Safely remove hardware notification

w47steve · 2007/07/12

I have a Dell notebook running xp pro. When I click on my memory stick to remove it, I never get a pop up telling me it is safe to remove the hardware as I used to on my old W2000 machine; instead I get a single audio tone, can easily be missed. How can I restore the pop up window notification?

mailman · 2007/07/12

Hi, w47steve. Welcome to Windows BBS!

w47steve said:

When I click on my memory stick to remove it, I never get a pop up telling me it is safe to remove the hardware
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I click the "Safely Remove Hardware" icon in my system tray (by the clock) and then click the device I wish to remove. That produces a popup for me. Does that work for you?

PeteC · 2007/07/12

Despite what MS may say .....

"If the Safely Remove Hardware icon appears in the taskbar notification area, you must use [it]. If the Safely Remove Hardware icon is not in the notification area, you must use Device Manager to uninstall the disk before you unplug it. "
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or the more common practice ....

The third, improper method is the one almost all of us use: We simply unplug the device. In fact, this usually works, as long as the device isn't actively being written to or read from. You unplug the device, hear the audible "device unplugged" confirmation tones (a descending "ding-dong "), and that's that.
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and ...

But note Microsoft's use of the word "must" in the above quote: You must use the Safely Remove Hardware method "” if it's available. It's not a mere suggestion or recommendation. Microsoft says it's a must.

That's because simply unplugging a device (the way most of us do) runs the risk of losing data through a delayed write, or open file, or similar problem. You also risk leaving behind a phantom drive or other resource assignment, because the OS doesn't realize the device is gone.

You can avoid these problems by using either the Safely Remove Hardware method or the Device Manager method. They ensure that all writes or other pending operations are completed, that any open files are closed, and that the OS knows it can free up whatever resource assignments the device was using.

To put it another way, go ahead and simply unplug your removable devices if you wish. Most times, it'll work perfectly fine. But if it doesn't and you end up with phantom drives or other problems, you'll know why
Click to expand...

Above from Fred Langer article in Windows Secrets.

Essentially go into Device Manager (with the drive plugged in) and select the USB drive > Properties > Policies and select 'Optimize for quick removal' and just yank it out when the write has finished

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Safely remove hardware notification

w47steve Inactive Thread Starter

mailman Geek Member

PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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Safely remove hardware notification

w47steve Inactive Thread Starter

mailman Geek Member

PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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