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I downloaded Win32DiskImager from SourceForge, as was recommended in some Linux installation instruction (coming from Windows). The installer runs successfully and the program is installed into C:\Program Files (x86) as expected. When launching the program Windows prompts me to accept that this program can make changes, I accept and nothing happens. No service or process launches in Task Manger.

kltft
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It turns out that mounted drives can cause issues with Win32DiskImager. In my case Google Drive had mounted itself on the file system. Quitting Google Drive unmounted the drive it had mounted and then Win32DiskImager launched without issue! I also had a Linux ISO mounted (I believe Windows did this automatically after download, which seems odd) and had unmounted that as well before re-launching Win32DiskImager.

kltft
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    This costed me so much frustration, thanks! – Norbert Huurnink Dec 18 '20 at 16:25
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    This fixed it for me, too; it was Google Drive. Thanks! – Suchipi Sep 14 '21 at 20:15
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    Wow! Thank you so much! Google Drive was the problem – Dorin Sep 29 '21 at 09:05
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    For me it was VeraCrypt container. Thanks for this tip! – Mark Nov 07 '21 at 13:07
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    VeryCrypt container as well for me, thanks a lot! – sonatique Nov 11 '21 at 13:05
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    damned GoogleDriver :D – W.Andre Dec 23 '21 at 15:30
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    Personally I had ImDisk Virtual Disk to blame. Thanks for the tip! – David Refoua Apr 23 '22 at 10:58
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    Unfortunately the topic is closed. I had the same issue, but could not find/unmount the device. I assume it's because of bitlocker, I had the same situation with veracrypt in the past. v1.0.0 of Win32 Disk Imager won't show up, therefore I tried v0.9.5. The older version throws two error messages, then shows up and I can flash the usb stick. – scotty86 May 23 '22 at 17:35
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    thanks you so much. this is one most strange behaviour that see – Domenico Monaco Jun 29 '22 at 07:31
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    Yep. That did it. – TekBoss Jul 15 '22 at 20:03
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    This is also caused by mounted VeraCrypt drives. Unmount all drives and you should be able to start Win32DiskImager. Tobin Davis has analyzed but not fixed this bug since August 2018 (https://bugs.launchpad.net/win32-image-writer/+bug/1672552). Four years ago; it seems this bug will remain. – chr15t0ph Aug 19 '22 at 11:40
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    Well, this question is definitely about a software tool and the answer saved me lot of time and frustration. Definitely an issue when backing up Raspberry images with Windows 10. – jausen brett Sep 03 '22 at 13:34
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    killing Google Drive worked but why? – Cris Oct 02 '22 at 03:20
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    lol and it is working again. I thought the program was starting in the background and a h4ck3r is watching me... But it was just the google drive – D_Dog Oct 20 '22 at 13:43