You made me wonder so I tried xp here and it plugs back in after stopping just nifty.

Maybe,
right click my computer and choose Manage.
Open & expand Services.

Double click on and see if these two services are set to Automatic ?
'SSDP Discovery Service'
'Universal Plug and Play Device Host'

They make plug and play work.

Thank you Mickie

I hope Jane has the same success, this had bothered me for ages though I had never sought a cure. Works as it should now ;-)

Hummm, Interesting. I will check that out.

I have always had the same problem and I found out that if I used the "Safely Remove" then it would shut down the whole drive and I couldn't insert another card until I did a "restart". Since I found that out I have been going to my computer, select the drive for the card, right click and hit eject. Only thing is, it only worked 2-3 times and I have to restart anyway. Its been a real pain because sometimes I have 5-8 cards I have to download at a time. I can download directly thru the drive with the "copy to" feature, but I want each photo to have the date of the day I took it and not just what numbers the camera give them.

I do believe this subject came up awhile back, but no real solution was ever posted. If just changing those settings works, Mikie you are the man!!!

I don't even have that option in my manage but I have no trouble with remove safely.

Urlee

Jane-
In my experience, using "Safely Remove" is generally an unnecessary step with thumb drives, and causes more trouble than it's worth. I know it's theoretically possible for some data to get corrupted, but I've never had it happen to me in many years of plugging in and unplugging thumb drives and memory cards for cameras. I'm a little more careful with my iPod and my removable hard drives. However, manufacturers know that people treat thumb drives as hot-swappable (which they're supposed to be), and take steps to idiot-proof these drives. Maybe I've been lucky, but I'm not going to bother with "Safely Remove" unless I run into a problem. And I never keep the only copy of an important file in just one location anyway.

Mikie, please take out a PO Box somewhere so all the greatful people can send you something special. I can't believe it Worked! Both places you mentioned were set to Manual. Now it works like a charm.

Kudzu, I agree and that's what I have been doing. I've never had a problem with a thumb drive either. Its my husband who worries when I plug in his various memory sticks (has 3 different cameras). We have 3 computers, all are XP. The old ones always worked with 'Safely' the newest one wouldn't.

Now it works. Mikie, please consider a PO Box and email me the address.

Thanks so much,
Jane

Mikie,

THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!

Never ceases to amaze me how much we can learn.....

Dora Lou

What I don't understand, and I wish Mikie could elaborate, how does he remember where everything is and 'what works what?'

Unless this is something I run into all the time, this problem will be lost to memory in about 2 months time. Have you worked developing Windows?

Just curious about your remarkable abilities....

Jane

UtOh this could be long and not too look nice, so check my spelling...

When I take an interest in something, usually, or maybe I should say sometimes, I become Obsessive Compulsive ? For a couple months anyhow I more or less tinker for way too many days/nites/hours - I'll have this desire/interest, a need to know 'how it works' and how it can be used, sometimes in ways nobody sees or understands.
Those compulsions tend to give me an understanding how this computer thing works which is basically logical thinking for some computer problems.

I've done some self taught Basic programing years ago before this internet thing, which I guess same deal,, compulsive obsessive initially - But thats never been my bag, sitting at a desk with my head bowed all day. But learning a bit of computer programming, learning a bit of hardware, did some serious off the wall never thought of programming on sci-fi calc's, in math/physics, I did buy a lot of mathamaticians history books. All this has taught me just a bit about these computer things.

My need to know in depth... I guess over time has allowded me to just sort of see what someones computer problem probably is. No windows or computer book training.

I have always thought I should buy a xp how-to book or two but its reached its end of life cycle. And my laptop really needs to be replaced before I invest time in learning vista changes.

So maybe someday I'll buy the Dummies Vista book, and will learn all about computers then.

So that's more or less how I 'guessed' at the fix.
Stops the port but it doesnt start back up. Guessed the usb hub was probably set manual and wouldn't see a new flash drive until booted. Looked at its service and its dependency on my xp. Made the suggestion.

It doesn't matter how you figured it out Mikie, you are AMAZING!

There are so many hiden files and folders and I'm sure most people are like me and wouldn't know where to look or even how to find them. You were there to guide us to them and explain what to look for. With mine the first one was set to "automatic", but the 2nd one was set to "Manual". I will check them again before I use the builtin card slots to make sure I have them set correctly thou. Now I will have to wait another week because the race track I'm a track photographer at has canceled the races for this weekend due to the southern Calif. fires. Believe me after the next race I will be giving it a try with lots of media cards and see how it responds ;o)

Again ((hugs)) to you Mikie!!

I work in Psychiatry. There are quite a few people who are obsessive/compulsive types. Most are quite successful at what they do unless they let it take over all their time. Most people become obsessive with things they love to do. I think I speak for many people on this forum, that your obsession has certainly helped us out of some road-blocks with our computers.

I wish I was that fascinated by it. I do find it amazing, at times, but so very frustrating. It has become so essential to everday living, but it often requires so much mechanical knowledge to figure out what to do when something doesn't work. I also think it takes much longer to accomplish many tasks than the old way. Everyone seems to take that for granted, but it annoys me.

