If I can't eject my Kindle, what does it mean? (Also, new books not showing up)

HelenaJole · 10-11-2010, 12:05 AM

I transferred some books to my Kindle from Calibre and then when I tried ejecting the device it said "the device 'Generic volume' cannot be stopped right now. Try stopping the device again later." (I did close the Kindle's folder, and also closed down Calibre.)

I ended up shutting down the computer and unplugging the Kindle, but now the new books that I transferred aren't showing up. Could I have interrupted them mid-transfer? I did give it a few minutes, and they showed up in the Kindle folder, so I thought they were there okay.

Now when I look at the Kindle folder on the computer, in the "documents" folder I can see all the books I've added. The ones that I've done in Calibre have an author folder with the book inside. The new books are here, (and when I click on them they open up just fine in Kindle for PC) but they aren't showing up on the Kindle. Any idea what's up?

And now I can't eject it again.

ATDrake · 10-11-2010, 01:15 AM

Every time I haven't been able to eject my Kindle on my Mac, it's ended up being some sort of corrupted filesystem issue where I had to boot from another partition and run the Disk Utility to fix it (or on one occasion, back up the disk and wipe and reinstall the OS).

So perhaps you might want to run whatever system-checking utilities you have on Windows, just in case.

As for new books not showing up, I've heard that sometimes rebooting one's Kindle helps with that.

zoran · 10-11-2010, 01:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HelenaJole

I transferred some books to my Kindle from Calibre and then when I tried ejecting the device it said "the device 'Generic volume' cannot be stopped right now. Try stopping the device again later." (I did close the Kindle's folder, and also closed down Calibre.)
I ended up shutting down the computer and unplugging the Kindle, but now the new books that I transferred aren't showing up. Could I have interrupted them mid-transfer? I did give it a few minutes, and they showed up in the Kindle folder, so I thought they were there okay.
Now when I look at the Kindle folder on the computer, in the "documents" folder I can see all the books I've added. The ones that I've done in Calibre have an author folder with the book inside. The new books are here, (and when I click on them they open up just fine in Kindle for PC) but they aren't showing up on the Kindle. Any idea what's up?
And now I can't eject it again.

What operating system do you use? Anyway, seems that you have to wait a
bit for something to finish. All processes that read/write/index from/to reader
would complain. For unix, you have to explicitly umount the device. Regarding
how many books you transferred, let some time to pass for indexing sake.
I'm not sure for windows, but process manager might help. Try to find the
process up and running when you think it's down. Garbage collection is the
other point of failure that comes to mind. Last, computer memory that fails
could give you all kinds of complains and errors.

FF2 · 10-11-2010, 02:03 AM

While I can't recall it, there is a refresh key combination that will "re-read" the kindle's books. Maybe this will trigger someone else posting the combo.

zoran · 10-11-2010, 02:09 AM

Another option is that usb adapter has no sufficient power. Adapters
on the front are known to be like that. Try out one on the back.

church mouse · 10-11-2010, 04:47 AM

I posted this issue in the Calibre form on this site a week ago, as it definitely seems to be linked with using Calibre and a K3 on my Mac - it just will not eject after transfer, saying that the application is still in use.

I'm sorry, but I got no replies to my post.

pchrist7 · 10-11-2010, 05:27 AM

I think you should try to use your OS eject in stead of Calibre eject !
So in your explorer/filemanager/whatever, right click your Kindle and choose eject.
I've no problems if I use Windows Vista "eject " ( NOT the USB savely remote ... )
Calibre "Eject Device" dosn't work for me either.
Hope this helps,
Cheers

zoran · 10-11-2010, 05:36 AM

Mac is unix. So, after closing Calibre down, umount /dev/whatever
should be fine. If it complains about something using it, try to see
it in "top". Or "ps auxc | grep <username>".

