Sometimes when you try to safely eject your USB flash drive, you might see a warning that states the following message “ This device is currently in use. Close any programs or windows that might be using the device, and then try again. “
This message clearly states that the designated USB device is being used by your PC. But windows doesn’t have any feature that allows us to view the program or process that is making use of the USB flash drive. So how would you find the program or process that is making using the USB flash drive and end it?
In a situation like this, forcefully removing the USB storage device might be your only option but doing this can permanently damage it. So the only way you can safely eject / unmount your USB storage device will be to find the program or service that is using it and then end it. Doing this will ensure that you can go ahead and safely remove your USB storage device safely.
Fortunately its not too difficult to find out the program that are making use of a USB storage device. While there are many free tools to identify programs and services that are making use of your external storage devices. One of the easiest methods would be to make use of an free tool called Unlocker.
How to Fix ” This device is currently in use ” Error?
So here’s how you can find out programs and services that are making use of your USB flash drive or any other external storage device and stop them.
- Step 1: Download and install Unlocker from the link provided at the bottom of this page.
- Step 2: Make sure to select the Advanced option and uncheck options for installing free software while installing Unlocker to prevent the installation of harmful software.
- Step 3: Now Right click on the USB storage’s drive and select Unlocker from the context menu.
There you go, you can now see the programs that are making use of the USB flash drive or external storage drive.
- Step 4: Next you need to select the Process or program and the Click on Kill process to end it.
Once you’ve done this, you can then go ahead and safely eject your USB storage device and remove it.
Download: Unlocker for Windows
