Solving the error “The device is currently in use” when ejecting the USB flash drive

I. Reasons and solutions for the prompt that the device is currently in use

The reason for the prompt “The device is in use” when the USB flash drive is ejected is very simple, generally there are two points:

①Some programs on the computer are using some files in the U disk.

② Certain software or programs are accessing the U disk in the background of the computer, such as Windows security protection software, anti-virus software, etc.

After understanding the reason of “this device is in use”, you can refer to the following solutions to operate.

1. Close all running programs and temporarily disable Windows security software

After we close all running programs, generally there will be no situation that some programs are using the U disk device file, so the U disk can be ejected successfully. Specific steps are as follows:

Step 1: Close all open program windows in the taskbar, then click the up arrow on the right side of the taskbar to check if there are programs that may still access the USB flash drive, right-click the program icon and select (Exit).

Step 2: Since there may still be programs running in the background accessing the U disk, you can right-click the taskbar at the bottom of the desktop and select (Task Manager).

Step 3: In the task manager, we can view all the programs that are running or running in the background, select the programs you know or open manually (for example, you have just accessed the files in the U disk through this program), and then click (End task) to try ejecting the U disk again. Please note that some programs whose names look unfamiliar, please do not end the task, so as not to lose the necessary processes to maintain the operation of the Windows system. If you have closed all running programs you know, but still cannot successfully eject the USB flash drive, you can temporarily disable Windows security software or third-party antivirus software, and then safely eject the USB flash drive.

2. Find and close the program that occupies the U disk file

Method 1 closing all running programs is not suitable for all users, especially when there are other uninterruptible tasks to be done, then you can try to find the programs currently occupying or accessing the U disk in the resource monitor in the task manager , and then close the program. Methods as below:

Step 1: Right-click the taskbar at the bottom of the desktop and select (Task Manager).

Step 2: Switch to the (Performance) tab and select (Open Resource Monitor).

Step 3: Enter the drive letter of the U disk in the input box on the right side of the “Associated Handle” in the (CPU) interface, for example, the drive letter of the U disk is (E:), then please enter (E:), and you can view it later Right-click on the program currently associated with (E:) (2345PicViewer.exe as shown in the figure below) and select (End Process), then the U disk can be ejected successfully. Do not end other processes that you do not know or are not familiar with, so as not to affect the normal operation of Windows 10.

3. Eject the U disk in the disk management

Disk Management can help us view all connected storage devices in Windows computers, including U disks. In addition, you can perform operations such as formatting, deleting volumes, extending volumes, or ejecting the disks in the computer through Disk Management. It should be noted that this method will not close the program that is accessing the U disk file, so please ensure that the U disk file has been properly saved before proceeding. Specific steps are as follows:

Step 1: Right-click the Start button and select (Disk Management).

Step 2: Find the target U disk, that is, Disk 3 in the figure below, right-click on the location where Disk 3 is displayed on the left, and select (Eject).

Step 3: After that, the U disk will become “No Media” in Disk Management.

Step 4: And the U disk cannot be opened in the file explorer, double-click the U disk will prompt (please insert the disk into “test(E:)”). At this point, the USB drive can be removed.

4. Eject the U disk after logging out or shutting down

There are many ways to pop up the U disk, for example, find the corresponding U disk device in the device manager (disk drive), right-click it and select (uninstall device), this method may prompt you to restart the computer to complete the deletion of the device operation. And uninstalling the device in the device manager is also risky. If other disks are uninstalled by mistake, it may cause system errors or other normal programs to be interrupted suddenly. Therefore, it is recommended that you choose to log out after saving other work progress Or shut down, then safely eject and remove the USB drive.

Logout steps: Left-click the start button, click the currently logged-in account name and select (logout).

Shutdown steps: Left-click the Start button, click (Power) and select (Shutdown).

II. Direct removal of the USB flash drive results in data loss, how to recover?

If you accidentally remove the USB flash drive, the files being accessed by some programs may be damaged or lost. To check whether the files are intact and restore the lost files, you can try to use the professional data recovery software described below—— Renee Undeleter, the free version can preview the files in the U disk and provide a 50MB free recovery quota, let’s learn about the specific function introduction and operation method together.

1. What is Renee Undeleter?

Renee Undeleter is a software specially used to restore various data files. When you accidentally delete important files, empty the recycle bin, or format the disk, you can use this tool to retrieve the lost data. The software covers four functional modules, including file recovery, formatting recovery, partition recovery and image creation, which can help you solve many data loss problems in an all-round way. Regardless of the built-in hard disk, mobile hard disk, SD card, U disk and other storage devices, as long as they can be successfully connected to the computer, you can use this software to scan and restore files. The software also supports previewing files to help users accurately find the files that need to be recovered.

2. Use Renee Undeleter to recover U disk data

Step 1: Download, install and run Renee Undeleter on the computer, and select the Whole Partition Scan option on the main interface. If the target file cannot be found, you can try the Whole Disk Scan function.

Note: Do not install Renee Undeleter in the disk where data is lost to avoid data overwriting. Whole Partition Scan can scan all partition data in the entire hard disk. If all partitions in the computer belong to the same hard disk, it is recommended to install the software on an external U disk or mobile hard disk, because this function does not support scanning the hard disk where the software is installed.

Step 2: Next, select the hard disk partition that needs to recover data (that is, the original storage location of the deleted files). After the selection is complete, click Next.

Step 3: Wait patiently for the scan to complete. You can double-click the file to preview it. If it is the file you need, please check the target file and click the Recover button.

Step 4: Click the Browse button to select another hard disk partition to save the files, and then click the Recover button. Wait for the recovery to complete, click Browse recovered files to view the recovered files.