Windows 10: device is not removable and cannot be ejected or unplugged windows 11

I can't eject my hard drive from notebook even after restarting it.

:)

 

In Windows 11, do you have to safely eject a mass storage device or can you just unplug it?

Is it true that in Windows 10 and Windows 11 you no longer have to click on the Safely Remove Hardware icon in the system tray to eject a USB connected mass storage device?

Since Windows 7 I've always clicked on the "Safely Remove Hardware and Eject Media" to remove USB connected drives. This sometimes gets frustrating as frequently, the reply from an attempt to eject the drive is the message that the device is currently in use, to close any applications using it and try again so you check and nothing is using the device and the PC is basically in neutral and you try and try again and the message continues to pop up.

I'm now on Windows 11 and most of the time my new Samsung portable SSD takes forever to say that the drive can be successfully removed or I just have to wait until I do a shutdown and then remove it. Tonight I was trying to research why it's taking so long thinking that it must be something that's configured wrong in Windows 11 or the device as memory sticks indicate that they are safe to remove most all of the time. During my search for a solution I found an article that says that clicking on "Safely Remove Hardware and Eject Media" has been outdated since Windows 10. The article goes on to say that by default, all USB mass storage devices are configured to be removed simply by unplugging them and that there is not need to eject them through the Safely Remove Hardware icon.

So before I go and start unplugging my USB SSD without first ejecting it I'd like someone to confirm it's OK simply to unplug it as I use this SSD to hold my Macrium Reflect system backups for disaster recovery.

Thanks.

 

USB device is not removable and cannot be ejected or unplugged

Hi Ai-Ling,

Appreciate the troubleshooting steps that you have tried. I suggest you run Hardware Troubleshooter and check as it is an automated tool which checks the hardware connected to the computer for any known issues and provides the details on how to fix
them. Follow these steps to run the troubleshooter.

• 
  Type Troubleshooting in the search bar and press “Enter”.
  
• 
  In the “Troubleshooting” window, click on “View All” on the left pane.
  
• 
  Click on “Hardware and Devices”.
  
• 
  Click on “Advanced” and then click on “Run as Administrator”.
  
• 
  Click “Next” and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the troubleshooting process.
  

I also suggest you to Disable & Enable all USB controllers and check if it helps.

• 
  Click Windows key + R, type
  devmgmt.msc and press Enter.
  
• 
  Expand Universal Serial Bus Controllers.
  
• 
  Right-click every device under the Universal Serial Bus Controllers mode, and then click Disable one at a time.
  
• 
  Restart the computer, and then enable the USB controllers.
  

Update USB Controllers: To update the USB Controllers from Device Manager follow these steps.

• 
  Go Select Device manager.
  
• 
  Double Click on USB Controllers to expand.
  
• 
  Right click on the USB Controllers that is listed and select
  Update.
  

How to Install and Update drivers in Windows 10

Redirecting

Let us know how it goes, we’ll be glad to assist.

 

Removing a USB drive without 'ejecting' first

Hello,

Normally I eject a USB drive within Windows 10 before unplugging the hardware. I once understood garbage can be left behind when not ejecting first.

Sometimes ejecting don't work because Windows says it's in use (for no reason according to me). In those cases I shut down Windows or I unplug the USB drive without ejecting first.

• Is this garbage being left behind in Windows or on the USB drive?
• How can I remove this garbage afterwards?

Thanks in advance

SJW