A bug or glitch recently prevented many Windows 11 users from ejecting external hard drives or Pendrive.

While ejecting Pendrive from Windows 11, the computer freezes or restarts automatically.

Why did Windows 11 fail to eject the external hard drive/Pendrive?

Restart your Computer/Laptop

Below, we have shared a few possible reasons for the problem.

Here are the best things you’re able to try.

Maybe you are transferring files to/with the drive, preventing the eject function.

Device Manager

To remain on the safe side, you’re able to power cycle your gear.

Once your machine restarts, you could eject your external hard drive or Pendrive.

Windows 11 may fail to eject USB devices because of outdated or corrupted USB drivers.

Universal Serial Bus controllers

In that case, you should update the USB drivers.

  1. smack the Windows 11 search and jot down inDevice Manager.

Next, fire up the equipment Manager app from the list.

Run as administrator

On the equipment Manager, expand theUniversal Serial Bus Controllerssection.

Right-punch every entry with a yellow exclamation mark and selectUpdate driver.

opt for first one and follow the on-screen instructions to finish the driver update process.

Run as administrator

Run Windows Hardware and machine Troubleshooter

1.

First, punch the Windows search and jot down inCMD.

Right-go for the CMD and selectRun as administrator.

Task Manager

On the Command Prompt, paste the following command and hitEnter.

This will launch the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter.

hit the Next button and follow the on-screen instructions.

End Task

Heres what you oughta do.

First, hit the Windows 11 search and bang out in Task Manager.

Next, open theTask Managerapp from the list.

Command Prompt utility

On the Task Manager, you gotta find the app that you suspect.

Right-poke the entire branch and selectEnd Task.

  1. press Windows 11 search and key in CMD.

Stop

Right-press the CMD and selectRun as administrator.

Now, you will see the safely remove hardware utility.opt for driveyou want to eject and click onStop.

Heres how to safely eject a USB drive using the configs app.

Settings

First, tap on the Windows 11 search and selectSettings.

On controls, switch to theBluetooth & Devicessection.

On the right side, click onDevices.

Bluetooth & devices

Find your USB drive and choose thethree dotsbeside it.

Next, selectRemove unit.

Beta and Dev builds of Windows 11 have a bug preventing USB drives from being ejected.

Devices

it’s possible for you to eliminate that bug by updating your Windows 11 computer.

To update Windows 11, follow the steps shared below.

First, tap the Windows 11 Start button and selectSettings.

Remove device

On parameters, switch to theWindows Updatetab.

On the right side, click theCheck for Updatesbutton.

Now, Windows 11 will search for all available updates.

Windows Update

If an update is available, it will download and install automatically on your unit.

Once done, turn on your PC, re-connect that drive, and dont access any files.

Then, have a go at eject the hard drive from the system tray.

Check for updates

Frequently Asked Questions:

Why cant I eject my hard drive Windows 11?

Otherwise, its possible that the drive is experiencing problems due to outdated or corrupted drivers.

What do I do if my external hard drive wont eject?

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How to know which program is using my external hard drive?

Knowing which program is using your external hard drive is complicated.

How do I force eject a USB gadget in Windows 11?

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Otherwise, exit, log back in, and remove the connected drive from the system tray.

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