10.0.1
Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
It seems to me that there have been some changes to the built-in eject utility in the latest build. Now when I eject the drive the normal PA.c icon is replaced momentarily by a white one and I generally (though not always) get an error message saying that the drive can't be stopped.
Here's what I've done to test it:
1. Close all software that's running from the drive.
2. Go off and make a cup of tea (in other words leave it several minutes).
3. Try to eject the drive using the built-in utility.
4. Get error message.
5. Moments later eject using the Windows "Safely Remove" utility.
6. The latter invariably works OK.
Clearly there aren't any open files left over from software that was running on the drive, otherwise the "Safely Remove" utility would throw up an error. So this suggests to me that as the built-in utility shuts down the PA.c menu itself, it's not waiting long enough for it to close before invoking the eject. An extra second or so would probably do it.
Regards
Nick
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Never happened to me and I have the same system you do. Could you post a screenshot of the error?
"What about Love?" - "Overrated. Biochemically no different than eating large quantities of chocolate." - Al Pacino in The Devils Advocate
I can post a screenshot if you think it absolutely necessary (where should I send it?) but it's just the standard error box that comes up if you try to eject a drive with files still open.
Regards
Nick
I thought it was something else. Should have read your post more carefully
What file system is the drive formatted with?
I have an external hdd with NTFS which has eject-issues every once in a while on XP and Win 7. But I dont know if its the platform in my case.
"What about Love?" - "Overrated. Biochemically no different than eating large quantities of chocolate." - Al Pacino in The Devils Advocate
The laptop's system drive is of course NTFS but the USB key is FAT32.
The same problem appears on my professional computer (Windows XP SP3 / PortableApps Platform 10.0.1).
Sometimes, the eject tool works properly. But many times, I've got the same problem.
The eject program that the platform uses is called the USB Disk Ejector. I think you might need to contact them or post in their forums to notify them of a possible bug.
Given that I'm a PortableApps user and that it forms an integral part of the PortableApps package, I'd hope that wouldn't be necessary.
Just an analogy (I realise PA.c is free): if I bought a carton of milk and it was sour, I wouldn't expect the supermarket to tell me to contact the cow.
Regards
Nick
I encounter the opposite behavior since 10.0.1. I had to retry more often over the last years cause the built in eject function almost never succeeded. But I have truecrypt running to mount a container and even if that was unmounted completely, the flash drive needed several attempts to be ejected (also with the safely remove function).
Since the update to 10.0.1 this problem seems to be solved for me, so probably something has been changed.
Maybe this also is connected to this.
Could you try this: https://portableapps.com/temp/eject.exe Just place it in your X:\PortableApps\PortableApps.com\App\bin directory, replacing the eject.exe that is already there. It's the newer version of it. If that fails, we could try reverting to an earlier version. Did you have this issue with the earlier pre-releases?
Also, do you have all Explorer windows looking at the drive closed?
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
Tried the new version of eject.exe - still the same. It ejects OK some of the time, but gives the same error other times.
I had this problem many moons ago, but haven't experienced it for a long time until the latest release version. The pre-release versions worked fine.
No, I don't have any explorer windows open when I try to eject the drive.
Regards
Nick
Hello,
the reason for this problem is that we have a personal picture.
I had the same problem and posted my problem 5 days ago.
Here the link to my posting: https://portableapps.com/node/30200
John T. Haller answered in my posting:
Here the link to John T. Hallers posting: https://portableapps.com/node/30200#comment-187869
So the reason for this problem is found and now the problem can be fixed.
Greetings
OLLI
I do have a personal picture. Will remove it and see if that cures the problem.
Regards
Nick
Hello,
I would suggest to continue the discussion in the topic, that was created first:
https://portableapps.com/node/30200
There also John T. Haller wrote that the problem is the personal picture.
Greetings
OLLI
I am not shure if this is the same issue. ratcatcher did not get your error message but the standard windows notification that the drive could not be ejected. Therefore these two issues could be related but also may be just coincidentally.
I for one had a personal picture installed and got the error message related to that issue but don't have the problems described in this thread here.
> I would suggest to continue the discussion in the topic
> that was created first
But that topic relates to a software error that I am not seeing. Therefore the issues may or may not be related. If I post to that topic it will just confuse matters.
I've ejected the drive a few times since removing my picture and haven't seen the error. Will continue testing, but it's looking like that's the problem.
In WindowsXP the roblem is not solved when I removed the personal picture.
I wrote this in the topic that I started (https://portableapps.com/node/30200#comment-187897)
I'm still experiencing this problem - even without a personal picture. Only seems to happen with Windows 7, though, not with XP.
The platform ejects fine without a personal picture, but when it's added, crazy stuff happens. Lot's of vague message boxes. Something about "insufficient permissions", something about "access violations", all crazy. And when I restarted the platform and tried to exit, it crashed, complete with the option to send an error report. I couldn't get rid of the personal picture either, but after I tried, I got the same errors as before. Upon starting the menu a third time, though, the picture was gone and the platform was working as well as before.
XP SP3 Admin.
I'm still experiencing this problem with Windows 7, even though I've disabled the personal picture and I wait a long time (sometimes 10 minutes or more) after closing down the last application on the drive before I try to eject.
