Solve the issue of "Safely Delete Hardware" icon lost in Windows 10/11 system

Normally, clicking the "Safely Delete Hardware" icon before unplugging the USB flash drive or other external storage devices is a safe and reliable approach to avoid data loss. But what if this icon is gone? Don't worry, this article will provide several solutions.

How to fix the "Safely Delete Hardware" icon lost

Method 1: Check notification settings

First, confirm whether the "Safely Delete Hardware" icon is hidden in the taskbar. Click the up arrow icon on the taskbar to view the hidden icon. If it still cannot be found, it may be that the option is disabled. At this time, you need to modify the notification settings to re-enable it.

Step 1: Right-click on the taskbar and select "Taskbar Settings".

Step 2: Under the Taskbar tab, find "Select the icon displayed on the Taskbar" and click it.

Step 3: Enable File Explorer: Safely Delete Hardware and Popup Media.

Step 4: After saving the changes, the "Safely Delete Hardware" icon will automatically display on the taskbar. Click the up arrow icon on the taskbar to see it.

Method 2: Disable Quick Removal

If your disk removal policy has Quick Remove enabled, this will disable write caching, allowing you to remove external hard drives or USB drives without using the Safe Delete Hardware icon. To restore the icon, disable this setting:

Step 1: Press Win R key to open the "Run" dialog box.

Step 2: Enter devmgmt.msc and press Enter to open "Device Manager".

Step 3: Expand Disk Drive, right-click on your removable storage device, and select Properties.

Step 4: Under the Policy tab, select Best Performance and click OK to save the changes.

Method 3: Start the "Plug and Play" service

The Plug and Play service is responsible for detecting USB or hard drives connected to the computer and preparing for data transfer. If the Safe Delete Hardware icon is missing, you can check if this service is functioning properly:

Step 1: Press Win R key to open the "Run" dialog box.

Step 2: Enter services.msc and click "OK".

Step 3: Scroll down to find "Plug and Play", right-click it, and select "Properties".

Step 4: Under the General tab, change the startup type to Automatic and click Start.

Step 5: Click "Apply" and "OK" to save the changes.

Method 4: Restart Windows Explorer

Another solution to the "Safe Delete Hardware" icon loss is to restart Windows Explorer. Windows Explorer or Explorer.exe controls many UI elements on Windows 10/11, including the taskbar and system tray. The operation steps are as follows:

Step 1: Right-click on the taskbar and select "Task Manager".

Step 2: Under the Processes tab, find "Windows Explorer", right-click it, and select "Restart". After that, the issue of "Safe Delete Hardware" icon loss may be solved.

Method 5: Reinstall/update USB device drivers

When you plug a USB device into your computer for the first time, Windows installs its drivers. Sometimes the driver may be expired or corrupted, so you need to update or reinstall it.

Step 1: Press the Win X key and select "Device Manager".

Step 2: Expand “Universal Serial Bus Controller”, right-click on the USB controller, and select “Update Driver”. This will start the process of getting the new driver and installing it automatically.

If the problem persists, you can choose to uninstall the device.

Step 1: Open Device Manager > Expand Universal Serial Bus Controller > Right-click on the USB controller and select Uninstall Device.

Step 2: After uninstalling the device, restart the computer.

Step 3: Go to the same menu under Device Manager and select Scan to detect hardware changes. Windows 10 will then automatically reinstall it.

Method 6: Create a "Safely Delete Hardware" shortcut

You can also manually start the Safe Delete Hardware icon using the Run command. The steps are as follows:

Step 1: Press Win R key to open the "Run" dialog box.

Step 2: Enter RunDll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL hotplug.dll and press Enter.

Step 3: Select the target USB drive and click "Stop" to delete it safely.

If this method works, you can create a desktop shortcut for the Safe Delete Hardware dialog box. The method is as follows:

Step 1: Right-click any blank space on the desktop and select New > Shortcut.

Step 2: Enter the following location of the shortcut and click "Next":

RunDll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL hotplug.dll

Step 3: Rename this shortcut to "Safely Delete Hardware" and click "Finish".

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