Dismounts a volume.

To perform this operation, call the DeviceIoControl function with the following parameters.

DeviceIoControl( hDevice,               // handle to volume
                 FSCTL_DISMOUNT_VOLUME, // dwIoControlCode 
                 NULL,                  // lpInBuffer 
                 0,                     // nInBufferSize 
                 NULL,                  // lpOutBuffer 
                 0,                     // nOutBufferSize 
                 lpBytesReturned,       // number of bytes returned
                 lpOverlapped );        // OVERLAPPED structure

Parameters

hDevice

A handle to the volume to be dismounted.

To retrieve a handle, call the CreateFile function.

dwIoControlCode

The control code for the operation.

Use FSCTL_DISMOUNT_VOLUME for this operation.

lpInBuffer

Not used with this operation.

Set to NULL.

nInBufferSize

Not used with this operation.

Set to zero (0).

lpOutBuffer

Not used with this operation.

Set to NULL.

nOutBufferSize

Not used with this operation.

Set to zero (0).

lpBytesReturned

A pointer to a variable that receives the size of the data that is stored in the output buffer, in bytes.

If lpOverlapped is NULL, lpBytesReturned cannot be NULL. Even when an operation returns no output data and lpOutBuffer is NULL, DeviceIoControl uses lpBytesReturned, which makes the value of lpBytesReturned meaningless.

If lpOverlapped is not NULL, lpBytesReturned can be NULL. If this parameter is not NULL and the operation returns data, lpBytesReturned is meaningless until the overlapped operation is complete. To retrieve the number of bytes returned, call GetOverlappedResult.

If hDevice is associated with an I/O completion port, you can retrieve the number of bytes returned by calling GetQueuedCompletionStatus.

lpOverlapped

A pointer to an OVERLAPPED structure.

If hDevice is opened without specifying FILE_FLAG_OVERLAPPED, lpOverlapped is ignored.

If hDevice is opened with the FILE_FLAG_OVERLAPPED flag, the operation is performed as an overlapped (asynchronous) operation, and lpOverlapped must point to a valid OVERLAPPED structure that contains a handle to an event object. Otherwise, the function fails in unpredictable ways.

For overlapped operations, DeviceIoControl returns immediately, and the event object is signaled when the operation has been completed. Otherwise, the function does not return until the operation has been completed or an error occurs.

Return Value

If the operation completes successfully, DeviceIoControl returns a nonzero value.

If the operation fails or is pending, DeviceIoControl returns zero (0). To get extended error information, call GetLastError.

Remarks

The hDevice handle passed to DeviceIoControl must be a handle to a volume, opened for direct access. To retrieve a volume handle, call CreateFile with the lpFileName parameter set to a string of the following form:

\\.\X:

where X is a hard-drive partition letter, floppy disk drive, or CD-ROM drive. The application must also specify the FILE_SHARE_READ and FILE_SHARE_WRITE flags in the dwShareMode parameter of CreateFile.

If the specified volume is locked by another process, the operation fails. To prevent another process from locking the volume, lock it as soon as you open it.

A dismounted volume has the following properties:

• There are no open files.
• The operating system does detect the volume.

The operating system tries to mount an unmounted volume as soon as an attempt is made to access it. For example, a call to GetLogicalDrives triggers the operating system to mount unmounted volumes.

Dismounting a volume is useful when a volume needs to disappear for a while. For example, an application that changes a volume file system from the FAT file system to the NTFS file system might use the following procedure.

To change a volume file system

1. Open a volume.
2. Lock the volume.
3. Format the volume.
4. Dismount the volume.
5. Unlock the volume.
6. Close the volume handle.

A dismounting operation removes the volume from the FAT file system awareness. When the operating system mounts the volume, it appears as an NTFS file system volume.

Requirements

See Also

CreateFile

DeviceIoControl

ExitThread

GetLogicalDrives

Volume Management Control Codes

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Build date: 11/12/2009