Here is the link to download USB Disk Ejector: http://quick.mixnmojo.com/usb-disk-ejector

To stay on the safe side, always perform a security scan on internet downloads before opening them.

This is a .zip file, so you will open the application from your .zip software. It is not necessary to open the HTML document unless you simply want to do so. Double click the application.

After opening the application, it should look like this:

For this demonstration, we will focus on removing a compact Flash drive. As you scroll down the list of options, you will see that you can also work with xD, SD/MMC, MS/MS, Pro/HG, and Micro SD drives as well. You can use the utility without creating a hotkey or shortcut by highlighting the drive and pressing enter or double-clicking it.

In this example, the user wants to eject a USB Flash Memory stick from drive (K:). Highlight the drive then press enter and it is done.

To operate this from the keyboard, you can use the utility from a command line. This will allow you to pass parameters and identify which drive to eject.

Begin by passing in the /? Parameter. This will show the help dialog:

• /? Displays this message
• /SILENT Stops balloon messages from appearing when the program is run in GUI mode
• /SHOWEJECT Shows the standard now safe to remove message when a drive is ejected. This message is disabled by default
• /REMOVETHIS Ejects the drive that the program is running from. Eg if the program is run from a usb stick on drive G, then drive G would be ejected
• /REMOVELETTER Ejects the specified drive letter
• /REMOVENAME Ejects the drive with the specified name. Partial name matching is possible if a wildcard (*) is used. Eg /REMOVENAME *SANDISK would eject a drive that had sandisk in its name

These are the command line options. Test them out. The Drive in this example is Drive (K:), so the syntax used in the command line is as follows:

usb_disk_eject /removeletter K

The command line used depends on the name of the disk sometimes, so you may need to include variations of the disk name in the command line or you will receive error messages.

Creating a Shortcut

Right-click on the desktop and then select New > Shortcut. In this location box, enter the full pathway for the USB Disk Eject application file.

Click Next and assign a name to the shortcut and this will create an icon that can be kept on the desktop for easy ejection of a given drive. You can do this with any USB drive.

To create a Hotkey to the Shortcut: Right-click on the icon and open Properties. You can do this with any Shortcut, by the way. It all works the same.

Click Apply and it is done. Here, F12 is used as the hotkey, but you may choose any key or combination of keys. In Windows Vista, you can add the shortcut to the quick launch bar and use the built-in hotkey option.

It is a confusing error message, considering that the device is a hard drive, and not a drive where a disk can be inserted. There are however a few things that users can do to troubleshoot the issue.

Drive Letter Conflict

A drive letter conflict occurs if the disk that is affected by the error is mapped to a reserved drive letter. That’s probably the easiest to resolve, as it can be resolved by changing the drive letter of the affected drive.

• Type computer management in the start search box and hit Enter. You can alternatively click on the Start Menu orb, then Control Panel > System and Security > Administrative Tools > Computer Management. Please note that the path is valid for Windows 7, and may differ for other operating systems.
• Click Disk Management.
• Right-click the partition, logical drive, or volume that you want to change, and then click Change Drive Letter and Paths.
• Click the removable drive, click Change, click the drive letter that you want to use, and then click OK. Make sure you map a drive letter that is not in use, preferably x,y,z. If that works you can still change it to another drive letter easily.

You may also want to try plugging it into another free port if available.

Software

Transcend JetFlash Online Recovery is a free software program to fix the insert a disk into drive error in Windows. Please note that this drive has been designed for Trascend removable drives. It appears to be working with other drives as well, but there is no guarantee for that. Before you use the software, try finding a comparable software from your device manufacturer. Many happen to have recovery software for this problem available. You may also want to consider contacting the manufacturer’s support first.

Visit the site and download the RecoverISP tool. Please note that you need to supply an email address before you can download the software. The program is compatible with all Microsoft operating systems from Windows 2000 to Windows 7.

Once downloaded plug the removable drive in the computer and start RecoverISP. It is a portable tool that requires no installation. The software scans the removable drive and displays that the ISP is ok or broken.

Press the OK button. If broken was shown a new window appears. A pulldown menu is available in that window. Make sure the right device is selected before starting the repair with a click on the Start Fix button.

Press ok on the next screen to confirm the procedure. The program displays a report in the end detailing whether the fix was successful or not.

Unplug your drive, and plug it in again to see if the fix has resolved the issue. If it did, the error please insert a disk into drive should not appear anymore when accessing the drive in Windows Explorer. The software has been designed to preserve the data on the removable drive. Still, it may be a good idea to backup the data before you proceed with the repairs.

Super Stick Recovery Tool

This tool is not available anymore on a company website. I have downloaded it from Megaupload and checked it at Virustotal. No antivirus engine used at the site reported a hit. I have uploaded the program to Ghacks for a more reliable hosting option. Download Super Stick Recovery Tool 1.0.2.19 from this location and unpack it once it has been downloaded. Please note that this tool will erase all data on the drive, use it as a last resort or if no or only unimportant data is on the drive.

Run the tool as administrator while the removable drive is plugged in. It may take a few minutes before the process completes.

Formatting, Partitioning

Formatting the drive may or may not work depending on the type of error. Some users may get the error “There is no disk in drive. Insert a disk, and then try again.” when trying to format the drive. That’s usually the case if you look at the drive properties and notice that it reports a capacity of 0 Megabytes (in Device Manager > Disk Drives > Right-click, properties > Volumes.

Use GreyGrue has another solution:

Open Command Prompt with admin rights.
*Type cmd in Start menu search box and hit Ctrl+ Shift+ Enter.
Or
*Go to Start menu > All programs > Accessories, right click on Command Prompt and select Run as administrator.
As I was on an Admin account already I just hit Start key + R. Then type in cmd.

First type DISKPART and hit enter. You will see a text block saying version number. Takes a second depending on number of drives.

Next type LIST DISK command and note down the Disk number of your USB flash drive. it will be listed as disk 0, disk 1, and so on. My thumb drive was Disk 4 with my other four drives before it. You can also see the total size as well as free space for each drive. Here my Thumb drive was ** bytes, 0 Bytes free. While the windows manager displayed a 0 bytes, 0 free.

Replace the drive number “#” with the correct drive number for the following commands.

SELECT DISK #

CLEAN

CREATE PARTITION PRIMARY

SELECT PARTITION 1

ACTIVE

(here you put the file type you wish to format in to. NTFS, FAT32, FAT16. FAT32 is standard.)

FORMAT FS=NTFS

(Format process will take a few seconds)

ASSIGN

EXIT

Verdict

The Please Insert A Disk Into Drive error can have numerous causes and symptoms. That makes the troubleshooting and fixing problematic. As a rule of thumb: If no data is on the drive, or only unimportant data, then use the the formatting / erasing / partitioning option. If important data is on the drive, contact the drive manufacturer first, they sometimes have tools that they send out on request only.

Have you encountered this error message before? How did you fix the issue on your PC?

Some tests on the other hand – like the read stability test – will keep the existing data structure unharmed. Several different test modes are available including a full erase test. The test length can be selected as well ranging from one full cycle to a manual cycle selection, a burn it mode or until the first error has been found.

The application comes with several command line parameters that can be used to control the application from the command line or batch files. The parameters could be important if the removable drive is not properly identified by the software program. The /all switch will display all drives that are currently connected to the computer system making it easy to pick the removable devices that would not have been found otherwise.

Users should be aware though that the all parameter makes it possible to pick a hard drive for testing as well which can lead to data loss.

Check Flash is an excellent program to test the speeds of USB flashdrives. The program can be directly downloaded from the developers homepage and should run on most Windows operating systems.