Sometimes when using your USB (Universal Serial Bus) drive, the Safely Remove Hardware icon is missing from the system tray. If you have your USB optimization option set to “Optimized for Performance”, then you will need to use one of these other methods to remove your drive. If you are not sure what your settings are, err on the side of “Optimized for Performance” and use one of these methods.
Method #1
1. Click the Start button and choose Run.
2. Type “RunDll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL hotplug.dll” (without the quotes) in the Run command line.
3. Click OK.
This will bring up the Safely Remove Hardware dialog box, which will allow you to safely stop your USB drive and remove it from the USB port.
Method #2
If you find it difficult to remember and type a long string of characters, then Method #1 may not be the best for you. Instead, you can:
1. Right-click on My Computer (Windows Vista: Computer) and choose Manage.
2. Select USB Mass Storage Device under the USB Controller.
3. Right-click and Disable it.
4. Remove your USB drive.
5. Repeat steps 2 and 3 and Enable the USB again.
Note: If you forget to enable the USB drive again, then you will not be able to use any of your USB drives until you do enable it.
Method #3
If you find yourself needing to do this repeatedly, then you can create a shortcut for Method #1:
1. Open Notepad (Start menu, Programs, Accessories).
2. Type “RunDll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL hotplug.dll” (without the quotes).
3. Click on the File menu and choose Save As.
4. Change the Save in location to your desktop.
5. Change the File type to All files.
6. Give the file a name that ends with .bat, and is one that you can easily remember; we suggest StopUSB.bat.
7. Click the Save button.
8. Close the file.
Note: If file extensions are not showing, you may want to display extensions before saving to ensure it saves properly. To display file extensions: open My Computer, click on the Tools menu, select Folder Options, choose the View tab, clear the check in “Hide extensions for known file types,” click OK, and close My Computer.
Make sure that any files that are stored on your USB drive are close before you double-click the batch file. Double-clicking this file will bring up the Safely Remove Hardware dialog box, where you can stop your USB drive. You may want to keep a copy of the batch file on each USB drive you use, so you can copy it to the computer where you are working if the Safely Remove Hardware icon is missing.
Tags: Microsoft Windows, USB