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Restore Missing or Disappeared Safely Remove Hardware Icon

Posted By Raymond In Category: Computer

Dec
30
2007

I’ve written about a trick on how to hide or remove safely remove hardware try icon. I realize that it is not a very useful tip because many of us owns a USB flash drive nowadays and we need the Safely Remove Hardware icon to eject or unplug our USB device so that the files in our USB flash drive won’t get corrupted.
Restore Safely Remove Hardware
Although Windows by default choses Optimize for quick removal on Write Caching and Safe Removal policies, there are times I’ve noticed when I tried to stop the plugged in USB flash drive device at Safely Remove Hardware, it says “The device cannot be stopped right now. Try stopping the device again later.” If I forcefully unplug my USB flash drive that time, I risk my files getting corrupted. So never trust the “Optimize for quick removal” setting!

There are times that the Safely Remove Hardware Icon is missing or disappeared from the try bar. In Windows Safe Mode, you can’t find the Safely Remove Hardware icon at all! Is shutting down the computer the only way to safely stop and unplug your USB devices? Fortunately not. Here are some ways you can bring back the Safely Remove Hardware window when the icon is missing.


First of all, make sure that the Safely Remove Hardware icon is not set as “Always Hide“.

The manual way of bringing back the Safely Remove Hardware window is by running a command. Go to Start, Run, type in the following line and click OK. The command below is case sensitive.


That will bring up the “Safely Remove Hardware” dialog which you can use to stop the USB device that you want to unplug.
Bring back safely remove hardware dialog

If somehow your Windows is really in bad shape and the Safely Remove Hardware icon is never displayed at your tray bar, you can create a shortcut or even a batch file using the command line above. Just run the shortcut or batch file and the Safely Remove Hardware dialog window will appear.

Here’s a way on how you can “TRY” to restore Safely Remove Hardware icon back to tray bar. The reason I use the word TRY is because some people had success with it but I didn’t. It might work for you…
1. Open My Computer
2. Right click on the USB flash drive and click Properties
3. Click on the Hardware tab and select the removable drive from the list
4. Click the Properties button
5. Click on the Policies tab
6. Change it from “Optimize for quick removal” to “Optimize for performance” (You can change it back to Optimize for quick removal once the Safely Remove Hardware icon has been restored)
Write Caching and Safe Removal

OK, if you can’t find the run command or don’t know how to create a shortcut or batch file, here’s a simple and straight forward FREE tool which you can use to quickly and safely remove USB devices in Windows. USB Disk Ejector is able to eject any USB device.
USB Disk Ejector
To stop and safely remove a USB device using USB Disk Ejector, just double click or press enter for the device displayed at the interface. Love this tool because it’s free, small, portable and easy to use.

[ Download USB Disk Ejector ]


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    • Jcym

      Neat tool Raymon, always nice to have another to add tot he toolbox. Another useful freeware tool that can be used in the same situation is sync from Sysinternals (now part of MS). It is a command line tool that has two uses depending on the switches used and can be used to flush the caches of fixed and removable drives as well as ejecting drives. Use the r switch to flush a disks cache, ensuring that no data is lost if a disk is then removed without using ‘safely remove hardware’ or a system failure happens, or use the -e switch to force a disk to eject. Specify the drive letter or letters to only flush or eject specific drives.

      e.g. sync -r m o

      would flush the caches of drives m and o making them safe to remove even if the ‘safely remove hardware’ icon refuses to play or has disappeared from the tray.

      I use it all the time as I often have so many USB and Firewire devices active that my system gets confused when it comes to removing any of them via the ‘safely remove hardware’ icon. It is only a 40KB download, just extract it and put it somewhere like the Windows or System folder so that it is in the Path and can be used from anywhere.

      http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb897438.aspx

    • http://www.thesmsguide.com/blog colbert

      great tool and tips. I always had this problem on my laptop. Now i dont have to worry about corrupting the files on my usb drive any more

    • Pingback: Safely Remove Hardware Icon on Windows | Technology Blog by Colbert Low

    • Michael

      Whooo hoooo!!!! Thanks Ray man!!
      No more USB troubles!!!for now….

    • Pingback: Find Out the Command Line Location When Windows Opens a Window » Raymond.CC Blog

    • nyamunga

      Thanks Raymond for all you have done in 2007. Welcome to 2008.
      Is there a tool that can repair a flash disk that is not recognised and yet it was functioning before. I got a 2gb pendrive that has gone to waste coz windows say it can not be recognised.

    • Robert Noel

      What I am looking for is a way to have the \”Safely remove…\” on a right click to the tray icon, but without poping up the full dialog box….. any idea ???

    • lee

      just left click, pops up a list of items to be removed. Ejected in two clicks.

    • http://fionadevos.net Fiona

      Thanks for the useful tip! Just wanted to let you know it worked for me.

    • Juana J

      I was following instructions for a psp it told me to click on the safely remove hardware, when I did I accidently removed my F drive, is there any way to bring it back??

