Why is the File Explorer eject button greyed out for external hard drives?

Why is it that the eject button in Windows 10's File Explorer is greyed out for external hard drives? The only way to safely remove the drive is to use the task bar option.

I have tried this on a number of external USB hard drives from Sandisk and Buffalo, and I have tried setting their policies to Quick Removal as well, which didn't change anything.

With external flash drives, the option to eject from File Explorer works without issue.

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Rey Bel1

Hi Fahad,

This may occur when the USB drivers is outdated, corrupted or in conflict with other drivers. For us to better assist you, wed like to ask a few questions:

Which Windows version and build are you using? Type winver in the search bar and press Enter to find out.
When did you first notice the issue? Have you made any relevant changes on your device prior to issue?
Have you tried plugging the same device on a different computer to isolate the issue?

In the meantime, we suggest that you run the hardware and devices troubleshooter as this tool can automatically identify and fix and underlying factors that may be causing the issue. Click Find and fix problems with devices and hardware on this link and follow the prompt to run the troubleshooter on your device.

We look forward to your response.

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khanhquanle

I have Windows 10 Version 1803 (OS Build 17134.81), I 'd never got that issue before the upgrade.

Why is the File Explorer eject button greyed out for external hard drives?

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