Problems to extract/remove an external drive

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DavidGDFC
Posts: 40
Joined: Wed Sep 17, 2014 10:20 am

Problems to extract/remove an external drive

Post by DavidGDFC »

Hello,

When I run Everything x64 portable 1.4.1.782b, I've noticed that I often can't extract an external drive by clicking on the icon on the Windows bar. I get the typical message that is displayed when some content stored on the unit is open by a programme.

I have to admit that clicking on the icon, with or without Everything running on my computer, doesn't always work and I often have to try again, but I have been experiencing more problems recently. I don't know if my problem is more related to Windows or to Everything.

I'd need more time to test this issue. Five minutes ago, for example, I plugged in an external drive, I opened Everything and then I had no problem to extract the unit.

Thank you.
void
Developer
Posts: 15096
Joined: Fri Oct 16, 2009 11:31 pm

Re: Problems to extract/remove an external drive

Post by void »

Does completely exiting Everything allow you safely remove the device?
therube
Posts: 4580
Joined: Thu Sep 03, 2009 6:48 pm

Re: Problems to extract/remove an external drive

Post by therube »

clicking on the icon, ... without Everything running on my computer, doesn't always work
Then (at least that part of) it cannot be Everything.
I often have to try again
If by try again you mean that you wait a few seconds, then retry Safely Remove, then it might be a timing issue, where data is still being written to the drive (syncing), & until it finishes, Safely Remove is being blocked.


I'll see similar, with Sandboxie, if I attempt to (manually) rename a particular sandbox, & I have a one of the sandboxed folder|file open in my file manager or if I've opened a DOS prompt in a sandboxed directory.
void
Developer
Posts: 15096
Joined: Fri Oct 16, 2009 11:31 pm

Re: Problems to extract/remove an external drive

Post by void »

Process Explorer will help you find processes which have a volume opened.

To find processes that have a volume open:
  • In Process Explorer, from the Find menu, click Find Handle or DLL...
  • Type in \Device\HarddiskVolume
  • Click Search.
  • Take note of the Process names, double click a result to show detailed process information.
DavidGDFC
Posts: 40
Joined: Wed Sep 17, 2014 10:20 am

Re: Problems to extract/remove an external drive

Post by DavidGDFC »

Hello,

Thank you for all your messages.

1.
Does completely exiting Everything allow you safely remove the device?
Yes, it does.

2.
Then (at least that part of) it cannot be Everything.
As I explained, the safely remove tool has always been unreliable, but it worked most of the time. Now, when Everything is open, it doesn't work most of the time or, at least, it doesn't work quite often.

3.
If by try again you mean that you wait a few seconds, then retry Safely Remove, then it might be a timing issue, where data is still being written to the drive (syncing), & until it finishes, Safely Remove is being blocked.
As I keep clicking the icon, I keep having this message informing the drive can't be removed. Then I close Everything and suddenly I can remove the drive. I have to admit that I get impatient and I don't wait long before I click the icon again.

4.
Process Explorer will help you find processes which have a volume opened.
I've followed the steps a couple of times, but I didn't get the results I was expecting. In both cases, I opened a document from the external drive expecting to find this file on the list provided by Process Explorer, but in my first attempt, I could only see Dropbox processes, and in my second attempt, nothing at all was displayed.

5.
Oops, meant to post (yesterday), OpenedFilesView - View opened/locked files in your system (sharing violation issues).
There's a lot of information displayed by the programme and I get confused about how to proceed.

Again, thank you very much to all of you.
void
Developer
Posts: 15096
Joined: Fri Oct 16, 2009 11:31 pm

Re: Problems to extract/remove an external drive

Post by void »

How is the external drive being indexed by Everything? -Is it a NTFS index (Tools -> Options -> NTFS) or a folder index (Tools -> Options -> Folders)
DavidGDFC
Posts: 40
Joined: Wed Sep 17, 2014 10:20 am

Re: Problems to extract/remove an external drive

Post by DavidGDFC »

A NTFS index.
DavidGDFC
Posts: 40
Joined: Wed Sep 17, 2014 10:20 am

Re: Problems to extract/remove an external drive

Post by DavidGDFC »

Hello,

Since I'm having, at this precise moment, the same problem, I've run Process Folder (this time, as an administrador). I got some results, among of them, four of them related to Everything.
administrator.png
administrator.png (33.73 KiB) Viewed 9644 times
The funny thing is that, if I run the programme again without administrative rights, the results related to other programmes disappear, and instead of four results concerning Everything, I only get two.
NO administrator.png
NO administrator.png (15.21 KiB) Viewed 9644 times
Thank you!
DavidGDFC
Posts: 40
Joined: Wed Sep 17, 2014 10:20 am

Re: Problems to extract/remove an external drive

Post by DavidGDFC »

P. S. After I closed Everything (it still appears on my task manager, though), I was able to safely remove my portable drive.
void
Developer
Posts: 15096
Joined: Fri Oct 16, 2009 11:31 pm

Re: Problems to extract/remove an external drive

Post by void »

Thanks for the reply.

I have not been able to reproduce the issue.

There is two handles open to each volume, one is used for monitoring changes, the other for actually reading the changes.
I assume you have two volumes indexed?

Do you have two volumes indexed when running as administrator?

If the problem occurs again, please try the simpler method mentioned here:
http://superuser.com/questions/87364/ca ... -usb-drive
DavidGDFC
Posts: 40
Joined: Wed Sep 17, 2014 10:20 am

Re: Problems to extract/remove an external drive

Post by DavidGDFC »

Hello,

Thank you for your message.

In both cases (running Process Folder with and without administrator rights), there was a portable hard disk plugged in my computer and Everything was indexing both this hard disk and the hard disk of my laptop. That's why I found it interesting to see that Process Folder detected four handles or just two handles depending on the way I ran the programme.
DavidGDFC
Posts: 40
Joined: Wed Sep 17, 2014 10:20 am

Re: Problems to extract/remove an external drive

Post by DavidGDFC »

Hello,

I've used version 1.4.1.867b (x64) portable for a few days and I'm very happy that I haven't encountered this problem so far.

I suppose this has to do with this bugfix: "fixed an issue causing Everything to hang onto a volume handle when trying to safely remove a device".

Thank you!
nmc
Posts: 13
Joined: Fri May 06, 2011 10:44 am

Re: Problems to extract/remove an external drive

Post by nmc »

I have had Everything hang on to a handle when using an external SATA drive; I'm unsure if it's the same problem as with external USB drives.
Just a FYI.
harryray2
Posts: 1049
Joined: Sat Oct 15, 2016 9:56 am

Re: Problems to extract/remove an external drive

Post by harryray2 »

I've had this problem also for quite some time. The only solution I've found to work is to exit everything and end the everything process in task manager.

Another problem is when USB keys are removed, Everything keeps popping up an error message saying it can't find the volume. The only solution I have found is to remove the USB drive letters in options, which brings me to the next problem. Although I have the automatically include new removable volumes, Everything doesn't. I have to add them manually.
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