A safety-first Windows utility that detects applications holding a removable USB drive open, closes them carefully, verifies the drive is unlocked, and asks Windows to eject it safely.
Windows sometimes reports that a USB device is still in use even when every visible window appears closed.
SafeUSB-Eject-Windows11 uses the Windows Restart Manager API to identify processes holding files or folders open on the selected USB drive. It first requests a graceful application close, scans the drive again, and only offers force-close when locks remain.
Before requesting removal, the utility verifies that the drive is no longer locked, requests a volume dismount, invokes the normal Windows eject action, and records the result in a dated log file.
- Automatically detects removable USB drives.
- Displays the drive letter, label, file system, size, and free space.
- Identifies locking processes through Windows Restart Manager.
- Requests graceful application closure before offering force-close.
- Refuses to force-stop protected or critical Windows processes.
- Re-scans the selected USB drive before attempting removal.
- Requests a safe volume dismount.
- Uses the standard Windows Shell eject action.
- Writes dated activity logs to the
logs/folder. - Requires the user to type
EJECTbefore continuing. - Requires the user to type
FORCEbefore force-closing an application. - Stops the eject process when active locks remain.
flowchart TD
A[SAFE_USB_EJECT.bat] --> B[Safe-USB-Eject.ps1]
B --> C[Detect removable USB volumes]
C --> D[Display available drives]
D --> E[User selects USB drive]
E --> F[Require EJECT confirmation]
F --> G[Restart Manager lock scan]
G --> H{Locking processes found?}
H -- No --> M[Verify drive is unlocked]
H -- Yes --> I[Request graceful application close]
I --> J[Re-scan selected USB drive]
J --> K{Locks remain?}
K -- No --> M
K -- Yes --> L[Optional FORCE close]
L --> M
M --> N{Drive unlocked?}
N -- No --> O[Cancel eject and write log]
N -- Yes --> P[Request volume dismount]
P --> Q[Invoke Windows Shell eject]
Q --> R[Verify removal]
R --> S[Write final result to log]
Launch SAFE_USB_EJECT.bat
↓
Start PowerShell safety engine
↓
Detect removable USB drives
↓
Display drive information
↓
Select the USB drive
↓
Type EJECT to confirm
↓
Scan for locking processes
↓
Request graceful application close
↓
Re-scan for remaining locks
↓
Optional FORCE close
↓
Perform final lock verification
↓
Request volume dismount
↓
Invoke Windows eject action
↓
Verify removal
↓
Write result to dated log
SafeUSB-Eject-Windows11/
├── .gitignore
├── LICENSE
├── README.md
├── SAFE_USB_EJECT.bat
│
├── docs/
│ └── SAFETY.md
│
├── images/
│ ├── SafeUSB_Eject_for_Windows_11_hero.png
│ ├── drive-selection.png
│ ├── locking-processes.png
│ └── safe-eject-success.png
│
├── logs/
│
└── scripts/
└── Safe-USB-Eject.ps1
The screenshot files are optional and may not exist until screenshots are added.
Download the latest repository ZIP from GitHub and extract it to a permanent folder.
Keep the included folder structure unchanged.
git clone https://github.com/tcdoverlord/SafeUSB-Eject-Windows11.git
cd SafeUSB-Eject-Windows11Double-click:
SAFE_USB_EJECT.bat
Administrative rights are not normally required. However, some application closures or volume dismount operations may require an elevated Windows session.
- Connect the removable USB drive.
- Close any documents you know are open from the USB drive.
- Double-click
SAFE_USB_EJECT.bat. - Select the correct USB drive number.
- Type
EJECTwhen prompted. - Review any locking applications that are detected.
- Allow the utility to request a graceful close.
- Type
FORCEonly when you accept the risk of losing unsaved work. - Wait for Windows to confirm removal or for the drive to disappear from File Explorer.
- Unplug the USB drive only after removal has been confirmed.
Force-closing an application can cause unsaved work to be lost.
The utility attempts a graceful close first and refuses to force-stop known critical Windows processes. However, users should still save their work before running the utility.
Do not unplug a USB drive while files are being copied, written, repaired, encrypted, formatted, or synchronized.
See docs/SAFETY.md for additional safety information.
The utility writes dated log files to:
logs/
Logs may include:
- Selected drive information
- Detected locking processes
- Graceful-close requests
- Force-close requests
- Lock verification results
- Dismount attempts
- Eject results
- Errors and cancellation messages
Do not post logs publicly without reviewing them for private filenames or folder paths.
- Add an optional graphical interface.
- Add a Windows system tray launcher.
- Display USB device model and serial information.
- Add a configurable protected-process list.
- Add optional Sysinternals Handle integration.
- Add improved USB device removal verification.
- Add digitally signed PowerShell releases.
- Create a packaged Windows executable.
- Publish automated GitHub releases.
- Initial safety-first release.
- Added automatic removable-drive detection.
- Added USB drive selection and confirmation.
- Added Windows Restart Manager lock detection.
- Added graceful process-close requests.
- Added optional forced process closure.
- Added protected-process safety checks.
- Added final lock verification.
- Added volume dismount and Windows eject requests.
- Added dated activity logging.
This project is licensed under the TCDOVERLORD Personal Learning License (TPLL) v1.0.
This project is intended to support:
- 📚 Personal learning
- 🎓 Educational use
- 🧪 Research and experimentation
- 💻 Private, non-commercial projects
You are welcome to study, modify, and experiment with the source code for your own personal or educational purposes.
Commercial use—including resale, redistribution, business integration, SaaS offerings, consulting use, enterprise deployment, or inclusion in commercial products—is not permitted without prior written permission from the copyright owner.
For commercial licensing inquiries, please contact:
TCDOVERLORD
GitHub: https://github.com/tcdoverlord
See the LICENSE file for the complete license terms.
TCDOVERLORD
GitHub: https://github.com/tcdoverlord
Building practical Windows utilities, automation tools, diagnostic scripts, and open-source learning projects.
Open a GitHub issue when reporting a problem.
Include:
- Your Windows version
- The USB drive letter
- The USB file system
- The displayed locking process
- What happened after typing
EJECT - Whether
FORCEwas used - Relevant entries from the matching file in
logs/
Before sharing a log, remove any private filenames, usernames, or folder paths.
Build
↓
Test
↓
Document
↓
git status
↓
git add .
↓
git status
↓
git commit
↓
git push
↓
Verify
↓
Release
If SafeUSB-Eject-Windows11 helped you safely remove a stubborn USB drive, consider giving the repository a ⭐.