"Windows can't stop your Generic volume device because it is in use..."

You've closed everything that could have it open, and you still get this message when trying to remove it.

Easiest solution:

From task manager (or process explorer), kill explorer.exe.

Your systray and start menu will go away..

From task manager (or process explorer), run explorer.exe.

It should come back, plus all the little widgets in the systray.

Or most of them.. most of the important ones.

Now selecting the 'safely remove device' should work.

If it doesn't... more solutions after I encounter this next.

update September 2010:
This is one of my most popular posts. Since I am now using a Mac, I haven't had this problem. (Sure, a Mac costs more, but consider how much time you spend annoyed, or dealing with windows popups, virus, malware, and trojan removal... windows really costs more of your time and is less productive.)

Did the above 'kill explorer' trick work for you?
Is Windows 7 better about this?
If so (or not), leave a comment... thx.