Comments for Safely Remove Hardware: where did the icon go? How do I safely remove hardware without it?

Comment from Murray on 2009-01-02

2009-01-02T16:53:09Z

I looked for hours trying to find the Safe to Remove Device command since the icon had disappeared. Windows "Help" was no help - yours was immediate and it worked and I was able to install an icon per your instructions. Thanks

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Comment from rachel on 2008-12-28

2008-12-28T09:40:40Z

hi leo, i plugged out a thumb drive from my computer in desperation because i could not find the icon. now there is a pop out saying "access denied" when i try to use the thumbdrive agai. what should i do and why does this occur?

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Comment from Andy Voelkle on 2008-12-27

2008-12-28T07:33:51Z

I needed this, but it won't work; I get an error message saying the "RUNDLL" had an exception (MS BS for crapout) and then a second box saying "Run DLL as an app" didn't work. The USB port supports flash drives and mini hard drives AOK, but like most I'm reluctant to pull the plug. I have the "write behind" nonsense turned off. WIN XPP SP2. Any hints appreciated. I have a 1911 cocked and locked, but am reluctant to shoot the device off the port...

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Comment from LNA on 2008-12-21

2008-12-22T03:37:51Z

THIS FIX WAS AWESOME!
I do not know the cause of the problem, but as long as it works I am happy!
I am very excited that somebody would be so awesome as to write a helpful fix like this.
Thank you very much!

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Comment from Josh on 2008-12-10

2008-12-10T13:16:13Z

I just want to write and thank you for this information. It was exactly want I needed to help me with that disappearing “Safely Remove Hardware” icon. I am not computer literate by any means and I was able to get this done on my own. Once again thank you very much!!!

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Comment from Aaron on 2008-11-30

2008-12-01T06:49:46Z

I entered the code and the safely remove hardware dialog appeared, but my usb drive is not listed under the hardware list even though there is a usb storage device plugged in and it is absolutely working, pls do help me with this, thx leo

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Comment from Tony Burke on 2008-11-26

2008-11-26T17:02:59Z

Since my 'safely remove hardware' icon disappeared in Windows XP I have discovered that if I log off and on again - takes about 20 seconds in total - the icon reappears.

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Comment from payton on 2008-11-22

2008-11-23T02:24:56Z

Hi Leo I was given the following to hide the icon while keeping the hot-plug filter enabled. I'm assuming it is working as the icon is no longer there, but how can I find out if the hot-plug filter is truly still enabled? I'd just as soon not see the icon.

To Enable hot-plug filter but hide safe-remove icon ( i386 platform ):

Add and set registry: “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\xfilt\Parameter0”

To DWORD value “0x80000000”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To enable hot-plug filter and also shows safe-remove icon ( i386 platform ):

Add and set registry “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\xfilt\Parameter0”

To DWORD value “0x80000001”
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To Enable hot-plug filter but hide safe-remove icon ( x64 platform ):

Add and set registry: “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\xfiltx64\Parameter0”

To DWORD value “0x80000000”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To enable hot-plug filter and also shows safe-remove icon ( x64 platform ):

Add and set registry “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\xfiltx64\Parameter0”

To DWORD value “0x80000001”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To disable hot-plug filter, set “Parameter0” to zero value.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Comment from Jan Caloia on 2008-11-20

2008-11-21T04:25:35Z

I found your site and you succinctly answered my question and it worked. I'll be back with more questions, I'm sure. Thanks so much!

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Comment from Jon Moser on 2008-11-20

2008-11-20T21:16:39Z

Excellent easy to understand solution and workaround. Thanks, Leo!

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Comment from John Murrell on 2008-11-19

2008-11-19T14:36:53Z

For a finishing touch you can change the icon for your new shortcut to a larger version of the one missing from the toolbar.

Right click on the Icon, select properties and then select change Icom. From there you need to browse to the directory where 'hotplug.dll' lives usually in your windows/system32 folder. Then select 'hotplug.dll' and you should get a choice of 3 icons - one of these is the one used in the toolbar. Select this and close the dialog boxes and your shortcut should have the correct Icon.

I put mine on the bottom right of the desktop next to the toolbar.

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Comment from Steve on 2008-11-18

2008-11-19T06:51:18Z

I'm having problem with USB removing hardware. Everything goes normal, but after you do so, the hardware still powered ON. So physicaly it not STOP, coz it might efect on my hardware(portable hardisk). I have this problem on Vista Ultimate but not on my Windows XP (dual boot), please advise, thank you.

