USB MemoryStik "Safely Remove Hardware"

[George]

I'm using WinXP-pro, and plugged a small card-reader device into a USB port.
The card-reader reads MemorySticks, like those in Sony Camcorders, some
cameras, and some card-type external "drives".

This simple device (Lexar Media, JumpDrive Trio) does not require any
drivers at all, you just put a memory-stick in, and it comes up as the E:
drive, then you copy or play files off of it.

There's a small icon that appeared in the bottom-right task bar... a grey
one with a green arrow that, when pointed to, says "safely remove hardware".
Could an MVP or other expert possibly help with...

1) What happens if I click or double-click this icon?

2) Why would an icon appear about "removing" hardware?

3) If something were to happen when I click it (say it deletes the
fictitious E: drive), would all I do is unplug/replug...and it would pop up
the E: drive along with the icon again? Or would the E: drive and icon
re-appear with just a re-boot?

Thanks,
George

 

[Vagabond Software]

I'm using WinXP-pro, and plugged a small card-reader device into a USB port.
The card-reader reads MemorySticks, like those in Sony Camcorders, some
cameras, and some card-type external "drives".

This simple device (Lexar Media, JumpDrive Trio) does not require any
drivers at all, you just put a memory-stick in, and it comes up as the E:
drive, then you copy or play files off of it.

There's a small icon that appeared in the bottom-right task bar... a grey
one with a green arrow that, when pointed to, says "safely remove hardware".
Could an MVP or other expert possibly help with...

1) What happens if I click or double-click this icon?

2) Why would an icon appear about "removing" hardware?

3) If something were to happen when I click it (say it deletes the
fictitious E: drive), would all I do is unplug/replug...and it would pop up
the E: drive along with the icon again? Or would the E: drive and icon
re-appear with just a re-boot?

Thanks,
George

I'm not an expert, but I've been using Lexar JumpDrives for about two-years on three operating systems.

You're seeing a holdover from the Windows 2000 days. In Windows 2000, if you removed the JumpDrive without first clicking on that icon and selecting "Stop" for that hardware device, you would get a nag message complaining that you may cause harm to the device or (more likely) the operating system.

1) If you click that little icon, you will be presented a menu for safely removing your various removeable media.

1a) If you double-click that icon, you will be presented a dialog (much like the 2000 dialog) that allows you to manually "Stop" the device prior to removing it.

2) It appears because some habits die hard (for users and OS manufacturers). The cynic in me also thinks it may have something to do with "plausible deniability", but pay no attention to that.

3) If you select "Safely Remove" or you "Stop" the device in question, it will no longer appear in your drives list. You are correct in that all you need to do is remove the device and re-insert it.

My standard practice is to just pull the drive from the USB extension cable and plug it in, at will... as desired, without clicking anything.

carl

 

[LVTravel]

The safely remove feature of XP and previous Windows versions is to allow
you to know that all data has been properly written to the removable device.
(If you are editing a file on the device the file will be "open" in a
program and by simply removing the card you could corrupt the data. In your
case, the USB card reader may be writing to the device and you would not
know about it if you simply pulled out the Memory Stick.

To properly use the feature, single left click on the icon. A listing of
all removable drives and most USB devices will appear. Single left click on
the drive you want to remove. If it says it is safe to remove the device
you can unplug it. If there is a file open it will tell you that it can't
close the device. Don't remove the MS at this time. Close the program that
is using the device. Windows Explorer is a common program that will keep
the drive from being closed.

Hope this helps.

I'm using WinXP-pro, and plugged a small card-reader device into a USB port.
The card-reader reads MemorySticks, like those in Sony Camcorders, some
cameras, and some card-type external "drives".

This simple device (Lexar Media, JumpDrive Trio) does not require any
drivers at all, you just put a memory-stick in, and it comes up as the E:
drive, then you copy or play files off of it.

There's a small icon that appeared in the bottom-right task bar... a grey
one with a green arrow that, when pointed to, says "safely remove hardware".
Could an MVP or other expert possibly help with...

1) What happens if I click or double-click this icon?

2) Why would an icon appear about "removing" hardware?

3) If something were to happen when I click it (say it deletes the
fictitious E: drive), would all I do is unplug/replug...and it would pop up
the E: drive along with the icon again? Or would the E: drive and icon
re-appear with just a re-boot?

Thanks,
George

I'm not an expert, but I've been using Lexar JumpDrives for about two-years
on three operating systems.

You're seeing a holdover from the Windows 2000 days. In Windows 2000, if
you removed the JumpDrive without first clicking on that icon and selecting
"Stop" for that hardware device, you would get a nag message complaining
that you may cause harm to the device or (more likely) the operating system.

1) If you click that little icon, you will be presented a menu for safely
removing your various removeable media.

1a) If you double-click that icon, you will be presented a dialog (much like
the 2000 dialog) that allows you to manually "Stop" the device prior to
removing it.

2) It appears because some habits die hard (for users and OS manufacturers).
The cynic in me also thinks it may have something to do with "plausible
deniability", but pay no attention to that.

3) If you select "Safely Remove" or you "Stop" the device in question, it
will no longer appear in your drives list. You are correct in that all you
need to do is remove the device and re-insert it.

My standard practice is to just pull the drive from the USB extension cable
and plug it in, at will... as desired, without clicking anything.

carl

 

[Art]

The safely remove feature of XP and previous Windows versions is to allow
you to know that all data has been properly written to the removable
device.
(If you are editing a file on the device the file will be "open" in a
program and by simply removing the card you could corrupt the data. In
your
case, the USB card reader may be writing to the device and you would not
know about it if you simply pulled out the Memory Stick.

To properly use the feature, single left click on the icon. A listing of
all removable drives and most USB devices will appear. Single left click
on
the drive you want to remove. If it says it is safe to remove the device
you can unplug it. If there is a file open it will tell you that it can't
close the device. Don't remove the MS at this time. Close the program
that
is using the device. Windows Explorer is a common program that will keep
the drive from being closed.

Hope this helps.

Access Device Manager (Start > Control Panel > System > Device Manager)
In the "Disk drives" section of Device Manager, right-click on the USB
device in question , and select Properties. On the Properties sheet that
opens, click on the Policies tab. You'll see two options, one of which is
"Optimize for quick removal". Select that option if it's not already
selected. Click OK.

Note the "Optimize for quick removal" option indicates "... you can
disconnect this device without using the Safe Removal icon".

I have heard (but have not confirmed this) that some USB devices will
instruct the user to *always* use the Safely Remove Hardware icon before
disconnecting the device. I've disconnected various USB devices hundreds of
times without using the SRH icon (after ensuring that the option mentioned
above has been selected) and have never encountered a single problem
involving loss of data or any other problem affecting the device or the OS.
Art
Art