Where's the "Safely Remove Hardware" icon?

Anonymous
2012-12-07T21:01:38+00:00

I just upgraded to Win 8 from Win XP. I'm used to seeing a popup or icon in my lower right taskbar to 'safely remove hardware' after plugging in my camera or phone but I don't see one in Windows 8. What happened to it? Will I have a problem if I just unplug my device or do I need to take other steps to make sure it's safe to unplug?

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Devices and drivers

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Anonymous
2012-12-07T21:02:28+00:00

Click on the upward arrow by the clock.  This will show the hidden items and allow you to safely remove the devices.

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Anonymous
2012-12-07T21:14:51+00:00

Hello PuzzledJane,

Follow the instructions supplied by Alex T Jr. This will allow you to see the remove hardware icon.

If you want the icon to appear permanently on display then click on the up arrow in the notification area and then, when the list of icons appears, click the Customize option. A list of all of the icons will now appear. Locate the safely remove hardware icon and click on the arrow in the dialogue box to the right of this option. From the drop down list select 'show icon and notification' and then press the OK button.

The safely remove hardware icon will now permanently be displayed in the notification area.

This forum post is my own opinion and does not necessarily reflect the opinion or view of Microsoft, its employees, or other MVPs.

John Barnett MVP: Windows XP Associate Expert: Windows Expert - Consumer:  www.winuser.co.uk |  vistasupport.mvps.org | xphelpandsupport.mvps.org | www.silversurfer-guide.com

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  1. Anonymous
    2014-07-30T22:03:47+00:00

    Thank you for this post, it solved my problem on Windows 8.1, working my way through this upgrade from xp,  urrrhhhhh! Thanks again.

    Great, glad it helped!

    Good luck with your upgrade too. If I had enough RAM in my XP, I would have most likely tried the upgrade too. I use it now to load pics from my camera, which only supports the XP OS & then transfer

    them to a Flash Drive >to my Win7:-) Whatever works!

    Thanks for your feedback!!

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  2. Anonymous
    2014-07-30T14:52:53+00:00

    Thank you for this post, it solved my problem on Windows 8.1, working my way through this upgrade from xp,  urrrhhhhh! Thanks again.

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  3. Anonymous
    2014-07-18T17:37:30+00:00

    Yes, I raised three.  My computer does seem equally good at screaming "Hey, Mom!  Look at me" and requiring two hours of face time thereafter.  Nice point.

    I hear you! Computers, cars and kiddos have a lot in common:-)

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