"Safely Remove Hardware" icon always present

[Ozpete]

Any thoughts on this, guys? This icon is present in System Tray whenever computer is powered up even though there are no removable storage devices present. All USB ports work OK except the one usb 2 port in a pre-installed multi card reader. All the other readers in this device appear as removable devices in My Computer. Every few minutes a popup advises that "this device should be connected to a faster port for better results". What device? None connected! Could the reference be to the "missing" USB port?

Device Manager indicates all drivers are present except for one "Unknown Device". I cannot track down what this device is...aparently it is not the multi card reader as elements of this...except the USB port...are shown in Device Manager OK. Any help would be appreciated.

[JayCub]

Just out of curiosity do you have anything plugged into your keyboard as i have two usb ports on my keyboard and i remember getting the same result... other than that i haven't come across this problem any other times... sorry i can't be of further help

[Ozpete]

Thanks JayCub. No, there's nothing plugged into keyboard. In fact I have been using PS/2 keyboard and mouse in order to keep all USB ports clear. I cannot do a system restore as I have just done a clean install of XP Pro on this computer. The problem had been present prior to this format and install.

[Alboguy]

Does it show anything to remove when you click the icon? Maybe there's a device inside your central unit that's connected via USB and doesn't appear under safely remove menu to keep you from not accidentally ejecting it. I remember in a friends PC there were 4 USB-based devices connected while there was no flash drive or anything else visible connected. And also you might want to boot in safe mode to check if the icon is still there.

[JayCub]

Here is a link Ozpete that might be able to help you out http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/u...kellyxp03.mspx

apparently there are a few threads that people have found this problem occuring but i didn't spot any definate answer that would solve your problem

plus one more for you to look at

http://www.keyongtech.com/3449602-sa...re-icon-always

[Ozpete]

Thanks again guys. Since my previous post, I shut down, disconnected the card reader then rebooted. Icon had disappeared. All readers, except, the USB port are OK. Must be a prob in the device. Re the "Unknown Device" in device manager, it seems this is not connected with the other problem. Apparently it is for the "Away Mode", a feature of Windows XP Media Center Edition which had been previously running this machine. This can be fixed in BIOS. Thanks again.

[JayCub]

Thanks for the feed back Ozpete and it's great to hear you have it sorted out