Mac Says the Disk Is In Use and Won't Eject? How to Fix It

You try to eject an external drive and macOS says the disk is in use and could not be ejected or the disk wasn’t ejected because one or more programs may be using it.

Why: An app — or a document still open from that drive — is holding the disk, so macOS won’t release it without risking data loss. Closing whatever is using the disk lets it eject cleanly.

Fix 1: Quit the app and close open files

1. Quit the apps that are using the disk (switch with Command-Tab, then Command-Q each one).
2. If you can’t quit an app, close the documents that are stored on the disk you want to eject.
3. Try to eject again — drag the disk to the Trash, click the eject icon next to it in the Finder sidebar, or select it and press Command-E.

Fix 2: Log out, then eject

If you can’t tell which app is holding the disk, log out to close everything at once.

1. Choose Apple menu > Log Out, then log back in.
2. Try to eject the disk again.

Fix 3: Shut down and disconnect

If logging out doesn’t help:

1. Choose Apple menu > Shut Down.
2. Once the Mac is off, disconnect the disk.
3. Restart your Mac.

FAQ

Which app is using my disk? Often it’s Spotlight indexing, a media app like Photos or Music, Preview with a file open, or Time Machine running a backup. Quitting those usually frees the disk.

Is it safe to just unplug it? No — unplugging a mounted disk can corrupt files or cause “disk not ejected properly.” Always eject first, or shut down and then disconnect (Fix 3).

Sources: Apple Support — If you can’t eject a disk on Mac because an app is using it · Apple Support — If you can’t eject a disk on Mac, try these solutions