The Disk Wasn’t Ejected Because One or More Programs May Be Using It on Mac

Why you see a “The disk wasn’t ejected because one or more programs may be using it” message

Your Mac shows you a “The disk wasn’t ejected because one or more programs may be using it” message when apps and processes, like Finder, are running in the background, preventing your disk from ejecting.

The warning message is a built-in macOS safety feature that protects your data from corruption or loss by preventing files from reading or saving to the drive when you try to eject them.

Explore more about these scenarios below.

1. Active programs using disk

Some background apps and programs, like Music, keep files open on your external disk, even if they’re closed on your laptop. This means they can continue to access your disk, preventing you from ejecting it.

2. System processes

Your Mac device could still be performing tasks that access the disk, like Time Machine backups and file indexing, preventing ejection. Ensure that no critical processes are in progress before attempting to eject your disk.

3. Caching and open files

Some files can remain open or cached in the background, even after closing an application. Take Quicklook, for example. Its QuickLookUIService process can stay open even when the app is closed.

4. Background system services

Background apps responsible for monitoring system file changes can block you from ejecting your disk if they’re actively monitoring. These processes include Spotlight indexing, antivirus scans, and iCloud syncing.

A note from our experts:

 

Ongoing processes can be a nuisance, standing in the way of ejecting your disk. Use MacKeeper’s Memory Cleaner to manually kill redundant apps and processes and safely eject your disk without damaging your files.

 

Here’s how we successfully stopped ongoing processes using MacKeeper’s Memory Cleaner:

1. Download and install MacKeeper.
2. Open the app and choose Memory Cleaner > Open > Apps & Processes.
3. Review the list of ongoing processes, hover over each process you want to kill, and click the X icon that appears.

What to do when you can't eject a disk on a Mac because it’s in use

Follow these steps if you’re struggling to eject a disk from your Mac:

1. Close all open files and apps to protect your data.
2. Force eject via Finder.
3. Identify active processes.
4. Check Time Machine backups.
5. Restart Mac.
6. Eject via Terminal if you’re comfortable using it, as it’s a complex process.
7. Disable Spotlight indexing for the disk.

Carefully follow the in-depth guide below to fix the issue of your disk not being ejected properly on Mac.

1. Close all open files and apps

Closing open files and apps helps you protect your data and eject the disk safely.

Here’s how we do it:

1. To close files, right-click on the file in Finder and press Command + W.
2. To close an app, open it and press the Command + Q keys on your keyboard. Alternatively, close all apps: click on the Apple icon > Force Quit, select the target apps > Force Quit.

Are your apps unresponsive? Here’s an advanced method we use to force-quit apps in this case:

1. Press the Command + Option + Esc keys. This will open the Force Quit Applications window.
2. Select the app and hit the Force Quit button.

2. Force eject via Finder

If you still can’t eject your disk, try force ejecting it instead. This helps when a disk won’t eject using standard methods.

Here’s how we do it:

1. Open Finder.
2. Hold down the Option key while simultaneously clicking the Eject button.

3. Identify active processes

Identifying the processes preventing your disk from ejecting is crucial for successfully ejecting it. You can find active processes in Activity Monitor, which is located in the Utilities folder—the same place where Disk Utility is located on Mac.

We found active processes in Activity Monitor by following the steps below:

1. Open Activity Monitor by clicking on Finder > Applications > Activity Monitor.
2. Activity Monitor shows you the process consuming the most resources in the CPU tab, but you can select other tabs like Memory if you prefer. Go through the list to identify active processes.
3. Select an active process, click on the X icon at the top of the window, and click on Force Quit.

A note from our team:

Check our dedicated article "How to Kill Processes on Mac" to ensure you properly end tasks and that programs are not using your external disk.

4. Check Time Machine backups

If the drive is involved in a backup process, it’s best to wait for it to complete. Alternatively, you can temporarily stop Time Machine to pause the backup and eject the drive.

Here’s how we pause Time Machine backups:

1. Click on the Time Machine icon in the menu bar (if it doesn’t appear, open System Preferences > Time Machine > Show Time Machine in menu bar).
2. Select Backup in Progress > Pause Backup from the drop-down menu. Note that this option is only available when Time Machine is actively backing up data.

5. Restart Mac

Sometimes, a simple reboot clears locked processes and fixes errors like an external hard drive not showing up on Mac. Because it’s so effective, it’s usually our first solution when a Mac won’t eject our disk.

We follow this simple process to restart our MacBook:

1. Click on the Apple menu in the menu bar.
2. Select the Restart option.

6. Eject via Terminal

Mac’s Terminal app comes in handy when other methods are unsuccessful. Since it’s so complex, we advise you to consider it a last resort. But if you use it, follow the steps below carefully to avoid making mistakes and losing your data.

This is how we use Terminal commands to eject a disk:

1. In Terminal, enter the type diskutil list command.
2. Identify your disk and its identifier (such as /dev/disk2 or /Volumes/ExternalDisk) and enter the following commands to unmount and eject it, respectively, pressing Enter after each one:
   • sudo diskutil unmountDisk /dev/disk2
   • sudo diskutil eject /dev/disk2

7. Disable Spotlight indexing for the disk

Your disk may fail to eject if your Mac is actively indexing files. We suggest disabling Spotlight indexing in this case.

Here’s how we prevent active indexing to eject a disk:

1. Click on the Apple menu and select System Settings > Siri & Spotlight (on older macOS versions, select System Preferences > Spotlight).
2. Click on Privacy, followed by the plus (+) icon, select the external disk you want to exclude, and hit Choose.

Safely close apps and processes to eject your disk

Several factors can prevent your disk from ejecting, like active programs and system processes. Try the simple fixes in our guide to safely eject your disk, leaving the more complex methods for last.

Closing apps and processes can be a tedious process. Use MacKeeper’s Memory Cleaner to quickly and safely quit the apps and processes preventing you from ejecting your disk.

Now, if you’re experiencing issues relating to your Mac’s USB accessories, it’s typically linked to power and hardware issues. Find out what to do when your MacBook USB accessories are disabled.