Disk in Use Message

marc449 wrote:
Sorry if I wasn't clear in my first response. With the "Enable Disk use" box checked (don't worry, you don't have to use it and you won't lose any disk space) after you're done with the iPod, this is how you can do what I described earlier:

"When disconnecting a USB mass storage device from the computer, close all windows and quit all running applications that are stored on the device and drag the device's icon onto trash to dismount it from the Desktop prior to unplugging the device from the USB port or Hub."
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=60394-en

So I guess like what Zevoneer was saying, you have to drag (?) the iPod icon to the recycling bin or something.

I forgot to mention also that a faster way than shutting off the computer completely (if this above solution doesn't work) would be to go into standby or sleep mode, if Mac's have something like that which is very quick.

Good luck with your problem.

Marc, actually this worked .... after the Mac went to sleep (with iTunes running), the iPod DND screen dimmed and changed to the Menu screen and I was able to remove my iPod ... then of course the Mac was immediately awakened and the "Device Removal" screen warning about improper removal of the USB device could cause problems etc. etc .... words to that effect. I know nothing is harmed in my iPod as it has happened before but I still would like to know how to eject my iPod in the conventional way.

As I write this, I'm trying different scenarios. With the iTunes still running after doing the above, I replugged the iPod into the USB cord and it appeared in the iTunes window. It did the usual "sync" with the flashing "DND screen" and when it was finished I clicked on the eject icon in the Device menu in iTunes. Eureka! It worked!! I have since repeated this twice and it still worked. I'm going to do it a third time!! Three times a charm .... thank you .. thank you ... thank you ..... whatever happened when I manually put the computer into sleep mode and let the iPod wake it up must have made some sense in the otherwise confused iTunes!! And yes ... it is working fine now and I can eject Mr. iPod from Devices in iTunes!! I must tell you though, that I went back into the iPod menu under Summary and have enabled disk use .... which tells me that I must manually eject the iPod ... but that didn't work initially ... it was only until I manually put the computer to sleep that things corrected themselves!! Thanks again!

Thank you for your replies. I checked my settings under the Summary Tab of my iPod and the "Enable Disk Use" box is, and has always been, unchecked. I never used my iPod as an extra hard drive as I wanted to keep all available space for music and photos. So the problem still exists as I just tried ejecting the iPod from the iTunes menu and got the same message that "the iPod cannot be ejected because it contains files that are in use by another application." There are no other applications open ... only iTunes is running at present.

My mouse is an optical wired mouse and there are no right and left buttons. I am using a Mac and I do not know the equivalent of "Safely Remove Hardware" as in a PC task bar ... is there such a thing on the Mac? I have tried ejecting the iPod from the Finder menu with the message "The disk is in use and could not be ejected. Try quitting other applications and try again." When I try to drag the iPod to the Trash, I get the same message.

It certainly seems that the "Enable Disk use" might be the problem although it IS NOT checked. I do not want to Restore the iPod so unless I get another suggestion, I will have to continue shutting down the computer before disconnecting my iPod. I do not recall doing anything different and was able to eject the iPod successfully for at least the first two years of use ....

Will appreciate any more ideas / suggestions!! Thanks again!

Again .... I appreciate your replies. However, I have tried everything as suggested ... with the same outcomes.

I went through all the tabs of my iPod, including Summary, Music, Photos etc. and under the Photo tab I saw the following was checked: "Include full-resolution photos. Copy full-resolution photos into the Photos folder on your iPod which you can access after enabling disk use." So I unchecked this box, and went back to the Summary tab and unchecked "Enable Disk Use" hit Apply and synced the iPod again to make sure that the iPod recognized this new "command" ... I tried to eject from the Devices menu and got the same message. I then exited iTunes and tried ejecting the iPod from the Finder as well as dragging it to the Trash.

Anyhow, I still couldn't eject my iPod so I resorted to doing a Restart and as soon as the iPod screen came out of the "Do Not Disconnect" mode, I unplugged my USB cord. After a few seconds, I reconnected the iPod so that it will be "seen" on reboot. This worked fine and as soon as iTunes booted up the iPod appeared under Devices and the DND screen reappeared because the iPod was syncing. When it was done, I went back and reversed what I had done under the Photos and Summary tabs ... to put everything back where it originally was. Did another sync and tried ejecting as above with the same result.

I visited another website that gives help for a frozen DND screen .... I had to do this last week to bring my iPod out of frozen mode after installing iTunes 8.2 (23). (Select & Menu simultaneous hold for 6-10 seconds until the Apple appears).

I am wondering what "files" could be "in use" when no other applications are running. The second message about "Applications" in use is also strange as there are absolutely no programs running except iTunes. Any Mac help out there?? Anyone else ever had this problem?

Zevoneer, appreciate your response ... I still can't get to eject my iPod in the conventional way. However, see my reply to Marc following ... just tried another of his suggestions and it worked ... for now. I still would like to be able to do this the correct way though so any other thoughts?