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Comment from Dave on 2008-11-18

2008-11-18T18:54:26Z

Wow! It worked perfectly. Icon is back. Thanks for the answer. This is an amazing site. Made me glad I had a problem so I could find it.

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Comment from PM on 2008-11-17

2008-11-18T02:40:42Z

Wow. I am glad I stumbled across this site. This is EXACTLY the kind of help I need. I was worried about losing info on my external hard drive by not having that safely remove icon to disconnect it. Can you help me lose weight too :-?
Thanks.

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Comment from adit on 2008-11-15

2008-11-16T05:47:59Z

thanks for the command. you really solved my problem..!!

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Comment from Saif on 2008-11-15

2008-11-16T02:33:05Z

Hi I have a Question please, I need help Leo.

When I plug my USB to the laptop I cannot see the contents of whats inside anymore.

All I see is Safely Remove HArdware.

When I go to My computer it says please insert a disk into removable disk (f) ???

Why cant I see the contents of my USB anymore thanks.

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Comment from Len B on 2008-11-14

2008-11-14T19:39:02Z

Simple clear explanation that did the job first time

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Comment from Bruce on 2008-11-08

2008-11-08T20:12:29Z

Thanks Leo, your advice worked like a charm. After I created the shortcut you recommended, the little green arrowed icon reappeared in my Sys. Tray. Now I only hole it stays there! Thanks.

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Comment from Ian Whyteside on 2008-11-04

2008-11-04T20:36:16Z

Once again Leo, thanks for some straightforward advice. Shame microsoft can't seem to do this, I went through Help & Support and the microsoft website and got nowhere. As usual I should have gone to you first!

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Comment from rita on 2008-10-31

2008-10-31T11:37:41Z

My "safely remove hardware" icon was disappear.
I've followed the tip and bring up "safely remove hardware" but there is no hardware on "Hardware Device" (there 's no "USB Mass Storage" on "Hardware Device"). So how???

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Comment from Shravan Chakravarty on 2008-10-28

2008-10-28T07:29:37Z

As when i opean my usb flash drive,harddrives,ipod etc in DOS COMMAND with "attrib"command i always find
these common files such as autorun.inf ,xih9.cmd,
regsvr.exe. so is it a virus so how to remove these and also formatting these drive doesnot remove these files.

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Comment from gwhiz1time205 on 2008-10-25

2008-10-25T20:20:40Z

Amzing after battling this missing icon for a week, I finally yielded and created a desktop shortcut per the above instructions; and WHEN I created the shortcut the icon rematerialized in my taskbar. I guess it felt it had pissed me enough.
But thank you for the guidance.

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Comment from nathan on 2008-10-21

2008-10-21T20:05:28Z

Your advice worked! I got the window to pop up, BUT the device I want to remove doesn't appear in the 'safely remove hardware'.
the USB device i am using is an MP3 Player and when i get frustrated and just unplug it, the player says no files... so i need this to work. Can you help?

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Comment from kev on 2008-10-20

2008-10-21T01:49:03Z

Best possible!
Also, for extra sex, you can assign a keyboard shortcut :) Although it sux it has to be Ctrl + Alt + somthing.. would be cool to have a Windows key shortcut!

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Comment from Woody on 2008-10-16

2008-10-16T16:53:30Z

My issue is when I click on safely remove hardware, I hear a beep, and the icon disappears, but the dialog box that iddicate it is now safe to remove (or NOT) never appears.

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Comment from Liverbird43 on 2008-10-06

2008-10-06T22:30:58Z

To Harold who posted ... "I have the opposite problem ... safely remove pops up and makes the sound randomly".

Harold you must have some sort of usb device either plugged in externally or internally on your pc .... anything externally check that it is firmly connected to the usb port.
Check your device manager before and after you hear the sound ... do you have a device showing that wasn't there earlier?

Some newer pc's use usb connection internally for built in card readers ... the connection may not be too good ??
Check in "my computer" or in vista known as "computer" if the card readers sometimes are not present.

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Comment from Laura Sawyer on 2008-09-30

2008-09-30T11:37:29Z

Thank you very much. Clearly stated and it worked! My icon did not come back but the shortcut is sitting pretty. Enjoy the latte!

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Comment from Robert S on 2008-09-27

2008-09-28T04:35:09Z

I have Windows XP Media Center Edition and my Safely Remove Hardware tray icon likes to magically reappear after I click Log Off at the Start button and then click my User icon to get back into Windows right away. Since the light on the card reader stays on during the Log Off/On cycle, once Windows is finished reloading, I can use the icon. What I don't like is that it the entire Media Center (where all those little card slots are in front) is then useless until a full Restart. Annoying, but a small price to pay to keep from possibly corrupting those expensive little cards!

