safe to remove hardware

[Nicdig]

Hi, I know that when you have a flash drive (for example) you must click on
the icon on the system tray so that you can safetly remove it. The same can
apply for many devices like cameras, music players, etc. My question is
this: I plugged in my mp3 player and downloaded the software from the
samsung web site (since I got this player without the installation CD)..
after I transferred a few songs, I closed the program and I wanted to
disconnect the unit from the pc safely BUT the icon was not anywhere to be
seen. My mp3 player says its charging only on the screen. Can I just unplug
it and it will be fine? For future reference, what can I do when in doubt of
unplugging something where the icon is not there to use. Maybe I am missing
something? thanks in advance
Windows XP home edition sp2....

 

[Alan Edwards]

Try this command from Start-Run

RUNDLL32.EXE shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL hotplug.dll

....Alan

 

[Nicdig]

Thanks, Alan, that is exactly what I needed and for future reference. worked
perfectly.

 

[Twayne]

Thanks, Alan, that is exactly what I needed and for future reference.

worked perfectly.

Also, when you're stuck, a Power Down will shut everything down cleanly
and you can remove things while it's powered down.

 

[Splat]

Hi Alan,

I have just recently began getting the message:

An exception occured while trying to run "RUNDLL32.EXE
shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL hotplug.dll"

when trying to remove a flash drive. I tried running this from Start->Run
and received the same message.

I haven't added any new hardware and can't really recall anything special
that I did that might have caused this.

I am running XP Media versrion SP3

Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
Splat