Cannot Safely Remove External Drives

I had that problem, but I tried troubleshoot from (devices & printers) & it's working now

That did not solve my problem either,,,,,, this sux!

Anybody else have a solution? Im not even sure (as much of a pain it is) that shutting down the PC, then shutting off the external drives or Thumb drives is effecting my data on those drives?

Had this problem and believe me when I say I am no computer pro either. Looked everywhere for a solution but didn't come across any so I just searched my computer and accidentally fixed it. Please note there is probably a quicker way then below however this is how I found it and I am a complete laywoman! Noticed with Windows 10 you don't need to remove it safely which we are all so used to doing. Apparently it is built in and as long as nothing is being copied you can remove it safely just by unplugging. However, for peace of mind I managed to change those settings.
Windows - Settings - Devices - Connected Devices scroll to bottom and click on Device Manager
Press down arrow for Disk Drive and right click your external HD for properties

You will notice under the Policies tab "Quick Removal" is set as the default so just change to "Better Performance". Restart computer and it should all work.

Hope this helps everyone as it did for me.

Thanks for the feedback, I will have to check out those settings. I have 2 PC's with Win 10, one of them tells me its safe to remove, the other wont, and often tells me its in use? Even when I don't have any of the files open or windows explorer?

Great let me know how you go...I had the exact same problem as you.

I actually see in policies that "Better Performance" is the default, not "Quick Removal" as you stated? It is currently set to best performance now.
Also, this is all well and good if resolved through the device manager, but say you plug in a thumb drive, does that mean you would need to go into the device manager and change the policy for that as well? that does not seem logical,,,,

Fakum said:

I actually see in policies that "Better Performance" is the default, not "Quick Removal" as you stated? It is currently set to best performance now.
Also, this is all well and good if resolved through the device manager, but say you plug in a thumb drive, does that mean you would need to go into the device manager and change the policy for that as well? that does not seem logical,,,,

So,,, now what am I supposed to make of that????? Very confusing, and still does not address the thumbdrive aspect?

I'd the same problem while using Windows 10,

1) Go to notification bar ( Which is by default in your task bar and looks like "^"(without quoted) ),

2) You'll see SAFELY REMOVE HARDWARE ICON,

3) Click on that ICON,

4) And you're done.

Worked for me onHP 15-ac042TU.