I've seen that happen a lot. Many times, if you use an external drive in any way (writing to, reading from, saving to, opening from) that is connected to a program that you are using, as long as that program is open, it is associated with it and may not release until you shut down the program.
About all you can do is close the program. Sometimes, there may even be something associated with a program running in the background that won't let it release. I just do a "Ctrl", "Alt", "Del" and see if I can find what's holding it up.

Kapt.Krunch

Kapt.Krunch wrote: About all you can do is close the program. Sometimes, there may even be something associated with a program running in the background that won't let it release. I just do a "Ctrl", "Alt", "Del" and see if I can find what's holding it up.

Kapt.Krunch

STOP NOW, DONT CTRL ALT DEL..............

Open workspace in Protools, check the drive you want to unmount, click the upper left logo, which will drop down, then click unmount.
It is a function of databasing.
New drives will auto mount.

DANJOSE, you need to read the manual before proceeding with Protools.

KAPTKRUNCH, you need to withold advise unlees you are fully versed in that program.

Good save TVpost! 8-)

Perhaps he thought it was a PC that was in question. It certainly wouldn't hurt anything in a PC to hit those three keys (once, NOT twice) to see what's on and running under the hood. Since I don't use PTs, I wasn't going to answer the question, although it did intrigue me...

On one of my older PC systems, I occasionlly have a problem with a DVD/CDr drive that occasionally won't open, no matter what I do. I have an old program called: "DVD DeCrypter" that has a seemingly infallible "Drive open/Drive Close" command. (You may still be able to find it on a rogue website somewhere, but it's officially out of biz now, sorry to say. Not sure if it did Macs; my version is PC.)

Whenever I have a stuck disc, I launch this little application and use the disc eject command. It has never let me down, no matter what the problem. (Whoever wrote the code for that thing must surely know the secret in WinXP's program to get right to the heart of the matter....)

If I knew more about the program (or if its programmers were still out there to chat with), I'd make it a point to find out what piece of the WINXP code they use to trigger the open/close mechanism on DVD/CD drives.

Sorry to hijack the thread; I know it probably doesn't help any stuck PT sessions, but it's a clue, perhaps...

External drives can not be unmounted via the OS while Protools is running.

What I suggested is not a workaround, but the rule.

Protools will unmount the drive instead of the OS while it is active.

:oops: Redfaced.

You are correct. I assumed it was a PC, but I didn't even know if it was a MAC or a PC. In my early morning one-cup mode, I just associated it with the same problem I have seen numerous times on PCs that wouldn't release a drive. Heck, I'm not sure "Pro Tools" even registered to me. And since my externals are just for backup, it really never occured to me not to backup, close the program, and then remove the drive, anyway.

I apologize for answering before all the facts were known. Still, a PC will sometimes do that, and closing a program that has been using it may release it, and sometimes you MAY have to close down something in Task Manager. I see that happen a lot where I work. "It says something is still USING it!"

Kapt.Krunch