Using the Windows 7 eject utility immediately afterwards always works fine so clearly it's not an application or file on the drive that's being left open.
Hello,
on my PCs it works on Windows 7 Professional x64 SP1.
But it crashes on Windows XP SP3.
In my posting: https://portableapps.com/node/30200
I analyzed the problem in different versions of the Portable Apps Plattform.
This might be interesting to read.
Greetings
OLLI
Running Windows 7, 32 bit.
I'm getting the same issue generally as ratcatcher.
The icon changes to the eject programs in the system tray and then I get a pop-up "Windows can't stop your 'Generic volume' device because a program is still using it...". I click okay and the same prompt will appear a couple of times.
I run process explorer and it sometimes will come up with 'explorer.exe' as using the drive's handle, other times I get no results from the search.
I don't seem to have the problem when running it on my XP system.
I am not using a personal picture.
Kevin Scharnhorst
As you say, Kevin, your symptoms match mine.
I have found that if, instead of right clicking on the system tray icon and choosing "eject", I open the PA.c menu and click on the eject button at the bottom, the eject process seems more likely to work without throwing up the error.
Regards
Nick
I get exactly the same.
I am not using personal picture either.
I also use the method described by ratcatcher but it's still the same.
Has anyone been running truecrypt?
Even if a container of the drive was unmounted I mostly cannot eject with Windows built in eject function.
Closing truecrypt helps in almost every case for me.
No truecrypt either.
Nothing running, no windows open.
No, I'm not running (and have never run) truecrypt.
I was doing some investigating into releasing USB Disk Ejector as a portable development program. I noticed That the current eject.exe in the platform is the 1.3.0.1 not the 1.3.0.3 that is the current release. I also searched the forum here and noted the comment from John about trying to replace it with the 1.3.0.3 version. So my question is should a change be made to platform (BTW I am using and referring to 10.1 build) to include the newer eject.exe?
I have no idea so just asking?
“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.” Dr. Seuss
I replaced eject.exe 1.3.0.1 with 1.3.0.3 at John's request back in December of last year (see earlier in the thread). It made no difference.
I still think it's some sort of timing issue where when eject.exe is invoked it doesn't give the PA.c menu sufficient time to close before trying to eject the drive. That is, I suspect, why the Windows eject utility works fine straight afterwards.
that I was more or less referring to the other posters? Also was wondering if the fact the Platform did not "come" with it made a difference? No idea as I do not come close to being able to understand the coding for the platform.
Did not mean to offend you
“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.” Dr. Seuss
You certainly didn't offend me so no problem there.
I removed my personal picture quite some time ago and initially it seemed to make some difference, but the problem still persists.
Coming back to the hypothesis that it's a timing issue, is it possible that if you have a personal picture the PA.c menu takes even longer to shut down, making the problem more likely to occur?
I'm roughly 99.9% sure it has something to do with the personal picture, as I never have issues with the platform when I don't use one, and it goes whack when I do.
I have had the picture in place since 1.6 no issues here that I can see, unless I try to change the pic
“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.” Dr. Seuss
I've never had a personal picture...
I still occasionally get the "Drive in use" error.
Most of the time, when this error comes up, It still proceeds to "Safe to remove" - all by itself. The rest of the time, the normal Windows "safe remove and eject" will complete the process.
I've encountered this on multiple systems, multiple usb's - including the World's Best Flash Drive: The PortableApps.com Companion
FYI: I use Win7 64, Vista 64, and WinXp
I continue to get the drive in use error about a third of the time.
No portable apps running, no explorer windows open.
Majority of the time when I see the drive in use error, the it is safe to remove message comes up immediately after.
The few times it doesn't eject safely, I retry with the safe remove taskbar button. If that fails I open 'my computer' in explorer and right-click and select eject. that rarely ever fails.
Perhaps there is a way to tweak windows to wait longer before deciding the remove failed?
Use IObit Unlocker Portable to determine what is locking one of your files or folders:
https://portableapps.com/apps/utilities/iobit-unlocker-portable
If something is locking, you will be unable to eject. The personal picture issue was resolved some time ago, so your issue is unrelated to that.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
Unlocker won't tell what's locked if nothin is anymore.
I click the eject button once on the PA menu, and get both messages with no further actions from me. (the safe to remove comes up by itself immediately after saying it is unable.)
When I get both messages "unable to stop..." and then immediately get "safe to remove" - by then it is already unlocked, and safe to remove.
I'm trying to find why it says both, or prevent the unable message for the times when it obviously was possible.
Run unlocker before hitting eject. Likely, something is slow to release its lock so it does so but only after the error appears. Which is why it works on the next attempt.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
Hi!
How come i cant run my own eject.exe anymore it gets deleted when i click on eject in menu...
I need to unlock stuff that the default unlocker cant, so please add a way for me to run a custom eject.exe.
We don't touch the eject.exe from the platform other than to run it. If you have one there that is being deleted, it's likely written in something like AutoIT which many antivirus programs will simply delete when you try to run.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
You were right, just found out that it was Antivirus that killed the eject.exe.