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jonbrave
July 13, 2021
Question

QBCFMonitorService locks external USB drive

  • July 13, 2021
  • 1 reply
  • 0 views

Windows 10 QB Desktop Premier 2020 user.

 

I have an external USB drive, mapped to a drive letter.  Not used for anything QuickBooks.  Now that I run QB Desktop (since recently) I can no longer eject this USB drive, probably any time after reboot once I have run QB.  I get Windows error "a program is using this device, go close it".

 

I used Task Manager and Event Viewer to discover that it is the QB Windows service "QBCFMonitorService" which is holding this drive open.  I killed the process and, lo and behold, I can now eject the drive.  This is very irritating!

 

Please remember, I have exited QB Desktop, and neither QB data nor executable resides on this drive.

 

1. Does anyone know what I can do to prevent this locking/holding open of whatever on an unrelated drive?

 

2. I have done a good Google and there is no information about *precisely* what "QBCFMonitorService" actually does/is for.  I am looking for more detail then the service description of "Quickbooks Company File Monitoring Service"!

 

1 reply

E
Ethel_A12
July 13, 2021

Welcome to the Community, @jonbrave.

 

Let me share with you some insights about using an external USB drive in QuickBooks Desktop.

 

This problem occurs when your data is currently stored on a removable drive or online. I'd recommend moving your company files to your local hard drive before opening QuickBooks to avoid the same issue.

 

These are important best practices:

 

  • Practice storing QuickBooks files, including your company file, on your server computer’s hard drive. It is convenient to use online file hosting services like Dropbox, Google Drive, and Box.net, but they can cause issues.
  • Never store files on removable or external drives. External hard drives, USB flash drives, and Network Attached Storage [NAS] devices aren’t designed to run QuickBooks or multi-user networks.
  • Don’t encrypt your QuickBooks files or the hard drive storing them. This can block your multi-user network connection.

 

I'd also recommend checking on how to fix QuickBooks Desktop install errors.

 

Get back to me if you have any additional questions about using an external USB drive. I'm just a post away.

J
jonbraveAuthor
July 13, 2021

Thank you for replying.

 

However this is a stock answer which does not apply to my situation, as I described in my post.

 

I have made clear that the removal USB drive has nothing to do with Quickbooks.  It's just a drive used for other purposes.  It has no data or executables or configuration files related to my use of QB Desktop.

 

That is the point of the question.  Why is QBCFMonitorService choosing to keep something open on that drive, and can I stop it doing so?

DivinaMercy_N
DivinaMercy_N
July 13, 2021

Thanks for getting back here, @jonbrave.

 

Let's take a few troubleshooting steps to help you eject your external USB drive seamlessly so you can get back to working order.

 

To isolate the issue, you can create a Windows firewall exception for QBCFMonitorService.exe. This will help ensure processes for multi-users won't intervene with other computer tasks. Here's how:

 

  1. Click the Windows Start menu.
  2. Type "Windows Firewall" into the search and open Windows Firewall.
  3. Click Advanced Settings.
  4. Right-click Inbound Rules (later on, you'll create Outbound Rules). Then, choose New Rule.
  5. Click Program and then Next.
  6. Select This Program Path and then Browse.
  7. Find and select one of the executable files on the chart above. Then click Next.
  8. Select Allow the Connection and then Next.
  9. If prompted, make sure all profiles are marked. Select Next.
  10. Create a rule. Give it a name like "QBFirewallException(name.exe)." or QBFirewallExceptionQBCFMonitorService.exe.

 

For more info about the process, please head to the Create Windows firewall exceptions for QuickBooks programs section of this article: Set up firewall and security settings for QuickBooks Desktop.

 

If you're using an antivirus program, I recommend reaching out to their support team for guidance on how to create exceptions. 

 

Also, to further help you do any of your QuickBooks tasks, you can always reach out to our Technical support team. 

 

Feel free to post a comment below, if you have additional concerns about QBCFMonitorService locking your external USB drive. I'll be always around to lend you a hand. Have a good one.

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