What's happened to USB SAFE REMOVE?


V

verbal_666

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Windows 11
Hi.
After updating from W11/24H2 to 25H2, i can't use anymore the USB SAFE REMOVE for all my devices.
Previously, devices were detected as removable storage, now i see them as BDR, is this normal (F: is phycisal BDR, G: is an USB 256GB MEDIA) ?

1766398969886.webp

Let's try,

1766399043239.webp

Nope!

1766399052908.webp

Let's try another way,

1766399074154.webp

OK, is safety removed,

1766399099099.webp


Is this a (new) bug? In 24H2 i did not have this strange issue.
Thanks 👍👍👍
 

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verbal_666 said:
Previously, devices were detected as removable storage, now i see them as BDR, is this normal
Click to expand...

If the drive is a BD-ROM or BD-RE, then it is being detected correctly.

verbal_666 said:
After updating from W11/24H2 to 25H2, i can't use anymore the USB SAFE REMOVE for all my devices.
Click to expand...

I get the same error message on a USB external hard drive, but not on a USB stick. I'm using Windows 11 25H2.

"Windows can't stop your 'Volume' device because a program is still using it. Close any programs that might be using the device, and then try again later."

1.webp

2.webp

3.webp
 

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Celery said:
If the drive is a BD-ROM or BD-RE, then it is being detected correctly.
Click to expand...

I wrote it's not a BDR... but the icon seems to be...

1766412567745.webp

F: is the BDR, G: is 128GB USB STORAGE PEN... i previously wrote 256GB, my fault, but it's the same.

Celery said:
I get the same error message on a USB external hard drive, but not on a USB stick. I'm using Windows 11 25H2.
Click to expand...

Same with all my HDDs, i have 3. In 25H2 i can't safetly remove them anymore.

Celery said:
"Windows can't stop your 'Volume' device because a program is still using it. Close any programs that might be using the device, and then try again later."

View attachment 157721

View attachment 157722

View attachment 157723
Click to expand...

I think this is a bug!!! Luckily it's a side bug, not very important. But i'm asking if they know it 🙄🙄🙄

See if they fix it.
 

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Safely Remove USB drives is always there even for my Windows 11 (25H2) that was once 24H2 and had been 23H2 before (upgraded, upgarded, upgraded).

Sometimes it takes too long for USB hard drives of large size to be allowed removal due to the fact, I believe, that Windows Defender starts checking the files/folders on the external drive and/or indexing them.
 

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Here is how USB “Safely Remove” (Safe Eject) works in Windows 11 25H2 and what actually happens under the hood:


1. Two possible removal policies for USB storage devices
Windows defines two policies for external USB storage devices (thumb drives, external SSDs/HDDs): Quick removal and Better performance. Microsoft Learn+1


  • Quick removal (default in modern Windows 10/11).
    • Write caching is disabled.
    • You can physically unplug the device at any time without using the Safely Remove option, provided no active operation is happening. Microsoft Learn+1
  • Better performance.
    • Write caching is enabled.
    • This gives better data throughput but means Windows may still have buffered (not yet physically written) data for the device.
    • In this case, you must use the Safely Remove process before unplugging or you risk losing or corrupting data. Microsoft Learn
 

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To enable write caching on a USB drive​


  1. Insert the USB drive
  2. Press Win + X → select Device Manager
  3. Expand Disk drives
  4. Right-click the USB drive (identify it carefully) → Properties
  5. Open the Policies tab
  6. Select Better performance
  7. Tick Enable write caching on the device
  8. Click OK

That enables write caching for that specific USB device.


Important consequences (non-negotiable)​


  • You must use “Safely remove hardware” before unplugging the drive.
  • Unplugging without safe removal risks data corruption.
  • Windows defaults to Quick removal precisely to avoid this risk.

If you do not see a “Policies” tab​


  • The device firmware may not support caching.
  • Some cheap flash drives deliberately disable it.
  • USB sticks formatted with certain removable-media flags may hide the option.

To verify it is active​


  • Reopen Device Manager → Disk drives → Properties → Policies
  • Confirm Better performance remains selected after a reboot.

Performance reality check​


  • Write caching mainly improves many small writes.
  • Large sequential copies often show little or no improvement.
  • On modern USB 3.x flash drives, gains are usually modest.
 

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Celery said:
If the drive is a BD-ROM or BD-RE, then it is being detected correctly.



I get the same error message on a USB external hard drive, but not on a USB stick. I'm using Windows 11 25H2.

"Windows can't stop your 'Volume' device because a program is still using it. Close any programs that might be using the device, and then try again later."

View attachment 157721

View attachment 157722

View attachment 157723
Click to expand...
Things changed ages ago - you only need to safely eject usb flash drives these days.
 

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suatcini54 said:
Safely Remove USB drives is always there even for my Windows 11 (25H2) that was once 24H2 and had been 23H2 before (upgraded, upgarded, upgraded).

Sometimes it takes too long for USB hard drives of large size to be allowed removal due to the fact, I believe, that Windows Defender starts checking the files/folders on the external drive and/or indexing them.
Click to expand...

On 24H2 the remove was immediate, after few seconds. Now also waiting 5 minutes, it exits with error.

The only way on 25H2 is,

1766416322384.webp

🤷‍♂️ 🤷‍♂️ 🤷‍♂️ 🤷‍♂️ 🤷‍♂️
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11Ryzen 7 5800X32GBNvidia RTX 4060
OS
Windows 11
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
Assembled
CPU
Ryzen 7 5800X
Motherboard
Gigabyte B450 Gaming X
Memory
32GB
Graphics Card(s)
Nvidia RTX 4060
Sound Card
Realtek
Monitor(s) Displays
AOC 32"
Screen Resolution
QHD
Hard Drives
M.2 240GB
HDD 2TB
HDD 8TB
HDD 16TB
PSU
Corsair 650W
Case
ATX
Fun! Now the SAFETY REMOVE works again. I did nothing. Insert pen drive, write some files, wait till led stops, remove,

1766418667370.webp

What a very very strange behavious. I swear it did not work from weeks!!! :boom:

Better so ;-)
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11Ryzen 7 5800X32GBNvidia RTX 4060
OS
Windows 11
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
Assembled
CPU
Ryzen 7 5800X
Motherboard
Gigabyte B450 Gaming X
Memory
32GB
Graphics Card(s)
Nvidia RTX 4060
Sound Card
Realtek
Monitor(s) Displays
AOC 32"
Screen Resolution
QHD
Hard Drives
M.2 240GB
HDD 2TB
HDD 8TB
HDD 16TB
PSU
Corsair 650W
Case
ATX
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