How do you eject an exFAT partition on Windows

[levmc]

Looking at this: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us...to-eject/aafd6eb2-2448-4fd6-9d31-fa93c0642eda

It seems like if you have Quick Removal on, you don't have to worry about data being corrupted or lost even if you just pull the cable?

 

[barbu]

I think it's just

My computer > right click drive > Unmount

I would not use quick removal but hey.

 

[levmc]

I don't see My computer, I just see This PC. When I right click on drive, I don't see the Unmount option.

 

[DeltaMac]

By "EXFat partition", do you mean a separate partition on an internal drive?... Or, an external drive (probably USB) that is formatted Exfat?
If a USB device, can't you just click on Remove USB device in the taskbar?

 

[AndyMacAndMic]

Looking at this: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us...to-eject/aafd6eb2-2448-4fd6-9d31-fa93c0642eda

It seems like if you have Quick Removal on, you don't have to worry about data being corrupted or lost even if you just pull the cable?

I assume you mean an external drive with exfat on it, because a partition on an internal drive can not be ejected.

In the system tray (bottom right) in Windows you will find this icon (if you have external devices attached):

If you hoover over this icon you'll see 'Safely remove hardware and eject media'.
If you click on the icon you will see a menu with all attached removable devices.
In the example above there is an external usb drive called 'WD Elements' when I click 'Eject Elements' the drive will be 'ejected' (unmounted). Also a message will popup if it is done.

In some cases right clicking on a drive in the explorer will also give you the 'eject' option, but as far as I know that is only for optical drives (CD's, DVD's etc.) and mounted iso-files.

 

[DeltaMac]

That windows icon may not be visible in the system tray. On my Windows 10 system, it moves quickly into the "Hidden icons" section of the tray.
From Windows Explorer, or similar: Right-clicking on a USB device (a device identified with a letter), when that device is not a boot drive, should give you a choice to Eject the device there, too.
If that device is the boot drive, then you won't see a choice to "Eject". I suppose that would also include any internal storage device.

 

[AndyMacAndMic]

That windows icon may not be visible in the system tray. On my Windows 10 system, it moves quickly into the "Hidden icons" section of the tray.
From Windows Explorer, or similar: Right-clicking on a USB device (a device identified with a letter), when that device is not a boot drive, should give you a choice to Eject the device there, too.
If that device is the boot drive, then you won't see a choice to "Eject". I suppose that would also include any internal storage device.

I just tried right clicking on a non bootable usb drive in explorer, but no 'eject' option. In all my life working with Windows I have never seen that option on a USB drive in explorer. As I said... It exists on optical drives and mounted iso's.

And of course it goes without saying that if you have hidden icons in the system tray the icon can be there too. This behaviour can be changed in the Windows settings.

 

[DeltaMac]

hmm...
Checked again. Windows 10 v.2004
Inserted USB flash drive, ExFat format.
Right-clicked on USB drive in Windows explorer, and there it is, about half-way down in the menu: "Eject"

I expect that your settings might not be available to me, as I use Windows 10 unlicensed. I know there's a bunch of customization that I don't have access to, but I don't need that from Windows....

 

[levmc]

I assume you mean an external drive with exfat on it, because a partition on an internal drive can not be ejected.

In the system tray (bottom right) in Windows you will find this icon (if you have external devices attached):

View attachment 963266

If you hoover over this icon you'll see 'Safely remove hardware and eject media'.
If you click on the icon you will see a menu with all attached removable devices.
In the example above there is an external usb drive called 'WD Elements' when I click 'Eject Elements' the drive will be 'ejected' (unmounted). Also a message will popup if it is done.

In some cases right clicking on a drive in the explorer will also give you the 'eject' option, but as far as I know that is only for optical drives (CD's, DVD's etc.) and mounted iso-files.

Thank you. It worked.

 

[levmc]

This time it says "This device is currently in use. Close any programs or windows that might be using the device" when it's not currently in use. Is there a way to force quit any programs or windows that might be using the device without knowing what it is?

 

[DeltaMac]

Pretty sure your Task Manager can do that.
Does Ctrl-Alt-Delete still bring that up?
(I searched that out, seems that has been replaced by Ctrl-Shift-Esc)

 

[Shirasaki]

This time it says "This device is currently in use. Close any programs or windows that might be using the device" when it's not currently in use. Is there a way to force quit any programs or windows that might be using the device without knowing what it is?

Process explorer can help by searching for driver letter and find any lingering handles. But the easiest way to do it for me on laptop is putting it in sleep/hibernation and unplug.

You can download Process explorer on https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/process-explorer

 

[levmc]

If a laptop is sleeping or hibernating, does that automatically make it safe to eject?

 

[DeltaMac]

I think you are assuming that sleep/hibernate stops all active processes. In that case, you should then be safe to pull a USB storage device.
Does that really happen? Then, what happens when you then wake up your Windows system. Does the process resume (and throw an error because a device is missing?). macOS would throw an error.
An experienced Windows "guru" should be able to answer that question - or, even quicker, test that for yourself. Your own use and experience are really the only one that matters here. (don't try this on your storage, unless you know that you have a backup on another drive )

 

[Shirasaki]

If a laptop is sleeping or hibernating, does that automatically make it safe to eject?

I think you are assuming that sleep/hibernate stops all active processes. In that case, you should then be safe to pull a USB storage device.
Does that really happen? Then, what happens when you then wake up your Windows system. Does the process resume (and throw an error because a device is missing?). macOS would throw an error.
An experienced Windows "guru" should be able to answer that question - or, even quicker, test that for yourself. Your own use and experience are really the only one that matters here. (don't try this on your storage, unless you know that you have a backup on another drive )

It wont stop the process which is using the USB drive, but it will safely cut the power of the said USB drive. Plus, sleeping or hibernating will force the process to pause whatever it is doing. As long as you are not actively using the USB drive, such as copying files, you should be fine. I’ve seen a lot of the times a lingering file system handle keeps occupying the USB device preventing it from being ejected while not actually doing anything. For macOS I use this trick all the time cause macos has a very high chance of not being able to eject the drive properly on it’s own. For me hardware health is more important than whatever the OS is doing in the background, second only to my data.