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Asked: 2024-09-27T05:33:32+05:30 In:

How can I unmount a filesystem in Ubuntu if I encounter a “target is busy” error? What steps can I take to identify and resolve the issue to successfully unmount the drive?

I need some help with something that’s been driving me a bit crazy while I’m working on my Ubuntu machine. I was trying to unmount a USB drive after copying some files onto it, but every time I go for it, I get this pesky “target is busy” error. It’s super frustrating because I’m not really sure what’s keeping it busy in the first place!

I’ve tried to close all the programs I think might be using the drive, but no luck. I even checked if any terminal sessions were open in that directory, but still, it won’t budge. Is there something obvious that I’m missing? I know Ubuntu has some commands that can help figure out what’s holding things up, but honestly, I’m a bit lost on how to use them efficiently.

I come across a few commands that seem like they might help, like `lsof` and `fuser`, but I’m not totally comfortable with those. How do you even read the output? And what are the steps to take to safely close out whatever’s locking the filesystem? I’ve heard that sometimes you can use the `kill` command on certain processes, but I’d rather not accidentally terminate something important.

I’ve also read that sometimes just being in the directory of the mounted filesystem can cause issues, but it seems weird that it would prevent me from unmounting it. Is there a way to identify that and step out of it before I attempt to unmount again?

If anyone’s been in the same boat or has any tips on how to tackle this, I would really appreciate any insights you might have. It would save me a lot of headache to figure out this unmounting thing without having to reboot my computer every time! Thanks in advance for any help!

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    2 Answers



    1. USB Unmounting Help


      Help with Unmounting USB Drive in Ubuntu

      It sounds super frustrating when that “target is busy” error pops up! Here’s a few steps and commands you can try to figure out what’s keeping your USB drive busy:

      1. Check for Open Files

      First, try using the lsof command to see what files are open on that USB drive:

      lsof /media/your-usb-mount-point

      Replace /media/your-usb-mount-point with the actual path where your USB is mounted (like /media/usb or something). This will show you any processes that are using files on the drive.

      2. Identify Processes with fuser

      You can also use fuser to find out which processes are accessing the USB:

      fuser -m /media/your-usb-mount-point

      This will give you the PID (Process ID) of the processes using the filesystem. You can look them up with ps command:

      ps -p PID

      3. Exit Any Terminal Sessions

      Make sure you are not in the USB drive’s directory in any terminal. You can check with pwd to see your current directory, and just use cd .. to go up one level if you are.

      4. Closing Processes

      If you find a process that you can safely close, you can kill it by using the kill command:

      kill PID

      If it’s stubborn, you might use kill -9 PID, but be careful with that, as it forces the process to close.

      5. Final Attempt to Unmount

      After you’ve closed any processes, try unmounting again:

      umount /media/your-usb-mount-point

      6. If All Else Fails

      If nothing works, and it’s a real headache, sometimes a restart is the only option. But we all want to avoid that!

      Hope this helps you get your USB unmounted without too much hassle!



    2. To resolve the “target is busy” error when attempting to unmount a USB drive on your Ubuntu machine, you can use the `lsof` and `fuser` commands to identify what processes are using the drive. You can run `lsof /path/to/your/usb` (replace with the actual mount point) to get a list of open files and processes using that specific directory. The output will include a PID (process ID) that you can reference. Alternatively, using `fuser -m /path/to/your/usb` will directly list the PIDs of processes accessing the USB. It’s essential to run these commands with appropriate permissions (using `sudo` if necessary), as that often reveals more data. Once you identify the culprit processes, check the applications that are running or any terminal sessions that may still be in the directory.

      In cases where you need to terminate a process locking the USB, you can use the `kill` command alongside the PID obtained from the previous commands. For example, `kill ` will terminate the process, while `kill -9 ` forcefully kills it if the process does not respond. Be cautious with this, as it can close important applications unexpectedly. To prevent being in the mounted directory, navigate away from it by changing your working directory—use `cd` to move to a different directory (like your home directory) before running the unmount command: `umount /path/to/your/usb`. This approach minimizes issues related to your shell being in the mounted filesystem. Following these steps should help you safely unmount your USB drive without the need for a system reboot.


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