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Comment from Ben Daby on 2008-09-27

2008-09-27T07:12:52Z

Thanks for the tip.I have had this problem for some time .I followed your advice and it worked.Great!!!Keep it up.

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Comment from Linda Welch on 2008-09-26

2008-09-26T19:52:38Z

This worked perfectly on the first try!..The tip on creating a desktop shortcut for this was very useful and much appreciated!...Thanks!

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Comment from Paul Scheinberg on 2008-09-21

2008-09-21T18:54:21Z

I was tranferring files to a SanDisk chip but feared removing till light extinguished. Followed your excellent advice to recover "safely remove hardware", stopped the drive & removed my media. Now the drive won't work and there's no "Drive H" under "my Computer". Did I kill it? Turn it off? Will it resuscitate with a reBoot? I guess that's what I'll do but I'll appreciate your ex[planation. Thanks!

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Comment from David Brandt on 2008-09-18

2008-09-18T16:11:26Z

Re: Safely Remove Hardware: where did the icon go?

Great solution, works for me, I've been stressing about that problem for weeks.

Is there a way to do that for the battery icon which gets us both the adjust power, and power meter panels?

At one point I was loosing the Dell Quick Set icon too but, some how I was able to add it to the quick launch panel but, I can't remember how I did it.

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Comment from Mohammad on 2008-09-14

2008-09-14T10:22:31Z

Thank you for this great tip.

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Comment from Douglas McClure on 2008-09-07

2008-09-07T12:50:59Z

Thanks -- your answer was exactly what I needed. Since this problem happens a lot to me, I put a shortcut to this command on my desktop, as you suggested. I went a baby step further and changed the shortcut's icon to the same one as the taksbar icon. This icon is located in the file hotplug.dll.

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Comment from Olga on 2008-09-04

2008-09-04T16:05:00Z

Thanks for your help, it really works!

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Comment from Harold on 2008-08-30

2008-08-30T17:30:32Z

I seem to have the opposite problem. The Safely Remove Hardware icon pops up (with the annoying sound) at random times even though there is nothing plugged in. How do I stop that?

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Comment from Marge on 2008-08-16

2008-08-16T21:39:12Z

Yea! The first solution worked and I got my icon back. The second one wouldn't work for me, but I wanted the icon anyway. THANKS!

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Comment from Arconius Remus on 2008-08-12

2008-08-12T07:16:59Z

Thanks. This is a great solution to the problem.
There are those who don't see the icon on the little task bar and there are PCs that have a bug that stops the Safely Remove Hardware icon from appearing there.
Keep up the good work, Leo!

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Comment from Fain Zimmerman on 2008-08-11

2008-08-12T02:31:31Z

My device - a Maxtor 3 Mini external storage device - runs constantly and won't stop. Windows keeps saying to try again later.
Thanks for any help.

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Comment from Scott A. Weir on 2008-08-11

2008-08-11T23:21:34Z

Very interesting, and useful. I went through all 138 comments, found some old friends, and met a remarkable group of commentators from self-admitted computer illiterates to highly knowledgeable geeks to geeks not quite as knowledgeable as they think they are. Modern computers are too complex for anyone to assume s/he knows it all.

I have my icon back, and have saved a lot more information on related topics (and bookmarked this site). One thing no one seems to have explained: How DO you distinguish among several USB devices when some should not be removed? I turned off my external backup drive once by mistake, though it came back up on the next boot.

I'll send the coffee later, possibly by a different route.

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Comment from khonsavanh on 2008-08-11

2008-08-11T09:43:39Z

I entered the command, it brought up the safely remove Hardware box.. but NO USB devices were listed in it.
I had one attached to the computer.

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Comment from Annie Sophasath on 2008-08-11

2008-08-11T09:39:50Z

I entered the command, it brought up the safely remove Hardware box.. but NO USB devices were listed in it. What should I do now?

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Comment from EssEm on 2008-08-09

2008-08-09T19:54:10Z

Thanks! Clear and helpful and it works.

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Comment from aras on 2008-08-06

2008-08-06T15:27:37Z

I am getting a RUNDLL error when I try this stating that "an exception ocurred while trying to run "shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL hotplug.dll". Then WinXP prompts to send an error report to Microsoft.

Any suggestions?

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Comment from Marc Bachrach on 2008-08-02

2008-08-02T11:51:24Z

I entered the command, it brought up the safely remove Hardware box.. but NO USB devices were listed in it.
I had one attached to the computer.

