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Consumer Products => Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security (legacy Pro Antivirus, Internet Security, Premier) => Topic started by: bikemanAMD on May 25, 2010, 02:19:32 PM

Title: Unable to Eject External hard drive safetly
Post by: bikemanAMD on May 25, 2010, 02:19:32 PM
Unable to eject External hard drive safely...even after a reboot when nothing is accessing it, tried disabling Avast 5.0.545's shields and still no go.   

This operating system Windows Vista 32bit, External drive is a Seagate Freeagent 320gb

Any advice is appreciated

Title: Re: Unable to Eject External hard drive safetly
Post by: Lisandro on May 25, 2010, 02:55:24 PM
Use Unlocker to see what is blocking the media.
Run "No action" (i.e., does not delete) with "Unlock" every process.
Title: Re: Unable to Eject External hard drive safetly
Post by: bikemanAMD on May 25, 2010, 07:45:43 PM
Ok will give that a shot then, and that should work i'm sure

last night disconnected it without safely ejecting again, since didn't wanna leave the external running 24 hours again, i did the night i have a backup in a few hours, but normally i dislike doing that

This will help out with that i'm sure

Title: Re: Unable to Eject External hard drive safetly
Post by: pk on May 25, 2010, 09:20:57 PM
...but normally i dislike doing that

Me neither, I usually unplug my external HDD when I put the notebook to sleep, so it's already flushed & parked.

Anyway, try Process Explorer tool (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653.aspx), execute it, press Ctrl+F, insert X: (assuming your external HDD is X:), press enter and see which processes have opened file handles on this volume.
Title: Re: Unable to Eject External hard drive safetly
Post by: bikemanAMD on May 25, 2010, 10:17:41 PM
Yeah unlocker was reported as infected according to download area, so scratch that one i guess, will try Process Explorer and when i goto eject the drive later tonight, i'll see what it says--might hook it up with my second Desktop later that is runing another antivirus for testing purposes, and see if it allows ejection with that one just as a test lol
Title: Re: Unable to Eject External hard drive safetly
Post by: Lisandro on May 26, 2010, 12:32:34 AM
Yeah unlocker was reported as infected according to download area
Unlocker? It's clean...
http://ccollomb.free.fr/unlocker/
Title: Re: Unable to Eject External hard drive safetly
Post by: bikemanAMD on May 26, 2010, 03:09:30 PM
Here is a screenshot i took with IE 8, when i clicked on that Link

Provided by Tech

Even a download thru Filehippo.com for Unlocker, came up with the same message...So didn't grab the file, and left it alone
Title: Re: Unable to Eject External hard drive safetly
Post by: nmb on May 26, 2010, 03:18:39 PM
This portable hdd thing happens to me too. Will check today and post later.

Unlocker :It will detect the error when files are not deletable nothing else.

Try the process explorer as pk suggested. I too will try.

nmb
Title: Re: Unable to Eject External hard drive safetly
Post by: spg SCOTT on May 26, 2010, 03:50:19 PM
I have this in the past...and I couldn't work out why...

On my vista machine, before I could attribute it occasionally to the File System Shield, but now I am not sure, I haven't tested it in a while...

There was a similar thread: http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=59401

On another note, Unlocker...I think the alert is wrong...
I find it weird that IE8 will load the page and then bring up this alert... (I see the page load briefly and then the alert... ::))
Title: Re: Unable to Eject External hard drive safetly
Post by: Lisandro on May 26, 2010, 03:56:49 PM
Page is clean. I won't post a live link to malware...
Title: Re: Unable to Eject External hard drive safetly
Post by: bikemanAMD on May 26, 2010, 06:21:10 PM
Ok will give it another shot, does find it weird IE 8 would load the page, and pop up that red alert, may try to get the file on my second Desktop

though I use IE 8 on every PC here, so i guess i'll see what i can do with it, as for using Process explorer that worked fine to disconnect the drive from both PC's, haven't tried it with the laptop yet though, but i may sometime soon

Ok On Second Desktop PC, Running Windows XP Sp3, and MSE--Page Loaded, then about less than 5 minutes, changed back to Red Page, and reported as unsafe message popped up--so thinking that fixed it was wrong, Perhaps an issue with IE 8.0

Main PC with Avast 5.0.545 kept popping up the red alert that i posted the screen shot of before.

Ok gonna grab the file if it lets me, and put it on flash drive, but so far can't get past the red alert lol, but gonna keep trying to figure out why it's happening


Title: Re: Unable to Eject External hard drive safetly
Post by: Lisandro on May 26, 2010, 07:34:15 PM
My IE is giving the same warning.
Seems to be Microsoft related... (phising filter?).
Title: Re: Unable to Eject External hard drive safetly
Post by: spg SCOTT on May 26, 2010, 07:36:09 PM
Just had this...

tried disabling avast, nothing happened...so don't know...

Process Explorer showed nothing...Unlocker doesn't work on 64bit... ::)

Eventually I opened up 'Computer', right clicked the drive and pressed eject...and it worked...

I wonder, why didn't the safely remove thing in the tray work...


About the unlocker site, yes it is MS, it has previously been reported for some reason from what I gather...you can use another browser though...
Title: Re: Unable to Eject External hard drive safetly
Post by: scythe944 on May 26, 2010, 07:39:32 PM
I'm pretty sure the "eject" function within explorer is the same thing as the system tray, I guess it was just a coincidence that it worked.

