On Sun, May 14, 2006 at 01:54:27PM -0700, Joseph Tainter wrote: > Thanks, Jostein and John. I am using Windows XP. > > I use the little green arrow in the Taskbar, labeled "Safely Remove > Hardware." I have found that if I doesn't use that, Windows scolds me. I > have the issue with card readers, thumbdrives, and the external 250 GB > drive I can use on either Firewire or USB. > > If I remove a CF card (or any of these) through the "Safely Remove > Hardware" method, I cannot then insert a new card (or re-insert the > thumbdrive or turn the external hard drive back on) without rebooting. > Windows just won't recognize it.
That's exactly counter to my experience. I, too, am running Windows XP (SP2). I regularly use thumb drives and/or external (USB & Firewire) hard drives, all of which require me to use "Safely Remove Hardware". I've never run into the problem you describe. Sure, the device goes away when I click on the device in the "Safely Remove Hardware" pop-up. But the next time I plug in a device plug-and-play detects it, and it shows up just fine. I'd suggest checking to make sure you've got the latest driver updates for your USB controller.
