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Windows 7: Safely Remove Hardware - Eject Device. To have access to an external drive (ex: USB key) again after you have already ejected it using Safely Remove Hardware, you will just need to unplug it and plug it back in, or restart the PC. It is not recommended to eject an internal drive. If you do, then restarting the computer will allow you to have access to it again. Eject the CD Tray ergo open the DVD or Blue-Ray drive in windows 10, the example is also for Windows 8.1 suitable! The simple solution in this example is also suitable for Windows Server 2012 R2 and Web server 2016. No, you can't eject hard drives from File Explorer. This is normal behaviour because an external hard drive is not classed as 'removable media'. A USB memory stick is, but a USB HDD isn't. The error message that you saw is caused by anything that may have the hard drive open - even a command prompt is sufficient. Save any open documents you have on the flash drive. The easiest way to do this in any open window is to hold down Ctrl and press S. Open the Start menu. To do this, you can either click the Windows icon in the bottom-left corner of the screen, or you can press the ⊞ Win key on your computer's keyboard.
- Windows Cannot Eject Usb Drive
- Windows Eject External Hard Drive
- Windows Eject External Drive From Mac
- External Drive Uses
- External Drive Seagate
Solution 3: Eject the Drive Using Disk Management. Disk Management is a Windows built-in utility that lets you manage all the disks or drives connected to your system. If you are unable to eject the drive using the ‘Safely Remove Hardware and Eject Media’ option, you can easily remove the drive safely using the Disk Management tool.
If you are one of those people who don’t safely remove their USB Devices just because you’re lazy, here’s a neat trick to do it from the context menu on your desktop. Even if you are not lazy and just forget, the icon will serve as a mental reminder. So let’s take a look.
The Safely Remove Hardware Dialog Method
This method will bring up the Safely Remove Hardware dialog box, from there you can choose which USB device you wish to eject. If you are looking to eject a specific USB drive take a look at the next section.
Press Win+R to bring up a run box and type regedit to open the registry.
When the registry is open, navigate to
Windows Cannot Eject Usb Drive
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTDesktopBackgroundShell
Right click on the shell key and create a new key called Safely Remove Hardware.
Once the new key is created, create a new string value, and call it Icon.
Double click on the icon string, in the Value data field type the following:
hotplug.dll,-100
Now right click on the Safely Remove Hardware key that you just created and create another key, this time name the key command.
Once the new key has been created select it to open see the keys values.
This key will have a value called Default, double click on it to edit it, in the Value data field type
C:WindowsSystem32control.exe hotplug.dll
That’s all there is to it if you want the Safely Remove Hardware dialog to appear.
Ejecting a Specific USB Drive
If you are looking to eject a drive with a specific name or drive letter then this method is better suited for you.
Head over to the developers website and grab a copy of the latest version of USB Disk Ejector.
Extract the file somewhere (for illustration we’ll extract to the root of the C: drive), then right click on the file, select properties, and click the unblock button in the bottom right hand corner of the dialog.
Press Win+R to bring up a run box and type regedit to open the registry.
When the registry is open navigate to:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTDesktopBackgroundShell
Right click on the shell key and create a new key called Safely Remove USB.
Once the new key is created create a new string value, and call it Icon.
Double click on the icon string and in the Value data field type the following:
hotplug.dll,-100
Now right click on the Safely Remove USB key that you just created and create another key, this time name the key command.
Once the new key has been created select it to open see the keys values.
This key will have a value called Default, double click on it to edit it. Here we have a few options, which ever method below suites you best should be typed into the Value data field.
Note: Remember to replace the name or drive letter in the following example to the name or drive letter of YOUR USB device.
We can either eject a USB with a certain name by typing.
C:usb_disk_eject /removename “Memorex USB”
We could also eject a USB with a certain driver letter, in my case drive G.
C:usb_disk_eject /removeletter G
That’s all there is to it.
If you rather prefer to be a keyboard ninja you could always assign a hotkey or create a shortcut to do the same thing.
READ NEXT- › How to Create a Local Account While Setting Up Windows 10
- › What Is Windows 10X, and How Is It Different?
- › How to Delete Apps on an iPhone or iPad With iOS 13
- › How to Merge Multiple Google Drive and Google Photos Accounts
- › How to Edit Any Web Page in Chrome (or Any Browser)
If you are one of those people who don’t safely remove their USB Devices just because you’re lazy, here’s a neat trick to do it from the context menu on your desktop. Even if you are not lazy and just forget, the icon will serve as a mental reminder. So let’s take a look.
The Safely Remove Hardware Dialog Method
This method will bring up the Safely Remove Hardware dialog box, from there you can choose which USB device you wish to eject. If you are looking to eject a specific USB drive take a look at the next section.
Press Win+R to bring up a run box and type regedit to open the registry.
When the registry is open, navigate to
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTDesktopBackgroundShell
Right click on the shell key and create a new key called Safely Remove Hardware.
Windows Eject External Hard Drive
Once the new key is created, create a new string value, and call it Icon.
Double click on the icon string, in the Value data field type the following:
hotplug.dll,-100
Now right click on the Safely Remove Hardware key that you just created and create another key, this time name the key command.
Once the new key has been created select it to open see the keys values.
This key will have a value called Default, double click on it to edit it, in the Value data field type
C:WindowsSystem32control.exe hotplug.dll
That’s all there is to it if you want the Safely Remove Hardware dialog to appear.
Ejecting a Specific USB Drive
If you are looking to eject a drive with a specific name or drive letter then this method is better suited for you.
Head over to the developers website and grab a copy of the latest version of USB Disk Ejector.
Extract the file somewhere (for illustration we’ll extract to the root of the C: drive), then right click on the file, select properties, and click the unblock button in the bottom right hand corner of the dialog.
Press Win+R to bring up a run box and type regedit to open the registry.
When the registry is open navigate to:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTDesktopBackgroundShell
Right click on the shell key and create a new key called Safely Remove USB.
Once the new key is created create a new string value, and call it Icon.
Double click on the icon string and in the Value data field type the following:
hotplug.dll,-100
Now right click on the Safely Remove USB key that you just created and create another key, this time name the key command.
Once the new key has been created select it to open see the keys values.
This key will have a value called Default, double click on it to edit it. Here we have a few options, which ever method below suites you best should be typed into the Value data field.
Windows Eject External Drive From Mac
Note: Remember to replace the name or drive letter in the following example to the name or drive letter of YOUR USB device.
We can either eject a USB with a certain name by typing.
C:usb_disk_eject /removename “Memorex USB”
We could also eject a USB with a certain driver letter, in my case drive G.
C:usb_disk_eject /removeletter G
External Drive Uses
That’s all there is to it.
External Drive Seagate
If you rather prefer to be a keyboard ninja you could always assign a hotkey or create a shortcut to do the same thing.
READ NEXT- › How to Create a Local Account While Setting Up Windows 10
- › What Is Windows 10X, and How Is It Different?
- › How to Delete Apps on an iPhone or iPad With iOS 13
- › How to Merge Multiple Google Drive and Google Photos Accounts
- › How to Edit Any Web Page in Chrome (or Any Browser)