LetGoFileLetGoFile
External drive / SSD

When an external drive or SSD will not eject

Before you just pull it out, look at what is using it. A file still being written breaks.

What usually holds it

External drives and SSDs are often held by backup programs and sync tools. If a backup is running, wait for it to finish. Pulling it out mid-write breaks that file.

How to eject it

  1. Close the Explorer window that opened the drive.
  2. Close the programs that have files on it open.
  3. Use LetGoFile to see whether anything is still holding it.
  4. Press Safely Remove again.
Download LetGoFile.exe LetGoFile.zip See how it works

Get LetGoFile, look at the drive, and it tells you the name and PID of whatever is holding it.