"iPod Cannot Be Ejected Because It Contains Files That Are In Use" - >_<

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Level 1

2 points

"iPod Cannot Be Ejected Because It Contains Files That Are In Use" - >_<

Good morning, everyone. I've been referring to this forum ever since I picked up a nice 20GB photo iPod a while back and I've gotten some great help simply by using the search tool.

I've got a 160GB Classic that I received for Christmas yesterday and I tried the search function already and it appears like a lot of people have been reporting this issue as far back as October/November. Some users were given responses that made sense and sounded like they should work (updating USB drives through device manager, checking disk defraggers, disabling antivirus software, returning iPod to factory settings) but none of them seem to work for me.

The full message reads as follows: iPod cannot be ejected because it contains files that are in use by another application.

As to what this application is, I have no clue. I only know that yesterday morning everything was fine. I could eject the iPod whenever I wanted. Last night, I started getting the message that it couldn't be ejected - not even through the 'safely remove hardware' option through Windows.

When I click eject it will go to synchronizing again and then it will briefly say "OK to disconnect," before returning to the usual "Eject before disconnecting screen.

Does anyone have any advice?

Windows XP

Posted on Dec 26, 2007 5:08 AM

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Answer 1

smwhtdmgd82 Author

Level 1

2 points

Dec 26, 2007 6:23 AM in response to smwhtdmgd82

Does anyone have any ideas? I can disconnect it through windows before I run iTunes. But once I run iTunes, this no longer works either - even after iTunes has been closed

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Answer 2

smwhtdmgd82 Author

Level 1

2 points

Jan 3, 2008 4:44 PM in response to smwhtdmgd82

I'm bumping this because it was never resolved.

I called Apple on the 26th of December and the representative was convinced that what I was describing was an iPod hardware issue and that they would repair/replace. A box was promptly sent through DHL for me to ship it back to them and they received it two days later.

The status was updated today to say that they are shipping it back and that no problems were found. x(

Very frustrating. The hard disk of the iPod was very loud and I could feel it clicking when browsing through songs. When I mentioned this to the woman I spoke to on the phone she said that I, 'definitely had a faulty hard drive.'

I have a PRP through Best Buy and I think I'll bring it back there if I still continue to have the issues I've mentioned.

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Answer 3

turingtest2

Level 10

272,707 points

Jan 3, 2008 5:01 PM in response to smwhtdmgd82

smwhtdmgd82 wrote:
The full message reads as follows: iPod cannot be ejected because it contains files that are in use by another application.

This can be as trivial as an Explorer window or the "This device contains files of different types. What would you like to do?" box. Other possibilities are indexing systems such as Windows or Google Desktop Search which perform background file scans.

tt2

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Answer 4

smwhtdmgd82 Author

Level 1

2 points

Jan 3, 2008 5:08 PM in response to turingtest2

I don't have any outside search programs installed and for a long time on Christmas night I went through anything I could think of that could possibly be accessing the iPod or even my music folder for that matter and I couldn't think of anything.

Does the loud clicking or very noticeable spin I referred to when holding the iPod listening to music on it sound out of the ordinary?

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Answer 5

Jan 3, 2008 5:59 PM in response to smwhtdmgd82

My iPods just started doing the same exact thing. They can't be ejected normally because the error code says "iPod cannot be ejected because it contains files that are in use by another application".

This happens with my new 8Gig iPod Nano, and also my iPod Video 80Gig. Both do the same thing now, and both were fine a few days ago. I don't know what changed! I tried uninstalling iTunes and reinstalling, but still get the same problem. Anyone have any ideas?

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Answer 6

GLNHP

Level 3

850 points

Jan 3, 2008 6:59 PM in response to smwhtdmgd82

Regarding your eject (or lack thereof) issue, the offending program could be anti-virus, anti-spyware, disk defragmenter, or other system related program. Desktop search programs are not the only possible offenders. Since you are using Windows XP, do you have the indexer service turned on? I had this problem and it was my third party disk defragmenter that was preventing my iPod from ejecting.

As far as the noise, I suppose it depends on how loud. When browsing through music, the drive will spin and make noise as it loads artwork into memory. It is normal to feel it spin and read (the clicking is the drive being read) if you are holding it. I suppose the only way to tell if what you are experiencing is normal is to compare it to another iPod (perhaps one on display at a local store or a friend's).

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Answer 7

smwhtdmgd82 Author

Level 1

2 points

Jan 4, 2008 4:48 AM in response to GLNHP

thank you for the reply. In other threads from the fall that cited this issue, disk defrags, anti-virus software and spyware software were mentioned as well and I thought that would be the problem but none of my apps check external drives by default, you have to manually scan them through options, etc.

