How Can I Detect USB Drive Insertion and Removal in a C# Windows Service?

C# and Windows Services: Monitoring USB Drive Connections

Automating application startup and shutdown based on USB drive insertion and removal is valuable for distributed systems. This article explores efficient methods for achieving this functionality within a C# Windows Service.

C# Implementation Strategies

A robust solution utilizes Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI), a powerful tool for system monitoring and event management. WMI allows querying for events related to device changes. A concise C# WMI example:

using System.Management;

ManagementEventWatcher watcher = new ManagementEventWatcher();
WqlEventQuery query = new WqlEventQuery("SELECT * FROM Win32_VolumeChangeEvent WHERE EventType = 2");
watcher.EventArrived += new EventArrivedEventHandler(watcher_EventArrived);
watcher.Query = query;
watcher.Start();
watcher.WaitForNextEvent();

The EventArrived event handler is triggered on USB insertion or removal, providing details about the event and the affected drive. This WMI approach is significantly more reliable than using WndProc within a service context.

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