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Comment from Joy on 2008-07-25

2008-07-25T09:23:40Z

thank you thank you this had been driving me crazy :)

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Comment from Brian Sadler on 2008-07-24

2008-07-24T18:10:50Z

Just wanted to say thanks. The solution given works perfectly.

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Comment from John Lomartire on 2008-07-20

2008-07-20T16:27:53Z

I have this problem and will try the suggestions listed. Hope I get good results

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Comment from Samantha on 2008-07-17

2008-07-17T15:50:34Z

Hey, your trick works exactly as advertised, thanks. However, I have more than one USB drive on my system and I only want to remove one of them. The "Safely Remove Hardware" dialog doesn't distinguish one from the other, while the little icon identified the drives by drive letter. Now what?

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Comment from Sofia on 2008-07-13

2008-07-13T20:05:45Z

Hello,

I already did all these and now I have the Safely remove icon but when I do double click look like if I don't have any devices connect.
I tried it with different UBS as photo camera and mp3 player and it doesn't work.

Someone know what can I do? Some advice please.

Thanks!!!

Sofia.

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Comment from ricardo on 2008-07-11

2008-07-11T18:06:57Z

Thanks Leo, problem sorted and I now have a neat shortcut on the desktop.

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Comment from Kam on 2008-07-09

2008-07-10T03:12:51Z

Thank you SO much. I like that little icon and hate when it disappears. All I did was copy what you instructed us to type, and paste it in the start - run- open field. It worked perfectly. I appreciate this...

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Comment from jed on 2008-07-07

2008-07-07T23:23:49Z

excelent instructions......was worried i would damage my terrabyte hd until i found this guide.....

worked a treat and i also created a shortcut in my documents for future use......thanks again

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Comment from Ped on 2008-07-02

2008-07-02T22:03:34Z

Thanks mate. Shortcut works like a dream. The icon disappearing all the time despite going in and altering the "policies" was beginning to get a bit tedious.

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Comment from Hernan Baquerizo on 2008-06-30

2008-06-30T13:54:43Z

Leo's solution worked but required several steps as he explained. Evenmore, the "icon" would go away after removing the device or re-booting. I accidentally discovered (as usual)that the video driver (for the integrated Intel Chipset and for unknown reasons) was causing the "Safely Remove Hardware" icon to disappear. After un-installing and re-installing the driver the "icon" reappeared in the system tray. It is likely that other scenarios are also due to conflicting drivers.

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Comment from Giuseppe Alvaro on 2008-06-26

2008-06-26T19:45:00Z

A great thank for these concise and helpful instructions - well done !

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Comment from Mike Baker on 2008-06-22

2008-06-22T11:07:57Z

I was missing the "Safely Remove Hardware" icon & your solution worked fine. I was also missing some other icons and needed to dig a little deeper. I found the following web site: http://winhlp.com/node/16 It turns out the problem is fairly complex with a variety of solutions. I was able to find a work around that seems to solve all my missing systray icon problems.

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Comment from Rhoda on 2008-06-16

2008-06-16T23:39:10Z

thank you so much for your excellent advice; your instructions worked like a charm. I was able to disconnect my camera and restore the icon that had gone missing. This was the first time that had happened. But now, also following your great instructions, I created a shortcut too. Thanks,
Rhoda S.

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Comment from Jeff on 2008-06-15

2008-06-15T18:56:13Z

Hello,
I performed the function and the dialog window comes up, but it's empty. ????? What now?

Jeff

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Comment from John Quince on 2008-05-29

2008-05-29T13:06:15Z

LOL.
1. Insert USB drive.
2. Open File Explorer.
3. Right click, select properties for USB drive.
4. Select Hardware tab.
5. Select USB drive.
6. Select Properties.
7. Select Policies tab.
8. Feel like a jerk for starting a blog about something you don't understand and spreading misinformation.

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Comment from Leo on 2008-05-28

2008-05-28T17:07:45Z

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

You need to type EXACTLY what the article said. You typed
(in your comment, at least):

RunD11.32.exe

That is incorrect. The article states:

RunDll32.exe

That's DLL, and no extra period.

Leo

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.4.7 (MingW32)

iD8DBQFIPZFVCMEe9B/8oqERAoj4AJ9HxsvOOJyrEDXu/FbIcpri/YuTsgCdEgO3
ExuB0cPyTWeAajSSCKX6ulY=
=goqC
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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Comment from Phil on 2008-05-27

2008-05-27T17:34:15Z

I followed your directions on safely removing a USB and the system keeps telling me that it cannot find RunD11.32.exe shell32.dll,Control_Run DLLhotplug.dll. What do I do now? I don't want to corrupt any saved data on the USB

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Comment from Gil on 2008-05-14

2008-05-15T05:38:37Z

Why do I have 'Safely Remove Hardware' when no USB device is connected and when I double click on the icon it shows that I can stop my hard drives????