But to be safe, I tried disabling everything anyway, and still no dice.

What is the indexer service with Windows XP?

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Answer 8

GLNHP

Level 3

850 points

Jan 5, 2008 7:04 AM in response to smwhtdmgd82

The indexer service (which should be off by default) is something that Windows XP uses to make searching for files on your hard drive more efficient. To check if it is running go to Control Panel and open Administrative Tools. In this folder you will see an icon for services - open this (BE VERY CAREFUL NOT TO MAKE ANY UNINTENDED CHANGES when scrolling through the list of services). Look for Indexing service - the Startup Type should be set to Manual (not Automatic) and the status column should be empty (you should see many services with "Started" in this column). If the status is Started, right click Indexing Service and choose Stop from the menu. After it has stopped, double click Indexing Service; on the General tab of the properties page change the Startup Type drop down to either Manual or Disabled (do not make changes to anything else), then click OK.

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Answer 9

smwhtdmgd82 Author

Level 1

2 points

Jan 5, 2008 4:03 PM in response to GLNHP

I was able to find the Services Icon under Administrative Tools but did not have anything called Indexing Service.

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Answer 10

smwhtdmgd82 Author

Level 1

2 points

Jan 6, 2008 6:14 AM in response to SheltieDog

Sunday morning bump.

I appreciate all the responses from everyone so far, Apple will be delivering my iPod tomorrow. I tried an older iPod I had and it too gets the same message when I try to eject it or safely remove it through windows so I'm fairly convinced it's the computer.

Anyone have anymore ideas.

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Answer 11

rjo3491

Level 1

20 points

Jan 6, 2008 6:32 AM in response to smwhtdmgd82

Hi:

I get this from time to time. It's not my iPod, it's the &**%$ computer that's goofed up. Try ejecting the iPod via the computer controls (as you would with say, a memory stick). If this doesn't work, re-boot the computer (with the iPod attached). Once can safely "unhook" the iPod during the brief window (no pun intended) between shut down and start up - right before windows begins to load.

After doing this, my iPod will sync, and disconnect normally. I also find that a re-boot to clear the cobwebs prior to syncing the iPod will usually prevent this problem as well as not attempting to do other stuff while the unit is connected like web surfing etc.

Hope this helps!!

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Answer 12

smwhtdmgd82 Author

Level 1

2 points

Jan 6, 2008 11:18 AM in response to rjo3491

thanks man, as I said, should have the iPod back tomorrow and I'll be sure to restart before trying to do anything with it and iTunes.

I've relied on restarting/shutting down to eject it before.

So you'll go through periods where things will work and then all of a sudden you'll get the message?

Message was edited by: smwhtdmgd82

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Answer 13

smwhtdmgd82 Author

Level 1

2 points

Jan 7, 2008 9:00 AM in response to rjo3491

Anymore updates/suggestions?

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Answer 14

turingtest2

Level 10

272,707 points

Jan 7, 2008 10:19 AM in response to smwhtdmgd82

smwhtdmgd82 wrote:
Anymore updates?

You tell us... it was your thread. Is it back? Are you still having problems?

suggestions?

Other external drive? A network share mapped to a drive letter? Has the iPod been assigned a different drive letter? Do you have the iPod enabled for disk use? You might fare better if it is disabled. Do you have any other USB devices that might have installed a process to look for them? E.g. a PDA, a printer with memory card/stick ports. A background virus/spyware scanner? A virus!? The list goes on...

It will be time-consuming but if you really want to get to the bottom of it you could try to identify & eliminate the process that is involved. Next time it happens fire up task manager and see what processes are running. If you can't recognise a process and be certain that it won't be accessing the drive fire up Google to find out what it is and what it does. Hopefully you should find the culprit before too long, if not, you'll gain an insight into all the background services running on your machine.

tt2

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Answer 15

Jan 7, 2008 12:31 PM in response to smwhtdmgd82

For me, the problem seems to be caused by Norton. (I use Norton Internet Security 2007.)

If I disable the Auto-Protect for Norton AntiVirus, then I can eject my iPod's with no problems. If I leave Auto-Protect "on", then I get the "Cannot be ejected..." error every time.

I am not sure what changed with the Norton AntiVirus program because I used to be able to leave Auto-Protect turned on and never had a problem ejecting either of my iPods. But at least I found out what is causing the problem for me, and just turn it off when I want to eject the iPod, then turn it back on after it ejects.

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