reboot is the safe way to go.

Yep, I've been doing it since 2012.

Thanks


You may have suggested that back then.

I agree; a reboot is probably the best way to get a device(s) to unlock. It also pretty much refreshes everything so windows starts out "fresh".

matts6887 said:

I agree; a reboot is probably the best way to get a device(s) to unlock. It also pretty much refreshes everything so windows starts out "fresh".

I really shut it down, pull the cable and push the start button

Boot up time is soooo fast these days.

XP used to be 3 or four minutes. No more.