diff --git a/scripts/stop-mhvtl.sh b/scripts/stop-mhvtl.sh
index dfd2556..c26834e 100755
--- a/scripts/stop-mhvtl.sh
+++ b/scripts/stop-mhvtl.sh
@@ -2,13 +2,30 @@
 
 echo "Stopping mhvtl Virtual Tape Library..."
 
+CONFIG_FILE="/etc/mhvtl/device.conf"
+
+# First try graceful shutdown using vtlcmd for each configured Drive
+if [ -f "$CONFIG_FILE" ] && command -v vtlcmd >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+	DRIVES=$(grep "^Drive:" "$CONFIG_FILE" | awk '{print $2}' | sort -u)
+	for d in $DRIVES; do
+		if pgrep -f "vtltape.*-q $d" >/dev/null; then
+			echo "Attempting graceful shutdown of vtltape (queue $d)..."
+			/usr/bin/vtlcmd $d exit || true
+		fi
+	done
+	# Give processes a few seconds to exit cleanly
+	sleep 3
+fi
+
+# Fallback: ensure vtllibrary and any remaining vtltape processes are killed
 killall vtllibrary 2>/dev/null || true
 killall vtltape 2>/dev/null || true
 
-sleep 2
+sleep 1
 
 rm -f /var/lock/mhvtl/mhvtl* 2>/dev/null || true
 
+# Try to remove kernel module if present
 rmmod mhvtl 2>/dev/null || true
 
 echo "mhvtl stopped successfully"