4 Ways to Fix This Device Is Currently in Use Error on Windows 10

Windows 10

Sometimes when you want to remove the USB device from Windows 10 computer, it shows a message: Problem ejecting USB mass storage device, this device is currently in use. Will you just eject the USB device directly or find out what the problem is to fix the “problem ejecting USB mass storage device” error?

It’s suggested not to remove the USB directly, since it may cause USB data loss (free pen drive data recovery) or some other USB errors like the USB device can’t be recognized or accessed on computer when you plug in it next time.

Check below the possible causes of this USB eject error and the troubleshooting tips and solutions to fix “this device is currently in use” problem when you try to remove USB.

Possible Causes of “This Device Is Currently in Use” Error

There are some causes that may lead to this error:

  • Certain files in USB device are not closed or are currently in use by some Windows applications.
  • Some programs like Windows security software or file backup software are accessing the USB device in the background.
  • Other hardware or devices problems may cause this error.
  • The USB device may be infected with malware or virus.

Basic Troubleshooting Steps

  • Check if you’ve closed all files and programs in the USB device, if not, close all of them.
  • If you are opening and running other files and applications on your Windows 10 computer, close all of them.
  • Right-click the blank area of Windows 10 desktop screen and click Refresh. Then you can click the USB device in the Notification area and choose USB safely remove to see if it works.
  • You can right-click the USB drive in This PC, and run a virus scan with Windows Defender or other third-party security software you’ve installed.
  • Third-party security software in Windows may interfere with some other processes. You can temporarily disable all computer security software to see if this error disappears.

If these basic steps don’t fix “this device is currently in use” error, then continue to try the 4 ways below to safely eject USB device from your Windows 10 computer.

Fix This Device Is Currently in Use Error with Task Manager

  • You can click Start, type task manager, and choose Task Manager app to open it.
  • Click Process tab to check all the running processes on your Windows 10 computer. If you don’t see the detailed running processes, you should click More details button.
  • Right-click the suspicious running processes or programs and choose End Task to close them.

After that, you can check if the USB device can be smoothly ejected now. If not, you can continue to check other ways to fix this error.

Fix This Device Is Currently in Use Error with Device Manager

  • You can open Device Manager in Windows 10. Click Start or the Search Box, and type device manager. Choose the top result to open Device Manager app.
  • Next click Disk Drives and find the USB drive. Right-click the USB drive and choose Uninstall device. After that, you can try to safely remove the USB again.

Fix This Device Is Currently in Use Error with Disk Management

Windows provides a built-in free disk manager – Disk Management – for users to manage local disk, external hard disk, removable disk drive like USB flash drive or SD memory card (fix my phone SD). You can eject USB in Disk Management.

  • Open Disk Management. You can press Windows + R together and type diskmgmt.msc in Run box.
  • Choose the USB device and right-click it. Choose Eject option. Then safely remove the USB from your computer.

Try to Eject USB Device from This PC

You can also try another way to eject USB from computer. You can click This PC on desktop and right-click the target USB drive to choose Eject option from the menu. Then you can safely remove USB.

How to Recover Lost Data from USB Device

To tackle with the lost files or mistakenly deleted files in USB drive, you can use MiniTool Power Data Recovery to easily recover them.

MiniTool Power Data Recovery is a 100% clean and free data recovery program compatible with Windows 10/8/7. It helps you to recover any lost or mistakenly deleted files from USB flash drive, computer local drive, external hard drive, SSD, SD card, etc.

Download MiniTool Power Data Recovery, and only 3 simples can help you recover lost/deleted files from USB device.

  • Connect the USB to computer. Launch MiniTool Power Data Recovery.
  • Click Removable Disk Drive at the left panel in the main UI. Select the target USB device, and click Scan button to scan the device right now.
  • After the scanning process is finished, you can check the scan result to find needed files and click Save button to store the recovered files to a new location.

Other Troubleshooting Tips

You can also try some other troubleshooting tips to fix “this device is currently in use” error in Windows 10.

  • Log off the computer. You can click Start -> Administrator icon -> Sign out.
  • Restart computer. You can click Start -> Power -> Restart.
  • Shut down PC. You can click Start -> Power -> Shut Down.
  • Troubleshooting USB device problems. You can click Start -> Settings -> Update & Security -> Troubleshoot, click Hardware and Devices and click Run the troubleshooter to check and fix problems of the connected hardware and devices.

Bottom Line

Through these troubleshooting tips and solutions, hope you can now fix “this device is currently in use” error and smoothly remove the USB from your computer.

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