External HD cannot eject PC hard drive appears to be accessing it cont

TechiGeoff · 30 Sep 2018

Hello
I have a western Digital 2B external USB hard drive for backing up. For some reason the WD hard disk light is flashing continuously and my PC hard disk is also flashing as though accessing the WD drive. When I try to eject the WD drive I get the message "This device is currently in use. Close any programs etc etc...….
I have tried all the fixes that I can find on the internet (I think) but nothing works. I re boot and the same thing is happening. Can I get rid of the info in windows 10 and start all over again as though it is a new drive.
Hope somebody can help please.
Thank You
Geoff Smith

Eagle51 · 30 Sep 2018

Hey TechiGeoff,
Check the HDD Policy in Device Manager and see if it's set to Quick Removal Policy. With your USB HDD attached and powered on ...
1. Right Click Start > Device Manager
2. Expand Disk Drives
3. Select your USB HDD Device > Right Click > Properties > Policies Tab
4. Select Quick Removal Policy > Ok

External HD cannot eject PC hard drive appears to be accessing it cont-disk-policy.png

Note: You may need to reboot PC.

Stitch194 · 30 Sep 2018

Happens to me sometimes, also WD HD ? I just shut down the PC and safely remove the USB HD

PolarNettles · 30 Sep 2018

You can run Process Explorer - Windows Sysinternals | Microsoft Docs to see what programs are using the drive:

External HD cannot eject PC hard drive appears to be accessing it cont-image.png

Bree · 30 Sep 2018

When I can't eject an HDD because it's in use, I usually find closing Task Manager solves the problem. If not, I have to shut down then remove the drive.

TechiGeoff · 02 Oct 2018

PolarNettles said:

You can run Process Explorer - Windows Sysinternals | Microsoft Docs to see what programs are using the drive:

Hello and thank you very much for your help.
I have just spent a lot of time isolating the problem. I have eventually found that it is the Bitdefender internet security software that is causing the problem. Namely vsserv.exe which seems to be the problem. To try this I uninstalled Bitdefender completely and ther was no problem with my drives. As soon as I re-installed bitdefender the problem re appeared. Going onto Bitdefender forums to see if I can get any joy there. Thank you once again.
Geoff.