    • youd like to know

      yeah reboot your computer

    • youd like to know

      and all i did to restore my icon was i ran the command line to safely remove my hardware and plugged it back in.and the icon came back and everything is fine.except now my sata drives dont show up as removable disks anymore.but im not worried about that.but if someone feels the need to clue me in,go for it

    • http://www.aldiray.info Aldi

      “rundll32 shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL hotplug.dll”
      It works on my Win2K

      Thank you Raymond

    • KAWill

      In WinXP, missing tray icons should reappear if you “Log Off” and then “Log On” again.

      It seems to be a common problem in WinXP for tray icons to not always load during boot.

      During “Log Off”, my USB Flash Drive indicator light remained on.

      After logging back on and performing the “Safely Remove Hardware” function, the indicator turned off.

      I believe this should be a safe sequence.

    • http://LC Liz

      Thanks, Worked like a charm.

    • http://comorestaruralelcommandlineintrface hernan

      lo que pasa es ke cuando entro a la Pc, cuando ya carga todo , me aparece una ventana ke me dice que el command line interface a generado error, pero aun asi la Pc me funciona igual, per ayudenme a solucionar ese problema por favor…

    • Nito

      I refer registry mechanic install in ur pc.. so that you will be able to fix all reg. problems including missing safe remove hardware.. i hope it help you.

    • Buster Hymen

      This fix should last even when you reboot:

      Open taskmanager

      Select explorer.exe and click End Process

      In taskmanager, File, run: type explorer.

      Voila!

    • rita

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

    • Morgan

      Hey thanks for this. An easy way to implement your advice I discovered was to right click on desktop > create new shortcut > paste “rundll32 shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL hotplug.dll” (without the quotes) in the filepath > then give it a useful name e.g “Safely Remove Hardware”.

      This worked for me on XP and now I can put that shortcut on my quicklaunch so it will never be an issue again.

    • Arclite

      if i’m right clicking the driver then press eject has the same effect?

    • Trompete

      The modern and superior solution of this problem with many smart features:
      http://www.safelyremove.com/en/index.html
      Included in PC World’s list “The 100 Best Products of 2008″

      Some of smart features of USB Safely Remove 4.0:
      - Displaying what process prevents a device from being stopped
      - Hiding of “empty” card reader drives
      - Card reader memory cards ejection one-by-one
      - Returning just stopped device back, if necessary

    • http://www.thethinkingblog.com ilker -=- The Thinking Blog

      “rundll32 shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL hotplug.dll” command worked on WinXP.

      Thanks Raymond =)

    • http://youaregreat!!! rafael barata

      better than microsoft support
      thanks

    • SiliconDoc

      Thanks, optimizing performance brought the remove safely icon back.

    • Richard

      Hi Raymond, thanks for the help on ‘safely remove hardware icon missing’. I have tried all sorts of methods suggested by so many – but yours is the only one that I found worked. I now have in ‘my favourites’ bookmarks

    • lhuiz

      ahmm how can i restore te delete driver in the safely remove hardware because my ipod is not charging anymore..and when i connect it to the cpu its like its not connected to the hardware when i click the safely remove hardware no there’s no drive in it..i accedentally delete the device on the stop thingy how can i restore it again??..i wanted to charge my ipo asap..cuz i need it for my practice in my band…plzzzz help me..plzz gve me u instruction in this account gladysreyes95@yahoo.com thats my email address…thnk u GOD BLESS…☺

    • Barry Bradshaw

      Thanks that was so easy.

    • Tony

      Thanks Raymond, the run cmd worked a treat ! I did try the \”optimize for performance\” idea but unfortunately it didn\’t work this time. That\’s the least of my worries though because I know that when I reboot there\’s every chance that it will load into the tray. Main thing is, I didn\’t have to remove my ipod unsafely. Thanks a million mate !

      Cheers

      Tony

    • bertila

      For a long time the Safely Remove Hardware Icon has been missing on my system (XP). The tip given by KAWill saved my day- thanks!

    • Bettina

      this was extremely helpful – many thanks!

    • Dave

      Very helpful – thanks for the tips.

    • Mindi

      Similar issue, I guess. But I used “safely remove” for an SD card, instead of eject. Now ALL of my drives (“F” thru “K” are missing!!! What do I do to get them back???? Can’t find an answer to this one, and I can’t be the only idiot who has done this…right?!

    • Wynand

      Thanks for the RUN command tip. It worked like a charm. I saved the RUN command line in a CMD file on the desktop and all I have to do if the icon disappears again, is to double click die CMD file.

    • Ed K.

      you are awesome. I had no “safely remove hardware” icon at the bottom, and I googled “safely remove hardware missing. ” Copy, paste the command like you said to Start, Run, clicked ok and the icon is restored. God bless you and your family.

    • Ed K.

      you are awesome. I had no “safely remove hardware” icon at the bottom, and I googled “safely remove hardware missing. ” Copy, paste the command like you said to Start, Run, and was able to remove it, BUT I DON’T know how to apply shortcut to desktop. I did write down this command

    • Ajit Sharma

      Thank U Raymond thank you So Much !!!!