Whenever I have this problem (and it's pretty frequent for all windows machines) I just make sure no copies are taking place and that nothing is accessing it and I pull the drive.  Hasn't hurt anything yet, but I'm sure it might one day.
Title: Re: Unable to Eject External hard drive safetly
Post by: spg SCOTT on May 26, 2010, 07:43:31 PM
Well that is what I thought...same function, different location...I don't know...

I normally shut the machine down...at least you know then that it is not being accessed...

Title: Re: Unable to Eject External hard drive safetly
Post by: scythe944 on May 26, 2010, 07:46:04 PM
I guess that works if you have the ability to shut it down.

Servers are another beast though...  ;D
Title: Re: Unable to Eject External hard drive safetly
Post by: nmb on May 26, 2010, 08:12:38 PM
Guys,

I don't think unlocker will show what is locking the usb drive. It only catches the errors when files are undeletable.  :-\

nmb
Title: Re: Unable to Eject External hard drive safetly
Post by: pk on May 26, 2010, 08:15:20 PM
Guys, let's try Process Explorer, it will show you the opened handles on that USB volume...

Thanks
Title: Re: Unable to Eject External hard drive safetly
Post by: bikemanAMD on May 26, 2010, 09:26:34 PM
Process Explorer seemed to have to work this time when i tried it, so i guess will keep copy of that on a flash drive and if i need to use it on other PC's i have it.

External is used for weekly backups, and Monthly Vista Backups from 2 PC's, and misc download storage here

wonder if cause of mine has network shares for the Vista backups from 2 other Vista Pc's in the household, thats why on mine maybe it said cannot eject
Title: Re: Unable to Eject External hard drive safetly
Post by: YoKenny on May 26, 2010, 10:07:13 PM
@ bikemanAMD

I am curios why you you do not go to PROFILE then Modify Profile then Forum Profile Information then select your country in Please select your country: then update your Signature: with information like my signature as this helps the helpers offer pertinent advice. ???
Title: Re: Unable to Eject External hard drive safetly
Post by: nmb on May 27, 2010, 05:05:21 AM
Here you go pk. See pic. Who's blocking it from ejecting?

nmb
Title: Re: Unable to Eject External hard drive safetly
Post by: Lisandro on May 27, 2010, 05:07:14 AM
avast eh eh...
Title: Re: Unable to Eject External hard drive safetly
Post by: nmb on May 27, 2010, 05:08:36 AM
You are right Tech. What next?

nmb
Title: Re: Unable to Eject External hard drive safetly
Post by: Lisandro on May 27, 2010, 05:14:46 AM
Indeed I don't see a solution... I think it's not the self-defense who will solve this.
Seems to be related to the permanent cache...
But pk is the one to solve this.
Title: Re: Unable to Eject External hard drive safetly
Post by: nmb on May 27, 2010, 05:20:52 AM
Or is it related to sandbox storage?

pk, where are you??

nmb
Title: Re: Unable to Eject External hard drive safetly
Post by: Lisandro on May 27, 2010, 02:16:12 PM
Oh, yeah, the sandbox...
Title: Re: Unable to Eject External hard drive safetly
Post by: pk on June 12, 2010, 03:18:21 PM
nmb: thanks for posting that screenshot. I think what might have gone wrong, but I'd like to be sure: when you'll get the same results in Process Explorer (i.e. System process is holding "aswSnx private storage" handles), could you please execute http://public.avast.com/~kurtin/osrbang.exe, press that harmless button ;D, compress & upload memory.dmp to our ftp? Thanks a lot!
Title: Re: Unable to Eject External hard drive safetly
Post by: nmb on June 12, 2010, 04:47:55 PM
Hello pk,

Ya will do that. Gimme sometime.

nmb
Title: Re: Unable to Eject External hard drive safetly
Post by: nmb on June 12, 2010, 05:26:06 PM
It failed to start and load the driver - in both elevated user rights and low rights.
It could not bang! ;D

nmb
Title: Re: Unable to Eject External hard drive safetly
Post by: pk on June 12, 2010, 05:29:58 PM
hmmm, interesting... could you please generate kernel dump manually? [rightmost Ctrl+press Scroll Lock twice], see: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff545499.aspx

Thanks.
Title: Re: Unable to Eject External hard drive safetly
Post by: nmb on June 12, 2010, 05:33:50 PM
Sorry this is a laptop. So no scroll lock  :( Any other way?

nmb
Title: Re: Unable to Eject External hard drive safetly
Post by: pk on June 12, 2010, 05:34:35 PM
See that link, you can redefine Scroll lock.
Title: Re: Unable to Eject External hard drive safetly
Post by: pk on June 12, 2010, 05:39:33 PM
Define Dump2Key to 0x11, and Scroll lock will be replaced by Q key.
Title: Re: Unable to Eject External hard drive safetly
Post by: nmb on June 12, 2010, 06:06:14 PM
I am not able to do that. Gimme some tool.

nmb
Title: Re: Unable to Eject External hard drive safetly
Post by: pk on June 12, 2010, 06:09:38 PM
try this version (Vista+ x64): http://public.avast.com/~kurtin/osrbang_x64.exe
Title: Re: Unable to Eject External hard drive safetly
Post by: nmb on June 12, 2010, 06:21:41 PM
This one did crash the system but the dmp file is not available. When I checked the event log viewer, I saw that the crash dump driver could not be loaded. check the pic.

nmb