"safe removal" and "Battery" icon mysteriously disappears

[Debu]

I have recently re-installed Windows XP on my Dell
Inspiron 8000 laptop.

A few days back I noticed after a reboot that the "safely
remove hardware" icon and the "Battery/Power Management"
icon have mysteriously disappeared from the system tray.

Please note that:

1. My taskbar properties does NOT have the "hide inactive
icons" choice on.
2. There are enough devices (PCMCIA & USB) attached to my
computer that require the "safe removal" icon to be
active.
3. In the "Power Options" property, I have the
choice "Always show icon on the task bar" switched on.

I am at my wit's end and any help or clue will be highly
appreciated.

 

[Byte]

Rightclick blank area on Taskbar and click Properties.
Click Customize button and it should be listed under
Current items. If not, whatever the peripheral relates
to may have to be reinstalled to show the capability of
its hardware removal. I also have several and they
relate to a scanner and memory card reader.