    • Matt

      I lost my icon and found it again by accident. I went to control panel—->Sounds and Audio Devices. On the first tab displayed (Volume) there is a checkbox that says “Place Volume Icon in the taskbar”. Not only does is it restore the volume bar, but it also gave me back the Safely Remove Hardware icon. I am using Win XP.

    • Henny

      My safely remove icon had disappeared and I got to your site while googling. First I tried your suggestions but the icon didn’t come back. All of the sudden I realized that by opening My Computer, then right clicking on the removable hardware, there was an option to safely eject. I clicked, and low and behold, the icon returned to the taskbar. No need to download anything! Thanks in any case for your service

    • W. Kiernan

      Ed K.: In Win XP, right-click on the desktop, pick “New” off the pop-up box, pick “Shortcut” off the second pop-up box. This brings up the “Create Shortcut” wizard. Where it asks me “Type the location of the item” I typed in

      rundll32 shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL hotplug.dll

      and clicked the “Next” button. The next screen asks “Type a name for this shortcut” and I wrote “unplug” and clicked the “Finish” button. Now when the “Safely Remove Hardware” icon disappears off the taskbar, as it does every now and again, I can click the “unplug” icon on the desktop and bring up the dialog box.

    • Paul Vee

      Thanks for the tips, however, I could not restore the Icon as shown. What worked for me was to follow your steps in your 2nd example and click on the “safely remove hardware” link, then remove the hardware. The taskbar link has returned. Couldn’t have done it without your excellent instructions!
      Thanks,
      Paul

    • Steve

      Thanks! the “rundll32…” command worked beautifully for me on Windows XP Professional SP3

    • florin

      thanks very much! the command helped me a lot, by bringing back the Safely Remove Icon on the taskbar

    • Kevin

      I have the reverse problem. I removed drive letters with the Safely Remove Hardware option and now I can only access my front two USB ports through Control Panel – Admin Tools – Computer Management – Disk Management. Any SUGGESTIONS on how to restore process so drive letters appear in My Computer again? Thanks

    • uday

      Thanks for the useful tip…………….

    • Fred64

      I got the icon to restore back on the taksbar by logging off the windows user and then loggin back on.

    • belker

      thanks-worked great, got my icon back

    • grahamb

      excellent – thank you.

    • Rebecca

      Cheers Raymond! The “Run” command helps. I was determined to find the original icon, so I experimented with the computer. Just giving my two cents worth, alternatively, one may also try:
      -Control Panel
      -Taskbar and Start Menu
      -Under Taskbar Tab, click on Customize…
      -Scroll down the list and see if you can find “Safely Remove Hardware” icon
      -Click on it, select “Always show” under Behavior
      -Ok
      -Ok
      Reboot the computer for the changes to take affect ;)

    • Sanjaya

      Thanks a million Raymond…. The info wz very helpful :)

    • Amaresh

      Thanks Raymond!

    • cheper

      thank you so much dude, it’s really a help.. i was able to restore my safely remove icon. thanks again..

    • D

      Thank you so much! this is incredibly useful.

    • Amitha Perera

      Uninstall your Universal serial bus controlers and reinstall them. Its really works……….

    • shin

      thanks a lot!!:)

    • Roberto

      The advice given in the original post did not work for me. The only thing that really fixes this nasty issue is described here:

      http://en.kioskea.net/forum/affich-31257-how-to-recover-lost-missing-system-tray-icon

      I just successfully performed the magic on my Windows XP SP3 system and my icon is back!

      Originally, it goes back to a KB entry from Microsoft (which also applies to XP):

      http://support.microsoft.com/kb/945011

      Please update your initial posting, mate.

    • http://kratos147.byethost18.com/index.php Frederick

      Hi all. I have a working way.

      You see the small arrow pointing left? (<)
      By clicking it, it shows you the inactive icon.
      It has most probably hidden the Safely Remove Hardware tool. Right click the small arrow and click
      'Customize Notifications…'

      Scroll down to Past Items and find 'Safely Remove Hardware'. At its side click 'Hide when inactive' to 'Always show'.

      Hope this helps. :)

    • Belen

      I tried it and it works! Thanks!

    • Godai

      Hi. If you have lost your volume and safely remove hardware icons from the tray, then you can try this:

      http://en.kioskea.net/forum/affich-31257-how-to-recover-lost-missing-system-tray-icon

      I tried it and it worked.

    • TT

      My ADATA mass storage memory stick had many files and I forgot to click the safely remove device icon once and then when I next used the device, it showed no files that are readable. The file names were in funny scripts and when I clicked one of the files to open it says, cannot access the directory. I saved a word file and it came out fine. I then did a disk check using Windows 7 and then the next day, all the files disappeared from the windows explorer, leaving only the one file I saved in Word. Is there a way to get the other files back?

    • http://Thisworked! John Doe

      Thanks a million, the command is really clever :)

    • yuni

      ok…q suka bgt ma blogx

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