Hi PJ
In sticky situations, shutting down and then disconnect external drives has been my "fix" for several years.
- about 2 years ago I discovered some old USB sticks were a constant problem, so to be on the safe side they have been tossed out.
- I believe some older "sticks" had/have inadequate firmware on them (Source: sevenforums.com)
- at $8 for 8GB it is safer to discard old sticks after about 3 to 5 years
- my policy is 3 years and they are out, I destroy them with a very big hitter.
Mostly (90% of the time) it is the system that is the blockage and no amount of GUI or commands will budge it
- so far I have not lost any data, in a lot of years
Problem is most prevalent when My Toshiba laptop wakes up from "Sleep" mode
- Toshiba are notorious for added-crapware and that might be the gremlin, my multiple custom rigs are never a problem
I added my suggestions ...
USB Safely Remove* and
Lockhunter* for Nikos and any newbies to show there are other solutions
- But Nikos probably knows about these things and amuses himself watching us (of the chattering class) pat ourselves on the back
Does he respond to grovelling, or do I have to lay it on a bit thicker ?
- what I like about
both programs* is the sensible feedback (that Windows default safely-remove does not give)
@dunno
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
The humour on this forum is very refreshing
- some forums take themselves too seriously ... a little bit of light relief can change a difficult day for either the OP or a passing reader