XP says files still in use when they are not

[Dave]

I have two problems which are probably manifestations of the same thing.

Quite often, when I go to close down a USB drive, I get a message that
the drive, or files on it, are in use, and it will not close. This is
usually after I have copied or moved files from the drive to the hard
drive. Simply removing the USB drives does not seem to cause problems
(so far) but I prefer not to take the risk.

Secondly, something similar sometimes happens on the hard drive. After
moving files from one directory to another, I cannot delete the empty
directory unless I reboot. Again I get the message that files in the
(now empty) directory are still in use.

The problem is more of a nuisance than anything else, but I would like
to fix it.

Any suggestions?

Dave

 

[AJR]

Regarding the USB drive - there should be an icon on the task bar titled
"safely remove hardware" -

 

[Dave]

There is,
but when I click on it it says the drive is still in use and to close
any programs that are open and try again (or something similar). Trouble
is, nothing is using the files (I make sure all programs are shut down)

Dave

 

[Enkidu]

Dave,

There is one thing that you could check. If you are, as is usual,
deleting files in Windows Explorer, you probably have the directory open
to delete them. You probably have the 'folders view' open on the left.

If you delete all the files on the right hand pane and then try to
delete the *folder* from the 'folders view' it will not work, because
you have the empty directory open in the right hand pane.

If you click on the folder's containing folder in the 'folders view'
then the folder that you want to delete will appear (closed) in the
right hand pane. You should be able to delete it from there, assuming
that I've guessed right.

Similarly, if the USB drive is open in the right hand pane of explorer
you will not be able to eject it. Click on another drive, then try to
eject the drive.

Of course, I'm only guessing....

Cheers,

Cliff