What processes prevent ejecting a USB drive even if they don't appear to be open?

You made sure to close everything, but The message still appears “This device is in use. Close any programs or windows that are using it and try again.”Frustration can lead to the temptation to force the device out, but you resist. What's going on? What processes prevent you from ejecting a USB drive even if they don't appear to be running? We'll tell you everything.

What processes prevent a USB drive from being ejected even if they don't appear to be open?

It's happened to all of us at some point: we follow the ritual to the letter and save and close everything before clicking on Safely eject hardware. But It seems the team prefers to keep himAnd it notifies us that the device is still in use. It even asks us to close all programs or windows that might be using it. But there's nothing open... at least not that I can see.

The reality is different: some processes prevent ejecting a USB drive even if they don't appear to be running. These are processes invisible to the normal userHowever, these programs lock the device and prevent its safe removal. Even after closing everything (documents, photos, music), the system insists that the USB drive is still in use and therefore cannot authorize its removal.

What's going on? This happens because it's not just the visible applications that use USB. Other applications do too. background processes, system services, and even security functionsAnd there are devices that the computer really takes offense at, and no matter how long you wait, it shows no signs of letting go. Below, we'll see which processes prevent you from ejecting a USB drive even if they don't appear to be running.

Blocked by “File Handling” (File Handle)

The root of this problem is almost always related to an operating system concept called file handling. Simply put: when a program opens a file, it doesn't just "read" it. establishes a privileged communication channel with the file systemThis invisible process tells the system:Hey, I'm still working on this."

And the thing is, this blocking doesn't only affect visible applications. Others programs and services in second Planners also create and maintain open references to the device. For example:

• Antivirus: This is very common, as its function is to scan the entire device for malware. While doing so, it will maintain an open "management" on several files or even the entire drive.
• File indexingTo speed up searches on the drive, Windows indexes its contents. This process may take some time, occurs in the background, and is not displayed as an open application.
• Windows Explorer (Explorer.exe)The file explorer in Windows (and the Finder on Mac) opens and reads the files on the USB drive to generate thumbnails and access their metadata. Even if you close the window, the process may keep a handle open, preventing safe eject.

Imagine you closed your photo or text editor, but did it really finish its job? The main process did close, but A secondary one can remain hanging and keep file management openYou won't see it anywhere in the taskbar, but it's there blocking the USB drive from being removed.

What processes prevent ejecting a USB drive: Cloud synchronization services

When various processes prevent you from ejecting a USB drive, it's worth checking cloud synchronization. These services are among the main culprits for the team's inability to release a unitServices like OneDrive, Dropbox Google Drive may attempt to sync files to or from the external drive.

Of course, this only happens if the USB drive or external hard drive contains files within a folder synchronized with the cloudAs soon as you connect the drive to your PC, the sync client will detect the folder and begin uploading its contents. You won't see an open window, but the process will continue. onedrive.exe o dropbox.exe will be working at full capacity.

Disk write cache

What other processes prevent you from ejecting a USB drive even if they don't appear to be running? I'm sure this has happened to you: You copy several files to the external drive and the progress bar fills completely. You think the copying process is finished and click to eject the drive. But you see the same message:This device is in use". What happened?

Is called “disk write cache” And it's a technique used by operating systems to speed up their performance. When you copy a file to a USB drive, the system says "Ready!" long before the data is physically written to the drive. In reality, the data first passes through RAM, and from there it is sent to the USB drive.

So, before allowing the drive to be ejected, the system must ensure that everything in that cache is completely emptied from the physical device. If the power is cut off before that, or you simply boot from the USB, You run the risk of the copied file becoming incomplete or corrupted..

The problem with this is that, sometimes, Another background process intervenes and slows down the copying process.It could be the antivirus or the system indexer; and as long as there is pending data in the buffer, the system will prevent you from ejecting the drive. All with the sole intention of protecting the data.

How to detect which processes are preventing a USB drive from being ejected?

Finally, let's talk about how to identify which processes are preventing you from ejecting a USB drive. It could be one process, another process, or several at once that are preventing you from safely removing the drive. You have several tools to identify them:

• Task Manager (Windows)Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc and go to the Processes tab. End any suspicious processes.
• Resource Monitor (Windows)Open Resource Manager (Win + R) and type resmon. On the Disk tab, filter by your USB drive letter to see active processes.
• Activity Monitor (macOS)This utility allows you to search by disk and see which process is accessing your volume (See the topic Mac Task Manager: Complete Guide).

And to free up a drive held captive by background processes, you can Try logging out and logging back inNow you know which processes prevent you from ejecting a USB drive and how to identify them. The next time it happens, don't panic and try one of the tips we've mentioned.