Safely Remove Hardware

When trying to safely remove a SanDisk Cruzer 2GB flash drive on my new
laptop, it does not stop the device. Actually, nothing happens. The icon does
appear in the taskbar, but it just doesn't do anything.
When trying to remove it via windows explorer, explorer freezes and has to
be restarted.
When shutting down or restarting Vista with the USB device still attached it
freezes. In safe mode, the device does stop after using "safely remove
hardware" and I get this message that it has been stopped. Is this a problem
of Vista or is it my new laptop?
Thanks in advance!

what do you mean when you say "it does not stop the device"? do you see
the dialog box that says that the device can be safely removed now? or is
it that the LED on the device doesn't go off?

- farhan

-----Original Message-----
From: Sandrien13 [mailto:Sandrien13@discussions.microsoft.com]
Posted At: Wednesday, April 23, 2008 7:20 AM
Posted To: microsoft.public.windows.vista.hardware_devices
Conversation: Safely Remove Hardware
Subject: Safely Remove Hardware

When trying to safely remove a SanDisk Cruzer 2GB flash drive on my new
laptop, it does not stop the device. Actually, nothing happens. The icon
does
appear in the taskbar, but it just doesn't do anything.
When trying to remove it via windows explorer, explorer freezes and has to
be restarted.
When shutting down or restarting Vista with the USB device still attached
it
freezes. In safe mode, the device does stop after using "safely remove
hardware" and I get this message that it has been stopped. Is this a
problem
of Vista or is it my new laptop?
Thanks in advance!

Same problem On a Vista Ultimate Desktop. Light on the drive stays on.
Yet Vista says it is safe to remove it! Watch out I have had to format
my thumb drive thanks to VISTA! No problems with XP just Vista Machines.
Is this just the Cruzer Micro 2.0 GB thumb drive problem or all thumb
drives? I have lost a lot of work and time with only a few weeks left in
the semester thanks to Vista! Looking for a Vista that works with all
thumb drives.


--
ttooley

"ttooley" <guest@unknown-email.com> wrote in message
news:1b788378cd08c7914dda8c6e8c393eef@nntp-gateway.com...
>
> Same problem On a Vista Ultimate Desktop.

As what? Please QUOTE the post you are replying to.

> Light on the drive stays on.
> Yet Vista says it is safe to remove it! Watch out I have had to format
> my thumb drive thanks to VISTA! No problems with XP just Vista Machines.
> Is this just the Cruzer Micro 2.0 GB thumb drive problem or all thumb
> drives?

Must be the Cruzer - I have a Freecom 1GB databar and a Hisun 4GB flash
drive, and neither of those cause me any problems on Vista Home Premium -
are you ABSOLUTELY sure that nothing is using the drive when you remove it?
Like an Explorer window for example?

"Sandrien13" <Sandrien13@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:7791FDD2-9632-4532-BA45-D0460550A8C4@microsoft.com...
> When trying to safely remove a SanDisk Cruzer 2GB flash drive on my new
> laptop, it does not stop the device. Actually, nothing happens. The icon
> does
> appear in the taskbar, but it just doesn't do anything.
> When trying to remove it via windows explorer, explorer freezes and has to
> be restarted.
> When shutting down or restarting Vista with the USB device still attached
> it
> freezes. In safe mode, the device does stop after using "safely remove
> hardware" and I get this message that it has been stopped. Is this a
> problem
> of Vista or is it my new laptop?
> Thanks in advance!


In Vista Device Manager, right click on the removable drive and select
Properties and then the Policies tab. You will have two choices. One choice
does not use the Safely Remove process. The other choice does use the Safely
Remove process.

Don

>what do you mean when you say "it does not stop the device"? do you see
> the dialog box that says that the device can be safely removed now? or is
> it that the LED on the device doesn't go off?

I don't see the dialog box and the LED doesn't go off. But in safe mode the
dialog box does appear! Any idea what this is?

> are you ABSOLUTELY sure that nothing is using the drive when you remove it?
> Like an Explorer window for example?

In my case I'm absolutely sure of that.

> In Vista Device Manager, right click on the removable drive and select
> Properties and then the Policies tab. You will have two choices. One choice
> does not use the Safely Remove process. The other choice does use the Safely
> Remove process.

I have a hard time trying to figure this one out, since my vista is in
dutch. When I go to the properties of the removable drive I don't get a
Policies tab, nor a dutch equivalent of it. Is it the first, second or third
tab of the properties window?

"Sandrien13" <Sandrien13@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:F67EF29D-D079-4F50-A2E4-936849E38172@microsoft.com...
>> In Vista Device Manager, right click on the removable drive and select
>> Properties and then the Policies tab. You will have two choices. One
>> choice
>> does not use the Safely Remove process. The other choice does use the
>> Safely
>> Remove process.
>
> I have a hard time trying to figure this one out, since my vista is in
> dutch. When I go to the properties of the removable drive I don't get a
> Policies tab, nor a dutch equivalent of it. Is it the first, second or
> third
> tab of the properties window?


In my English {US} Vista Home Premium, in Device Manage Properties, it is
the second tab from left.

Don

For the LED not going off case, there was an intentional behavioral
change from XP to Vista, where the USB bus driver does not turn off
the hub port to which the device is attached when the device is "soft
removed" i.e. it is still plugged in physically.

A lot of USB flash drives are wired to keep the LED on whenever they
detect traffic on the bus, but they do not differentiate between
traffic directed at them, versus other device traffic. If that is the
case, the LED would not go off. So yes, that is expected.

When a device is asked to be "safely removed", a notification is sent
down the device stack and to applications registered to receive
notifications about state changes on the device. Anyone on the stack,
or any applications which receives this notification, can then "veto"
the removal if they are actively using the device (to prevent data
loss). This may be why you are not seeing the dialog box as some
application or service might be taking long to respond to this
notification. In safe mode, that application or service might not be
started, and so the dialog box is displayed.

I hope that makes sense,

Farhan

On Apr 23, 12:40*pm, Sandrien13 <Sandrie...@discussions.microsoft.com>
wrote:
> >what do you mean when you say "it does not stop the device"? do you see
> > the dialog box that says that the device can be safely removed now? or is
> > it that the LED on the device doesn't go off?
>
> I don't see the dialog box and the LED doesn't go off. But in safe mode the
> dialog box does appear! Any idea what this is?