Windows 11 won't eject external hard drive? Try these fixes

Some users reported that they were unable to safely eject their external hard drives on Windows 11. This can be a major problem for users who use external hard drives for backup.

It can be very frustrating if your Windows 11 won't eject your external hard drive (or any other external media). When you try to eject an external hard drive, your computer may freeze, crash, or even restart. Fortunately, there are several ways to solve this problem.

Removing a hard drive using Windows is fairly easy, but you need to do it safely to avoid data corruption or corruption.

If you are unable to safely eject your external hard drive or the option is not available, there may be a few reasons why. For example, the drive may still be in use (try closing all applications), or there may be outdated drivers.

This article highlights some of the most important causes of this problem and provides quick fixes that may resolve it.

Why won’t Windows 11 eject the external hard drive?

If your external hard drive does not eject safely, you may receive error messages such as the volume cannot be safely ejected, device found, or the eject button on the external drive is missing.

Windows 11 issues warnings for two main reasons:

• The drive contains files that are currently in use. This can cause problems if background processes or applications are using files stored on the external drive.

• The USB driver on your system is outdated or malfunctioning.

What should I do if Windows 11 won’t eject the external hard drive?

1. Restart your computer

When you encounter this problem, you must first consider restarting your computer. Shutting down your computer closes all applications and third-party processes.

Includes those who are accessing files on external hard drives. When the system boots again, you can eject the external drive.

2. Update USB driver

1. Go to the Windows search bar and type Device Manager. beat. Enter
2. Expand the Universal Serial Bus Controller option.
3. If you see an entry with a yellow exclamation mark, right-click it and select Update Driver.

Outdated or incorrect USB drivers can also affect your ability to eject the drive from your computer. To resolve this issue, simply update your USB driver and try ejecting the drive again.

You can also update the driver through DriverFix. It is a powerful, easy-to-use driver update software tool that allows you to find and download the latest official drivers for your computer.

Expert Tip: Some PC problems are difficult to solve, especially if the repository is corrupted or Windows files are missing. If you are having trouble fixing errors, your system may be partially corrupted. We recommend installing Restoro, a tool that can scan your machine and determine where the fault lies.
Click here to download and start repairing.

It can even help you install them automatically. With a smart user interface, DriverFix makes navigation easy for both novice and advanced users.

⇒ Get DriverFix

3. Use the command prompt

1. Press Windows R Open the "Run" dialog window.
2. In the Run window, type CMD and click Enter. This will open an elevated command prompt. window.
3. After entering the command prompt, copy and paste the following and hit Enter: <strong> RunDll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL hotplug.dll </strong>
4. Select the drive you want to eject and click Stop.

You can easily access the Safely Remove Hardware utility through the command prompt. This should open Disk Utility and allow you to safely eject the external hard drive.

4. Run the Windows Hardware and Devices Troubleshooter

1. Go to the Run dialog window, type CMD, and then hit Enter.
2. In the command prompt window that opens, copy and paste the following and hit Enter: <strong>msdt.exe -id DeviceDiagnostic </strong>
3. Click Next to run the troubleshooter.

The Windows Hardware and Devices Troubleshooter diagnoses common problems with your computer. If you encounter any problems while removing your external hard drive, the troubleshooter can help resolve the issue.

5. Close running tasks in Task Manager

1. Go to the Windows search bar, type Task Manager, and click Enter.
2. In Task Manager, select the Processes tab and you should be able to see a list of running processes.
3. Right-click any program that appears to be using too many resources and select End Task.

If you notice a problem when ejecting an external drive, the best way to fix it is to close all open programs in Task Manager.

Is it safe to remove a drive without ejecting it?

First of all, it’s worth mentioning that most of the time you can unplug your device without unsafely ejecting it. It’s only when we start developing this habit that problems arise.

If the USB device is unplugged while writing data, it may become damaged. Additionally, it can slow down many operations on your computer and can even move files that you may have been working on for hours.

The above two methods should be enough to solve your problem of not being able to eject external hard drive on Windows 11.

You may also consider installing the latest Surface updates to fix outdated drivers.

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