Notification Icon

I have looked for a solution for this, and the suggestions that I have found do not agree with what I am seeing on my monitor.

I would like to see a Safely Remove Hardware Icon in my Notification Area.

The instructions that I have found and tried, consistently document that I should see this icon after clicking “Customize…” in the Notification Area list. Sadly it is not on my list, not even sitting underneath Windows Explorer, as often suggested.

Another suggestion was to either use “RunDll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL hotplug.dll” or paste this to a “Create Shortcut” on the Desktop. Sadly the External Hard Drive that I am attempting to un-dock does not show up in the pop-up box (nor does any other USB device that I happen to be using.

In “My Computer”, the External HDD does not display “Eject” in the drop down when I Right Click on the Drive. This is however available for any other USB device that I happen to be using.

I have an HP Pavilion G5460uk (LN868EA) Desktop with Win 7 Home Premium 64-bit.

Any further suggestions to a solution other than what I have already discovered and tried?

Pip.

boohbah said:

Neither of my externals have an eject option in the context menu when right clicking on them. i think this is only available for usb sticks and the like, as they would sit in the devices with removable storage, However right clicking on the safely remove icon in the systems tray or in the hidden items depending where one has it show does give the option to eject the drives,

the safely remove icon should be showing in the customize window with the option to show icon and notifications. this would have it appear in the systems tray'

is there no instance of it at all even if its greyed out?

Thank you for your reply.

Is the Icon called “Windows host process (Rundll32)” ?

I have set it to “Show icon and notification”, but I don’t see anything in the Notification Area.

See 2 screen shots below.

boohbah said:

i would run a sfc /scan to check there is any problems with a systems file.

SFC /SCANNOW Command - System File Checker - Windows 7 Forums

Thank you for your suggestion - to be honest I don't really have enough confidence to try this. The Black Screen on the Command Prompt & the Warnings at the top of the thread cause me to think that this is rather beyond me.

Incidentally; When I first started this thread, I claimed that the Icon was not in the list sitting underneath Windows Explorer. I looked a little foolish when it was showing in the 2nd screen shot, albeit with the odd title of “Windows host process (Rundll32)”

I didn't think it was originally there, so please see screen shot below that I took this morning after turning on my P.C. again, where the Icon has disappeared from the list!!

boohbah said:

dont worry, its very easy, just type sfc/scannow into the command box and then enter , it does it all for you, be sure to right click on the command in start menu and select run as administrator.
it really is that simple. no need to fear it.

Thank you for your encouragement. You were of course completely correct - I was very straightforward.

I ran the check 3 times, but sadly the situation remains the same. The Icon of a USB and a green circle with a tick, is now back in the list again but still with the title of “Windows host process (Rundll32)”

If I pop a memory stick in, initially there is no sign of the icon in the Task Bar or Notification Area. If however I right click on the Memory Stick Drive in My Computer and click Eject, the Safely Remove Icon briefly appears in the Task Bar along with a pop-up bubble saying that it is now safe to remove.

The problem with removing my External Drive though, is that the option to Eject does not appear in the dropdown when I right click on the Drive in My Computer.