Usually, you need to hit the Safely Remove Hardware icon before removing your USB flash drive. This way is much safer than just pulling it out. What if the Safely Remove Hardware icon is missing? If you encounter the same issue, the post on MiniTool Website is for you.
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Safely Remove Hardware Icon Missing
Clicking on the Safely Remove Hardware icon before unplugging your USB drive allows you to disconnecting the peripherals without suffering data loss. However, what if this option is missing? Don’t worry, follow the solutions below and then it will be easy to bring it back!
Tips:
Since data is more important than spending more time removing the USB flash drive safely, you had better bring this icon back. Data loss is almost inevitable when using the computer, so you can try to back up your crucial files with the free backup software - MiniTool ShadowMaker to keep your data safe.
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How to Fix Safely Remove Hardware Icon Missing on Windows 10/11?
Fix 1: Change Your Notifications Settings
First, make sure the Safely Remove Hardware Icon isn’t hidden in your taskbar by hitting the up arrow icon to find it. If you still can’t find it, you might disable the option before so it refuses to be displayed. In this case, you can modify the notifications settings to enable it again.
Step 1. Right-click on the taskbar and select Taskbar settings.
Step 2. Under the Taskbar tab, scroll down to find Select which icons appear on the taskbar and hit it.
Step 3. Toggle on Windows Explorer: Safely Remove Hardware and Eject Media.
Step 4. After saving the changes, the Safely Remove Hardware icon will automatically appear on your taskbar. Click on the up arrow icon on the taskbar, and you will see it.
Fix 2: Disable Windows Removal
Chances are that you enable Quick removal as your disk removal policy. This device will disable write caching and enable you to remove the external hard drive or USB flash drive without using the Safely Remove Hardware icon. Here’s how to disable it to bring this icon back:
Step 1. Press Win + R to evoke the Run box.
Step 2. Type devmgmt.msc and hit Enter to open Device Manager.
Step 3. Expand Disk drives and right-click on your removable storage device and choose Properties.
Step 4. Under the Policies tab, check Better performance and click on OK to save the changes.
Fix 3: Start Plug and Play Service
The Plug and Play service is responsible for detecting the USB or hard drive connected to your computer and getting it ready for the data transfer to begin. If your Remove Hardware icon missing, you can check if this service is running properly on your computer.
Step 1. Press Win + R to open the Run box.
Step 2. Type services.msc and click on OK.
Step 3. Scroll down to find Plug and Play and right-click on it to choose Properties.
Step 4. Under the General tab, change the startup type to Automatic and click on Start.
Step 5. Hit Apply and OK to save the changes.
Fix 4: Restart Windows Explorer
Another solution for the Safely Remove Hardware icon missing is to restart Windows Explorer. Windows Explorer or Explorer.exe controls many UI elements on Windows 10/11 including the taskbar and system tray. Here’s how to do it:
Step 1. Right-click on the taskbar and select Task Manager in the drop-down menu.
Step 2. Under the Processes tab, scroll down to find Windows Explorer and right-click on it to choose Restart. After doing that, the Safely Remove Hardware icon missing might be gone.
Fix 5: Reinstall/Update USB Device Drivers
When you plug a USB device to a computer for the first time, Windows will install the device driver for it. Sometimes, the device driver might be outdated or corrupted, so you need to update it or reinstall it.
Step 1. Press Win + X and choose Device Manager.
Step 2. Expand Universal Serial Bus controllers and right-click on USB controller to choose Update driver. After doing that, it will initiate the process of fetching the new driver to install it automatically.
If Win 10 Safely Remove Hardware icon missing is still there, you can choose to uninstall the device.
Step 1. Open Device Manager > expand Universal Serial Bus controller > right-click on USB controller to choose Uninstall device.
Step 2. After the device is uninstalled from your computer, reboot your computer.
Step 3. Go to the same menu under Device Management and choose Scan for hardware changes. Then, windows 10 will reinstall it automatically for you.
Fix 6: Create Safely Remove Hardware Shortcut
You can also launch the Safely Remove Hardware icon manually using the Run command. Follow these steps:
Step 1. Press Win + R to open the Run dialog.
Step 2. Type RunDll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL hotplug.dll and hit Enter.
Step 3. Select the target USB flash drive and click on Stop before safely removing it.
If this method does the trick, you can create a desktop shortcut for Safely Remove Hardware dialog. To do so: