No USB icon in task tray

It used to be that when I plugged a usb device into my pc (win ME) I'd see a USB icon in the task tray, that I would click on and use to unplug or eject a USB device. Now it doesn't appear anymore, and when I turn off or unplug a device, the PC crashes. How do I get this icon to appear in the tray again, or at least how do I turn off or unplug the device without a problem. Thanks

 

If anyone ever has this problem, go to C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM and scroll down to Systray.EXE, and click on it, took me a lot of headscratchin' to figure it out, but it fixed my problem. Hope it helps someone else.

 

Well, no it didn't exactly fix it. When I restart the PC the usb icon doesn't show again, neither does the volume icon, till i go into windows\system and click systray.exe again. So what I've done now is make a short cut on the desk top for it to make it a little easier to start, but how do I get it to just start at startup like it should?

 

For general Taskbar/Notification tray issues: http://www.majorgeeks.com/Taskbar_Repair_Tool_Plus_d4307.html
For improved "Safely Remove" functionality, create a shortcut to the full UI: Right click desktop>New>Shortcut. In the box that says "Type the location of the item," paste this:

C:\WINDOWS\system32\rundll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL hotplug.dll

 

Thank you for the reply and help, when I try to create the shortcut it tells me "C:\WINDOWS\system32\rundll32.exe can not be found"?

 

Actually, that is not good news. Rundll32 is a system file and should be present in the system 32 folder. It is also known as "Run dll as an app."
Several functions of the system depend on it. I suggest that your do a "scannow." It is essentially a Windows self check. You will need your XP CD to insert into the CD drive when asked. For clear instructions and what to do if you don't have a disc see: http://www.updatexp.com/scannow-sfc.html This procedure will replace any missing system files with new ones from the disc. If this file is missing, others may be as well.
Good luck, and please post back with your progress.