Keep up your compulsive ways - Vista is looming and we will all need your help...

Thanks again,
Jane

Correction, I did manage to find it after poking around and here is what mine is set to.
{{gwi:1497363}}

Am I correct in thinking you people were having the problem when it was in "Manual" and changed it to "Automatic to solve your problem"?

My operating system is XP Pro and I have had no problem with my (2) thumb drives etc. at the manual setting??
Happy to know it solved yours if I understood it right.
Urlee

That's exactly how mine was set (XP Pro). Changed them both to automatic and it works perfectly.

The problem only occurs when you plug in a flash or memory stick, remove it, hit 'safely' and stick it back in. Then the computer doesn't see the drive. If you reboot it works again.

So I bought these two cake mixes,, devils food and I dunno, something else chocolate. $1 each store brand.

If I bake them in 8 inch square pans rather than 8 inch round pans that the instructions call for,
do I need to be conserned about the set temperatures or baking time?

Jane,

I plugged in my Flash drive, opened to look at a file, closed, clicked on Safely Remove "Drive K", pulled the drive out, inserted it in again, the "What do you want to do" window popped up as usual and worked just fine like always.

Works fine as is and was, in Manual, but like I say, cheers for it solving other's problem they had?
Try and figure that one out?

Urlee (smiles)

Looks like you have something already tying up SSDP to keep it active, probably starts at boot. So its more or less on go already. Then it turns back on your usb ports after you stop it.

Am I the only one taking the bait :o)

No it won't matter, the time and temps should be the same. Just make sure you oil and flour the pan before putting the batter in them.

Mikie you are to much *LOL*

box said when a toothpic stabbed in center pulls out clean... Done.
Instructions called for 350F for 35 to 40 minutes for a 8 inch round pan ... toothpic said those 8 inch square pans were done at 25 minutes.

I dont have any flower. So I cant believe its not butter, seems to have worked.

Mikie you did good! I never pay alot of attention to time requirement anyway. Alot has to do with the oven you use, gas or electric and even attitude. The toothpick is the best way to tell or even a light touch on the top in the center if you press and it pops back up.....its done!

BTW, Its "flour" not "flower" and never use butter to grease pans because it burns easily. Plain cooking oil dusted with flour makes it very easy to remove the cake after it has sat for awhile when done.

Next time take 2 baked layers of chocolate cake and layer them with vanilla pudding and sliced bananas between the layers. Ice with whip cream.......yummy!

Mickie I see that if you are not very careful msm is going to make a chef out of you before Christmas.

OK, so it is cooked, does it taste good? Enquiring minds need to know if the shape affected the taste at all ;-)

Yep, tastes like cake.
Little bit on the light weight side.
Think I kind of like heavy cake.

Swelled up big, amazing. Glad I didnt pour it all into just one pan,,which I considered because it looked so thin before cooking.
I'd probably have a mushroom looking thing.

I get the "What do you want to do" window when I plug in my SD card and thumb drive. Why don't I get the window for my external floppy drive? I only can view it by going to my compter.

Tumbleweed, Just like the viewer asked you, What do you want to do? You have choices and if you want to transfer the files to your documents there is a choice for that. Just highlight it. I always set up a new folder in my documents for that purpose before starting. If you pick to transfer then there will be a "Browse" tab to select where the files are to go. Also it will ask you to name the files, but keep in mind what ever you choice you should keep short and to the point. For me I always use the date I took the photos. Like 102707 so I have each one dated. they will download with that number followed by numbers starting with 001 and so forth. If its a doc file then name it for its contents. like ZA-setup (for Zone Alarm setup).

I'll take this time to remind everyone NOT to format media cards used in cameras on the computer! Only do so in the camera you took the photos with. I'm sure thumb drives are a different story, but I wouldn't know I never use them.

MsM84 (aka: Ms.Mary)

Tumbleweed, Just like the viewer asked you, What do you want to do? You have choices and if you want to transfer the files to your documents there is a choice for that. Just highlight it. I always set up a new folder in my documents for that purpose before starting. If you pick to transfer then there will be a "Browse" tab to select where the files are to go. Also it will ask you to name the files, but keep in mind what ever you choice you should keep short and to the point. For me I always use the date I took the photos. Like 102707 so I have each one dated. they will download with that number followed by numbers starting with 001 and so forth. If its a doc file then name it for its contents. like ZA-setup (for Zone Alarm setup).

I'll take this time to remind everyone NOT to format media cards used in cameras on the computer! Only do so in the camera you took the photos with. I'm sure thumb drives are a different story, but I wouldn't know I never use them.

MsM84 (aka: Ms.Mary)

MsM84, When I insert my floppy drive I only get a safely remove hardware icon. No what to you want to do window.

What do you normally do with your floppy drive ?
(dont think I've even used a floppy the past few years)

I have a large collecting of photos, fonts and clipart. Some recovery disks, memory tests and rescue disks. One camera and 98 pc have a floppy drive I find them less problematic than new technology. I'm in the process of backing up things and transferring photos to a digital photo frame for a christmas gift.

