Windows 10: Windows 10 1809 Breaks USB "Safe to Remove" Dialog

After I installed the Windows 10 Version 1809 (October 2018 update), I put a USB thumb drive in. Then I chose "eject USB drive" from the right side of the Taskbar, but I did not get the usual dialog that notified me that it was "Safe to Remove" the USB thumb drive. I tried all of the suggestions out there to fix this. Many people have posted comments on many websites that said that they are having problems with this since the rollout of Windows 10 Version 1809. There were comments about turning off "Quiet Hours" to fix it and other ways to fix. Finally, I found out that installing KB4476976 (dated January 18th) fixes it. I installed KB4476976, and it did fix it. However, I read the release notes for KB4476976 on your website, but there was no mention that KB4476976 fixes this problem.


I am writing about this because it really bothered me that Windows 10 1809 broke the "Safe to Remove". The USB interface implementation into a chip can be buggy. The USB feature that allows you to just unplug the USB drive without ejecting it is called "On The Go", or OTG. This OTG feature can be buggy; therefore, it is always a good idea to eject the USB before removing the USB drive and not depend on OTG. If OTG is buggy, and the USB device is not ejected before removal, it will ruin the USB drive; and you will lose all of your data. This has happened to me before. This could also happen if the USB drive is ejected, and the drive is pulled out before it is "Safe to Remove". If there is no notification of "Safe to Remove", this could happen. I have watched the USB drives in Device Manager while I select "eject this USB drive", and there is some lag between that request and when the icon for that USB drive actually disappears. The drive is not ready to be removed immediately after the request to eject. This is why it bothers me that anyone would assume the "Safe to Remove" dialog is not needed, and that they would just rely on OTG.

:)

 

USB Safe Remove Icon missing

Thankyou for your prompt reply. Carried the step by step instructions as far as Item 5. Interestingly the Safe remove icon was turned on. Toggled the on/off button and left it in the off position then rebooted with the intention to clear anything that
may have prevented the icon showing up. With bootup complete the Safe remove icon is now visible in the Hidden icon box and is active when tested.

After bootup proceeded as per instruction No 5 to see if Safe remove icon button is in the ON position. NEGATIVE. It is in the OFF position and seemingly works fine.

Hi you won't normally see the safely remove icon unless there is a usb device attached. Then it should show up so you can safely remove the device. If you dont see it click the up symbol on right hand side of taskbar to see if it is hiding in the tray. The
minute you insert a usb device it should be visible to you. If you have already done step 3 and step 4 that is all you should need to do to have it pop up automatically when usb device is present. It will disappear when the device is removed. Normal behavior
for you. Hope that clarifies.

 

Windows 10 USB boot

Hi there, am not a windows 10 expert. I have a pc in the bedroom on windows 10, I messed up the bootloader trying to fix the xp on that system.

System wont boot, trying to repair via win 10 usb installer.

Downloaded the media creation tool to install windows 10 installer on usb stick. Not compatible with a host of usb sticks I have. Tried the usb sticks that others use, but I think they use rufus; as the media creation tool by win 10 does not detect the usb stick.

So quick question, the win10 machine i am trying to repair the bootloader is a win7 upgraded to win10.
If i were to use the usb win10 installer to "repair installation" does the version of the iso downloaded via the media creation tool matter?

There is three options:
Windows 10
Windows 10 Home
Windows 10 N

Also is there a step by step instead of using rufus as I want to try an alternative method of creating a usb win 10 installer. Preferably with more compatibility.

System is a asus sabertooth 990 (r2?) with AMD phenom X 6.

Also is there any other software I can load onto the usb that can repair the bootloader easily?
That would be the ideal alternative. Thanks

 

USB Drives plugged in but No Safely Remove Icon in Tray, and


....no drives listed in Hardware List.

When I plug USB drives in, the Safely Remove Hardware icon does not appear in in system tray (its not hidden either)

First, I went to Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Select which Icons Appear on the Taskbar...





.. and found it was already on

Next I tried using the solution in this post...

Solved No safely remove icon in tray any more after Windows 10 Anniversary up - Windows 10 Forums

...making a shortcut from "rundll32 shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL hotplug.dll", but when I run the shortcut, there are no devices listed...





(in this screenshot, you can see two USB drives in the Explorer window in the BG but nothing listed in the panel. )

NOTE: They are listed in Disk Management and in the Device Manager under Disk Drives, and they function just fine..
I think the Safely Remove Hardware icon is not appearing because despite being detected and showing in Explorer, Device Manager and Disk Management, its not being listed in this panel for some reason.


NOTE2: I recently installed a new motherboard.

ASUS B150M-A
CPU Intel Core i5 - 6500 (3.2 GHz)
Mem 4096 MB (DDR4 - 2133)

I am 100% sure it was working before that, but I cannot say for sure if it was still working after that.
A friend suggested that it might be a setting in BIOS, but I have looked through it and nothing stands out.

Any suggestions would be welcome.


ETA: this is not the system listed in my System Specs page. That is another computer which I still have.