AnimeSuki Forums

wootiewoot · 2008-12-25, 02:47

Merry Christmas to all!

Safely removing hardware just means it stops connections to that "device" so it will prevent data from being corrupted. But as for my external HDD (Memorex ultratravel drive 160GB) whenever I use the safely remove hardware it says generic volume cannot be disabled because of some programs using it.

I used unlocker, the software that checks if any software IS indeed using it, and it indicates, no. Others external HDD I can disconnect normally, but it's just this one that's acting weird, please do post any ideas if you think you know the solution, thank you very much for your time!

I think it has to do with something about the HDD's power down sequence. Whenever I try to safely remove the drive, weird noises appears, so maybe that is the problem...?

OS- vista home premium

Nikusu · 2008-12-25, 16:29

I personally have had issues with USB flash drives on Vista for my laptop. It could be a hardware compatibility issue, but I honestly don't know so I don't want to spit out worthless "Try this" advice. What I can tell you is that there's the option to make it so you don't need to "safely remove" your external HDD. There's 2 options and currently yours is set to "Optimize for performance" but in reality you won't know the difference between the two options (the other being "Optimize for quick removal"). In all honesty, you won't recognize any performance differences, but it's still your option to stay with "performance." I don't check this section of AS often so if you'd like me to detail the process just send me a message.

npcomplete · 2008-12-25, 20:40

edit: had posted about thumbs.db, but I didn't notice you're using vista; it might still be thumbnail caching related keeping the drive busy, so see:
http://www.mydigitallife.info/2007/0...bsdb-creation/

otherwise, does it always remain busy even after waiting a while since last used the drive?

wootiewoot · 2008-12-25, 21:25

Thank you for your kind replies.

Actually, I did use the "set for quick removal" option. But still, I think it is safer if I do use safely removal option(I do lack computer knowledge, sorry about that). But I do think it is compatibility issue. Since maybe it wasn't designed for windows vista, so that's why it couldn't be removed...

As for the thumbs.db suggestion. I think that only applies to Windows Xp and below(again, I a not very good with computer).

AnimeTheme · 2008-12-26, 05:05

I suggest you scan your external HDD for any bad sectors or hardware-related problems. The fact that your HDD produces some weird noises when shutting down is suspicious.

wootiewoot · 2008-12-26, 06:31

Thanks for the reply.

I did in fact scanned my hard drive. But I believe the noise is more of the hard drive disc wanted to stop spinning but for w/e reason it cannot and stops half way. For now I just set it to "set for quick removal" so that even if I cannot safely remove the device, at least it may damage the HDD less... However, it would still be nice if someone can tell me how to fix the problem

2008-12-25, 02:47	Link #1
wootiewoot Costume fetish Join Date: Jun 2008	Cannot safely remove hardware- external HDD?! Merry Christmas to all! Safely removing hardware just means it stops connections to that "device" so it will prevent data from being corrupted. But as for my external HDD (Memorex ultratravel drive 160GB) whenever I use the safely remove hardware it says generic volume cannot be disabled because of some programs using it. I used unlocker, the software that checks if any software IS indeed using it, and it indicates, no. Others external HDD I can disconnect normally, but it's just this one that's acting weird, please do post any ideas if you think you know the solution, thank you very much for your time! I think it has to do with something about the HDD's power down sequence. Whenever I try to safely remove the drive, weird noises appears, so maybe that is the problem...? OS- vista home premium

2008-12-25, 16:29	Link #2
Nikusu Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Age: 36	I personally have had issues with USB flash drives on Vista for my laptop. It could be a hardware compatibility issue, but I honestly don't know so I don't want to spit out worthless "Try this" advice. What I can tell you is that there's the option to make it so you don't need to "safely remove" your external HDD. There's 2 options and currently yours is set to "Optimize for performance" but in reality you won't know the difference between the two options (the other being "Optimize for quick removal"). In all honesty, you won't recognize any performance differences, but it's still your option to stay with "performance." I don't check this section of AS often so if you'd like me to detail the process just send me a message.

2008-12-25, 20:40	Link #3
npcomplete Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2008	edit: had posted about thumbs.db, but I didn't notice you're using vista; it might still be thumbnail caching related keeping the drive busy, so see: http://www.mydigitallife.info/2007/0...bsdb-creation/ otherwise, does it always remain busy even after waiting a while since last used the drive?

2008-12-25, 21:25	Link #4
wootiewoot Costume fetish Join Date: Jun 2008	Thank you for your kind replies. Actually, I did use the "set for quick removal" option. But still, I think it is safer if I do use safely removal option(I do lack computer knowledge, sorry about that). But I do think it is compatibility issue. Since maybe it wasn't designed for windows vista, so that's why it couldn't be removed... As for the thumbs.db suggestion. I think that only applies to Windows Xp and below(again, I a not very good with computer).

2008-12-26, 06:31	Link #6
wootiewoot Costume fetish Join Date: Jun 2008	Thanks for the reply. I did in fact scanned my hard drive. But I believe the noise is more of the hard drive disc wanted to stop spinning but for w/e reason it cannot and stops half way. For now I just set it to "set for quick removal" so that even if I cannot safely remove the device, at least it may damage the HDD less... However, it would still be nice if someone can tell me how to fix the problem