curstpriest · 10-11-2010, 05:58 AM

Kindle uses FAT file system, and if you just so happen to unplug it while a write is in progress or you use a really long/underpowered USB cable, the system will mess up and the system will have a heart attack. This will also damage the filesystem. If that is the case, repair the directory structure, and you should be good to go. You could try deleting everything (some files are marked hidden flag -msdos) or formatting the disk (shouldn't hurt it, not sure, firmware is probably stored on another partition/hidden partition)

On windows, right click the drive, go to properties, tools, error checking
In linux/mac you use fsck.vfat (dosfsck) and the partition path

HelenaJole · 10-11-2010, 11:54 AM

Well, for some reason it decided to let me eject, and then I ended up deleting and re-loading the new files, and that seemed to do it. Still not sure what the problem was!

Thanks, everybody!

susan_cassidy · 10-11-2010, 01:27 PM

You need to not be "in" the Kindle directory, or that will count as the directory being busy. So, if you were displaying the files, it could tie up some process as using those files.

TomF · 10-12-2010, 12:36 AM

Sometimes this happens to me and there's after I've closed every thing and there's nothing open that would possibly be keeping the Kindle from ejecting, but I still get this message so I just pull the cord anyway. Sometimes your PC just gets confused. (That's a technical term. I'm a career IT guy. For several decades.)

desertgrandma · 10-12-2010, 01:04 AM

Okay......I"m sure everyone here realizes this but I"m going to post it "just in case" Ejecting the K3 is different for different systems....here is the info from your users guide....

"To eject Kindle from your computer, follow these steps:
•Windows Vista and Windows 7: Click on the Start button, select "Computer" from the options, right-click on the Kindle drive icon and select "Eject" from the pop-up menu.
•Windows XP: Click on the "Safely remove hardware" icon in the lower right-hand corner of the task bar and follow the on-screen instructions to eject Kindle.
•Mac OS X: Ctrl-click on the Kindle device icon and choose "Eject.""

10-11-2010, 12:05 AM	#1
HelenaJole Connoisseur Posts: 88 Karma: 580 Join Date: Aug 2010 Device: Kindle 3	If I can't eject my Kindle, what does it mean? (Also, new books not showing up) I transferred some books to my Kindle from Calibre and then when I tried ejecting the device it said "the device 'Generic volume' cannot be stopped right now. Try stopping the device again later." (I did close the Kindle's folder, and also closed down Calibre.) I ended up shutting down the computer and unplugging the Kindle, but now the new books that I transferred aren't showing up. Could I have interrupted them mid-transfer? I did give it a few minutes, and they showed up in the Kindle folder, so I thought they were there okay. Now when I look at the Kindle folder on the computer, in the "documents" folder I can see all the books I've added. The ones that I've done in Calibre have an author folder with the book inside. The new books are here, (and when I click on them they open up just fine in Kindle for PC) but they aren't showing up on the Kindle. Any idea what's up? And now I can't eject it again.

10-11-2010, 05:58 AM	#9
curstpriest Confused Posts: 402 Karma: 5538 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Bay Area Device: Kindle DXG	Kindle uses FAT file system, and if you just so happen to unplug it while a write is in progress or you use a really long/underpowered USB cable, the system will mess up and the system will have a heart attack. This will also damage the filesystem. If that is the case, repair the directory structure, and you should be good to go. You could try deleting everything (some files are marked hidden flag -msdos) or formatting the disk (shouldn't hurt it, not sure, firmware is probably stored on another partition/hidden partition) On windows, right click the drive, go to properties, tools, error checking In linux/mac you use fsck.vfat (dosfsck) and the partition path Last edited by curstpriest; 10-11-2010 at 06:01 AM.

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10-11-2010, 01:15 AM	#2
ATDrake Wizzard Posts: 11,517 Karma: 33048258 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Roundworld Device: Kindle 2 International, Sony PRS-T1, BlackBerry PlayBook, Acer Iconia	Every time I haven't been able to eject my Kindle on my Mac, it's ended up being some sort of corrupted filesystem issue where I had to boot from another partition and run the Disk Utility to fix it (or on one occasion, back up the disk and wipe and reinstall the OS). So perhaps you might want to run whatever system-checking utilities you have on Windows, just in case. As for new books not showing up, I've heard that sometimes rebooting one's Kindle helps with that.