Thanks

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Comment from Des Ashton on 2008-05-03

2008-05-03T23:54:41Z

Great. Worked for me!

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Comment from John Mellanby on 2008-05-03

2008-05-03T08:11:34Z

I have the opposite problem. Running under vista I now permanently have the remove hardware symbol which refers to my hard drive and cd drive dangerous when also trying to remove other hardware devices and suggestions what I can do about this

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Comment from Amy on 2008-05-01

2008-05-02T00:07:05Z

This is awesome. Run command line worked like a little charm. Thanks a bunch!

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Comment from Wayne on 2008-04-24

2008-04-25T04:29:27Z

My icon for "safely remove hardware" suddenly disappeared from the system tray on my notebook. I am running Windows XP Pro. After trying the suggested fixes and workarounds, I decided to run the System File Checker in case any related files were corrupted. In the "Run" command window, I typed sfc /scannow After twenty minutes the scan was complete, System File Checker closed, and when I checked the hidden icons in the system tray, the Safely Remove Hardware icon was present at last. Later, I found that I had to update my Windows Script files back to version 5.7 because these had been replaced to the earlier versions that came with service pack 2. Otherwise, no other problems with updated files being overwritten by SFC that I am aware of. Unfortunately, System File Checker did not give me any info or summary after it completed its fixes, it just closed leaving me wondering for a moment if it accomplished anything or not. I haven't checked the log files on the hard drive yet, but maybe there is some info there.

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Comment from Tomek on 2008-04-09

2008-04-10T05:01:40Z

Thanks for the tip, but I did this instead: Start - Administrative Tools - Services. Stop and Disable Universal Plug and Play Device Host and SSDP Discovery Service. After that I also switched Behavior (in Customize Notifications) of the Safely Remove Hardware icon to Show Always (right click on Taskbar - Properties - Customize). Then I restarted Windows and the Safely Remove icon moved to Current Items and back in its old place.
Works just fine as I don't like having any icons on my desktop.

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Comment from Jason on 2008-04-09

2008-04-09T19:23:12Z

Thank God for BLOGS! This happened to me the other day. I was thinking what did I or my kids do now to the computer to make the icon vanish. This is a life saver advise since I use so many USB attachments with not enough USB ports. Knowing the safely remove is ready from experience and know I could not live without it. I dreaded the thought of rebooting everytime just to disconnect a USB device each time. THANKS A MILLION!

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Comment from cwhiteside on 2008-04-04

2008-04-04T22:44:30Z

yea but i want it off i cant seem to get safely remove hardware off my computer

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Comment from Dave Porter on 2008-04-04

2008-04-04T10:27:55Z

Just a tiny but nice add-on to the neat article on getting the icon to reappear in the taskbar.
After setting up the shortcut on the desktop, right click on it and choose "properties", then "change icon". In the browse space browse to "hotplug.dll"
You will then be offered the REAL icon, not just a blank sheet of paper. Choose that and you have the instantly recognizable icon on your desktop.

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Comment from Chris van der Geugten on 2008-03-20

2008-03-20T08:56:33Z

I found that windows has two groups of items in its taskbar: Current items and past items. Now when the 'safely remove hardware' icon is moved to the past items it is not visible, even when its property is set to "show always". Probably the meaning of this is that Current items are active and Past items are non-active. You can see tis when you open the propertis of the taskbar. When I applied the work around mentioned here , the function/item is moved to Current (active) items.
My conclusion is that in the registry somewhere this property is set and reset by certain triggers like our work around.It would be nice if we can move items btween these 2 groups in the properties window of the taskbar.

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Comment from Michael on 2008-03-13

2008-03-13T13:36:27Z

Hi - this happened to me this morning, so thanks for the tip. Just thought I'd post (so that people take this seriously) that I bought last summer a Maxtor external hard drive (for foreign publications I subscribe to in PDF - I tend do download them at work because it's faster) - NOTHING in their literature said that the safely-remove-hardware step was necessary before unplugging it; I only had that icon because I also have a plug-in wireless card. I learned that it was necessary the hard way, when a few files (just the ones I'd downloaded that day) were corrupted. Worst comes to worst and you can't "safely remove" your hardware the proper way, at least wait until the device seems to be idle.

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Comment from Dale on 2008-03-03

2008-03-03T20:24:03Z

Many thanks. Your "Safely Remove Hardware" tip worked great. And it brought back the "Safely Remove Hardware" icon to the task tray!!

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