I have an issue with Defraggler "grabbing" any drive that I connect to my computer. It doesn't present much of a problem for hard drives, but whenever I attach a flash drive (it doesn't matter whether it's already mounted when I start Defraggler or if I mount the drive while Defraggler is running) the Defraggler program notices the drive and won't let it eject again when I want to eject it. This occurs even when the drive is not being scanned, and even when no drives are being scanned. the solution I've had to use is to simply close Defraggler whenever I remove a flash drive. This is kind of bothersome because I regularly defragment my system drive, and if I happen to insert a flash drive during the process, Defraggler snags it and doesn't let me eject it again. My choices then are to remove the drive anyway without safely ejecting it (which causes Defraggler to freeze) or close Defraggler, eject drive, reopen defraggler, which is bothersome because I have to start Defragmenting over again.
Defraggler is a wonderful program and I don't intend to stop using it. I was wondering if anyone has an answer to this slightly annoying issue.
Have you tried using the eject drive option from "Computer", right clicking on the drive. IIRC this method, generates a pop up warning, which if you confirm it should continue, then successfully and safely unmounts it. This works for me under Win7
Have you tried using the eject drive option from "Computer", right clicking on the drive. IIRC this method, generates a pop up warning, which if you confirm it should continue, then successfully and safely unmounts it. This works for me under Win7
Yes, I have given that a try. That is the way I unmount all of my flash drives and removable media. The issue I'm having is that whenever I have defraggler running (or even just open) any flash drive/removable media that I try to dismount gives the "volume is in use" alert, or whatever the wording is. After closing defraggler, the drive ejects without a hitch. This is a bit annoying because if I have defraggler defragmenting a drive then I have to wait for it to finish before I can eject my flash drives.
My removable media is often locked by something other or as well as Defraggler. An annoying trait to XP.
You can get around this by doing the following:
Right click the drive, select "Properties" and then the "Hardware" tab".
Highlight the problem drive in the list and select "Properties" again, and then the "Policies" tab.
This will then give you a page with the following options:
Select "Optimize for quick removal", and you can then pull the Flash Drive with no problems. I wouldn't suggest this if I hadn't done it myself many times with no issues, even under Defraggler.
This is in XP. Maybe someone could confirm if the process is the same in the other Operating Systems.
My removable media is often locked by something other or as well as Defraggler. An annoying trait to XP.
You can get around this by doing the following:
Right click the drive, select "Properties" and then the "Hardware" tab".
Highlight the problem drive in the list and select "Properties" again, and then the "Policies" tab.
This will then give you a page with the following options:
Select "Optimize for quick removal", and you can then pull the Flash Drive with no problems. I wouldn't suggest this if I hadn't done it myself many times with no issues, even under Defraggler.
This is in XP. Maybe someone could confirm if the process is the same in the other Operating Systems.
Not a solution, but a workaround.
Good afternoon, Dennis, and thanks for the welcome and for the tip. It might just be a workaround, but it sounds like a very good one. I'll have to give it a try. Thinking back, I think I have only had this problem with XP machines. I'll definitely have to give this a try and do a little research into "optimizing for quick removal" in general. Thanks again, and I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend!
It doesn't matter what version of Windows you use if an application has a handle opened on a device then the device cannot be unmounted.
You can force remove handles using software i.e. Process Explorer or Unlocker but idealy Defraggler should have it's own option for disconnecting from removable media or close handles on all devices except the drive it's defragging.
I agree with you there, Richard; it would definitely be a useful addition to Defraggler. I have used programs like Unlocker to deal with other programs that grab drives, but unfortunately it usually closes the program to remove the handle. I guess that the best thing I can do is just try to better coordinate with Defraggler exactly when I remove drives, and keep an eye out for a "safely remove" feature within Defraggler someday.
Yes, I have given that a try. That is the way I unmount all of my flash drives and removable media. The issue I'm having is that whenever I have defraggler running (or even just open) any flash drive/removable media that I try to dismount gives the "volume is in use" alert, or whatever the wording is. After closing defraggler, the drive ejects without a hitch. This is a bit annoying because if I have defraggler defragmenting a drive then I have to wait for it to finish before I can eject my flash drives.
What I was telling you, is that if you tell the popup to eject the disk anyway, it does it in Windows 7.
If you try using the notification area eject drive, you don't get a different pop up and you don't get chance to safely unmount without closing Defraggler.
You didn't mention your windows version in your original post, but if you have 7 it should work for you to.