Guide: Fix ‘Safely Remove Hardware Icon Missing in Windows 10’ Issue
Windows often recommend using the Safely Remove Hardware option before disconnecting a USB device from a PC. We are happy to be of service because it only takes a few moments. So what happens if the Safely Remove Hardware icon is missing? How do we remove a USB device? How do we get the icon back to remove a USB device safely? Some people here will argue that pulling out a USB peripheral without waiting for the pop-up has worked great for them. You must have tried that with a flash drive. That doesn’t mean you did the right thing. Windows OS runs various processes in the background, and some may be able to access the USB device. Or Windows can write data to it even if you are not actively copying anything. So if you remove a USB stick or hard drive without removing it safely first, there is a risk that the data will be damaged. Nobody likes to lose valuable data. But how do you get notified when you safely remove a USB device if the icon itself is missing? Let’s see how to get that Safely Remove Hardware icon back now.
1. Deselect the Always hide option
By default, you should be able to see the Safely Remove Hardware icon in the system tray. Like this.
The icon may be hidden. Right-click on the taskbar and select Taskbar settings to find out.
Under the Notification heading, click Select which icons appear in the taskbar.
Scroll a bit to find the Windows Explorer Safely Remove Hardware and Eject Media option and enable it.
Check the taskbar to see if the missing Safely Remove Hardware icon reappears.
2. Restart Windows Explorer
Sometimes the process responsible for displaying the Safely Remove Hardware icon does not work properly. So restarting Windows Explorer can fix the problem. To do this, right-click on the taskbar and select Task Manager from the list.
You will see a list of all active processes on your computer. Scroll a bit to find Windows Explorer, right-click on it and select Restart. Some of your active windows will be closed, so save everything before trying to restart Windows Explorer.
After a few moments, check the taskbar again to see if the icon is visible or not.
3. Third Party Software
Some free third-party software can help you safely remove hardware without worrying about data loss. One is USB Disk Ejector and the other is Hotswap. For this post I will be using USB Disk Ejector. The software is small in size and you do not need to install it. Just double click to start and it will detect all USB devices connected to your computer and offer to eject (remove) them.
Press Enter or double click to select the USB device to remove it safely. Download USB disk ejector
4. Plug and Play settings
Plug and Play is the service responsible for performing the Safely Remove Hardware option and may stop working. To check that, press Windows key + R button to open the Run prompt and type in services.msc before pressing Enter.
Find the Plug and Play option and double-click it to launch it.
Under the General tab, the service status should be Active. If not, click on Start button to start it manually. In the same tab you will see that the startup type is set to Manual. You can select Automatic from the drop-down menu there.
Now check if the Safely Remove Hardware icon is visible.
5. Enable / disable Fast deletion
There is no need to use the Safely Remove Hardware option every time you want to remove a USB device. What? Yes. Although the option is enabled by default, you can disable it. The downside is that Windows disables write caching, which degrades the performance of your connected devices. If you pull out a USB device while it is in use, you will see the Scan and Repair option the next time you connect the same device to your PC. Right-click on the taskbar and select Device Manager.
Find your USB device under Disk drives, right-click on it and select Properties.
On the Policy tab, select Quick Removal and click OK. If this option was selected, you will know why the Safely Remove Hardware icon was missing. To get it back, select Better performance and click OK.
Some users have reported that switching back and forth between these two options also helped them fix the missing icon issue. If you still haven’t been able to bring the icon back, check out some awkward fixes that might be a little tricky for you.
6. Stop the process manually
You can manually stop the process and eject media or remove the USB device. To do this, press Windows key + R to open the Run prompt and type the following command before pressing Enter. RunDll32.exe shell32.dll, Control_RunDLL hotplug.dll
A new dialog will appear upYou can select the USB device and click Stop before safely removing it.
If you often use the Safely Remove Hardware option, you can create a desktop shortcut for it. No more messing around with the icon in the notification box. To create a desktop shortcut for the Safely Remove Hardware dialog box, right-click anywhere on your desktop and select Shortcut under New.
Copy the same command you entered earlier in the Run prompt above. Click on Next.
You can call it anything, but I would recommend labeling it Safely Remove Hardware.
Click on Finish. Now you have a handy shortcut on your desktop.
7. Update / reinstall USB device drivers
When you connect a USB device to a PC for the first time, Windows installs device drivers for it. It’s very possible that your Windows 10 drivers are not up to date or some are corrupt. Right-click the Windows icon (Start button) to update device drivers and select Device Manager.
Locate the Universal Serial Bus controller, click the arrow to display the branch, and right-click USB controller. Click Update Driver. That should start the process of getting the new driver and let you choose to install them automatically.
If the problem persists, go to the same menu again and select Remove device. Then restart Windows.
Once Windows loads, open Device Manager, select the Action tab and click Scan for hardware changes.
Windows 10 will automatically scan for missing drivers for the new components and reinstall them for you. Check again if the Safely Remove Hardware icon is now visible or not.
Better safe than worry
I will recommend keeping the Quick Delete option disabled as data is more important than losing a few moments to safely remove the USB device. If the icon is missing or giving an error, one of the above methods should fix it. And if you’ve discovered any other method, share it with us in the comments below. The next up: You connect an external drive but your PC does not recognize it? Here are three ways to fix this USB problem.
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