Might want to make a shortcut to your floppy drive on your desktop if you prefer not accessing it through myComputer or Explorer, or FileManager or the program you want to use it with.

Normal floppy drives just kind of sit there until called upon by a program or you access the drive to run or move or save something with it.

Glad you cake turned out Mikie, I'm baking a pumpkin cheesecake and waiting for the timer to ring. It's a Martha Stewart receipe.

Anyway, MSM, what do you mean about formating a card or flash? Don't know what that means. If I stick my memory stick in, I view and move the pics I want. I then delete the others from the stick. Is that what you mean? I do the same with the flash. I move the file off the flash onto the computer.

Jane

Jane, You can usually find rules for formatting in your camera instruction book, but if not I will try to explain. Formatting can be a very delicate process for media cards. (I don't know about thumb drives because as I mentioned before I don't use them.) It is a known fact by serious photographers and alot of the amatures as well that cards can be ruined by formatting via computer and not in the camera that took the photos. Each camera has its own way of formatting and as we all know ever company that build computers walk to their own beat and then they throw MicroSoft or what ever into the mix. On the photography forum I frequent there are lots of posts from people who ask why their media card isn't recognized any longer by their camera and don't understand why. The first question that is asked by the pros is "How do you format your cards?" 9 out of 10 say via the computer after downloading. Just because it hasn't happen to you doesn't mean it won't when its least expected. Another reason its not a good idea is what if you got all those precious photos downloaded, formatted the card and then your computer crashes the next day. For me I always leave them on the cards after downloading and backup everything to DVDs before I ever format! And I'm talking about 600-800 photos every weekend.

I you want to verify this go to DPreview.com and go to their forum. Just do a search there.

MsM84 (aka: Ms.Mary)
Track Photgrapher

fwiw
original question
RE: Safely Remove Hardware???

When you have a card or flash drive plugged in on xp,
you might want to Double click the 'Safely Remove Hardware' icon.
Select your SanDisc, or whomevers.
Press Properties
Click the Policies tab.

I'm really new to XP and didn't know about the Safely Remove Hardware thing :o( I just used a flash drive once and it "skeered" me. So..having said this, I went and checked and mine was set to manual also...

Do you recommend that I set it to automatic in case I get brave enough to plug in my flash drive. I have an external hard drive where I have been backing things up...and I used the "safely remove" thing yesterday when I read this post.

But...shall I set it to automatic? I already did :o) but do you recommend that setting?

My thoughts on Automatic Services...
Setting a service to Automatic will Start that Service at boot, before whatever process that uses that particular service actually asks for it.
Automatic saves fractions of a moment in time at boot if a Service is going to be Started at boot by a particular process anyhow. (boots up faster)

If the Service doesnt already start at your normal boot, you might as well leave it set to Manual to save a sliver of memory - unless of course it is for something you frequently or maybe even fairly occassionly use & might have discovered difficulties with.

Okay I'm using Vista and getting back to the original question my computer does the same thing when I use the Safely Remove Hardware Icon... my drives disappear. What I understand is using that Icon basically turns off the USB drives making it safe to remove the device and upon bootup they are turned back on again. For now I only use the USB ports for my thumb drive and digital camera. Since there are no moving parts in the thumb drive... once the copying is done with can it just be withdrawn from the computer without using the Safely Remove Hardware or will it damage the computer? The same for the camera... would it be safe to simply just unplug the cord once the downloading of pictures is complete?

Bob

I can't say that it's safe, but I've been ignoring the Safely Remove Hardware Icon and just unplugging them for a long time with no bad results.

Same as Bob. I ignored it because it would prevent me from putting in another card or flash. It wouldn't restart. I would just remove the flash or card without clicking on it.

Thanks to Mikies advice, setting it to auto, works no matter how many times I go in or out. Not using it never cause any damage to anything. But I worried it might.

Jane

Well so much for what seemed a good fix. Mikie's fix worked great with my thumb drives but it seems it does not help with removing a memory card from my HP printer.

Ah well, half fixed is better than nothing I suppose :-)

So...wouldn't you have to change the printer settings instead of the computer settings when inserting a card into a printer? I know nothing...nothing, I tell you...but, that seems to make sense to me.

Ooh, you got me going there maybee, haha. No, nothing on the printer settings, good thinking though. The card reader on the printer shows up in the 'Safely remove' window but never allows me the priviledge. So I simply switch the printer off then remove the card, that works.

I rarely print photos and never from the memory card

I'm really confused here. I don't want to damage anything. I have an external card reader. I've just been plugging it in and unplugging it...so now I decided to do it right and "Safely Remove Hardware". I clicked on the icon and there are two USB ports listed there...one for my printer and one for the card reader..how do I know which one to click on? And..if I clicked on the one for my printer and I don't want to remove my printer...what would happen? Now, I leave my printer hooked up and just turn it off when not in use, but I don't "remove" it...I'm really confused about this.....

Just click on the one for the card reader if that is what you are going to take out. Since you keep your printer plugged in, don't click the "safely remove" for that port.

Thought I would share with you you all.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hardware shortcut icon