Thinkpads Forum

Hi there,

Anyone can help me to verify what went wrong with my laptop T61 6465 CTO?



I just clicked on OK or [X] but the message keeps appearing right after I click OK. I didn't do anything with my CD drive, in fact it's been intact since months ago. It just came up one day all of sudden.

Help me.

Messages like that from the operating system are usually due to the fact that it has been told that the user has requested it to be ejected. That can happen from software (using the "Safely remove hardware" icon) or from hardware (pulling on the Ultrabay eject lever). Windows is saying is that there is a program running that is still referencing the drive. It may even be a program that is not visible on the desktop or task bar; that is, it is running in the "background". My best suggestion is that you power off the system, remove the drive and then re-start the laptop and see what happens.

rkawakami wrote:Messages like that from the operating system are usually due to the fact that it has been told that the user has requested it to be ejected. That can happen from software (using the "Safely remove hardware" icon) or from hardware (pulling on the Ultrabay eject lever). Windows is saying is that there is a program running that is still referencing the drive. It may even be a program that is not visible on the desktop or task bar; that is, it is running in the "background". My best suggestion is that you power off the system, remove the drive and then re-start the laptop and see what happens.

Hi rkawakami,

Thanks for your suggestion earlier. However, I do not have the courage to open and peek on the hardware of my laptop as I do not have the expertise in hardware. Today I disabled the CD Drive from device manager but the problem still occurs, frequently. Do you happen to know any other alternative forms of solution for this problem?

It does not require opening the covers on the laptop to remove the drive. Simply slide the drive eject tab over and the lever will pop out. Pull the lever and the drive comes out.

I get this message on and off with CD drives or HDD in the Ultrabay. It is because a program is still accessing the drive.

Eg if I had previously opened a file on the Ultrabay device from within Adobe Photoshop, Photoshop sometimes does not release its hold on the device. Similarly. an indexer like Google search can latch on to the Ultrabay device to index it, and thus rendering it unejectable because... a program is accessing it!

I find this little free utility very useful - Unlocker
Download it here: http://ccollomb.free.fr/unlocker/
Warning - use at your own risk. I use it on Windows XP without any issues but your case may be different.

No need to reboot or turn off the thinkpad. Unlock the device, and eject as per normal.

Harryc,

Pulled and tried it, but the problem still persists. Thanks for the help. =)

Zern,

Thanks for the recommendation! The problem has now been fixed, no more irritating ejection problem after installing that software. =)