10-11-2010, 02:03 AM	#4
FF2 Wizard Posts: 1,105 Karma: 1025784 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: WiFi Kindle3	While I can't recall it, there is a refresh key combination that will "re-read" the kindle's books. Maybe this will trigger someone else posting the combo.

10-11-2010, 02:09 AM	#5
zoran himself Posts: 577 Karma: 11226 Join Date: May 2010 Device: Kobo	Another option is that usb adapter has no sufficient power. Adapters on the front are known to be like that. Try out one on the back.

10-11-2010, 04:47 AM	#6
church mouse Evangelist Posts: 494 Karma: 5277078 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: UK Device: Kobo Clara HD, Boox Poke 2, PocketBook Verse Pro (634)	I posted this issue in the Calibre form on this site a week ago, as it definitely seems to be linked with using Calibre and a K3 on my Mac - it just will not eject after transfer, saying that the application is still in use. I'm sorry, but I got no replies to my post.

10-11-2010, 05:27 AM	#7
pchrist7 Addict Posts: 385 Karma: 6514 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Denmark Device: Kindle 3 3G+Wifi, Oasis	I think you should try to use your OS eject in stead of Calibre eject ! So in your explorer/filemanager/whatever, right click your Kindle and choose eject. I've no problems if I use Windows Vista "eject " ( NOT the USB savely remote ... ) Calibre "Eject Device" dosn't work for me either. Hope this helps, Cheers

10-11-2010, 05:36 AM	#8
zoran himself Posts: 577 Karma: 11226 Join Date: May 2010 Device: Kobo	Mac is unix. So, after closing Calibre down, umount /dev/whatever should be fine. If it complains about something using it, try to see it in "top". Or "ps auxc \| grep <username>".

10-11-2010, 11:54 AM	#10
HelenaJole Connoisseur Posts: 88 Karma: 580 Join Date: Aug 2010 Device: Kindle 3	Well, for some reason it decided to let me eject, and then I ended up deleting and re-loading the new files, and that seemed to do it. Still not sure what the problem was! Thanks, everybody!

10-11-2010, 01:27 PM	#11
susan_cassidy Wizard Posts: 2,251 Karma: 3720310 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: USA Device: Kindle, iPad (not used much for reading)	You need to not be "in" the Kindle directory, or that will count as the directory being busy. So, if you were displaying the files, it could tie up some process as using those files.

10-12-2010, 12:36 AM	#12
TomF Kindle Enthusiast Posts: 243 Karma: 1818 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: San Diego, CA Device: Kindle 3G Graphite, Kindle Fire	Sometimes this happens to me and there's after I've closed every thing and there's nothing open that would possibly be keeping the Kindle from ejecting, but I still get this message so I just pull the cord anyway. Sometimes your PC just gets confused. (That's a technical term. I'm a career IT guy. For several decades.)

10-12-2010, 01:04 AM	#13
desertgrandma Enjoying the show.... Posts: 14,270 Karma: 10462843 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Arizona Device: A K1, Kindle Paperwhite, an Ipod, IPad2, Iphone, an Ipad Mini & macAir	Okay......I"m sure everyone here realizes this but I"m going to post it "just in case" Ejecting the K3 is different for different systems....here is the info from your users guide.... "To eject Kindle from your computer, follow these steps: •Windows Vista and Windows 7: Click on the Start button, select "Computer" from the options, right-click on the Kindle drive icon and select "Eject" from the pop-up menu. •Windows XP: Click on the "Safely remove hardware" icon in the lower right-hand corner of the task bar and follow the on-screen instructions to eject Kindle. •Mac OS X: Ctrl-click on the Kindle device icon and choose "Eject.""