How to Safely Remove Hardware in Windows 7

Before you can disconnect a device from your Windows 7 computer, you must first prepare Windows for a change by using Safely Remove Hardware. When you click the Safely Remove Hardware icon in the taskbar, Windows stores any data back on the device and frees it from being held. If you remove the device without using the Safely Remove Hardware feature, you risk damaging your files.
In most cases, the devices you connect to your Windows 7 computer will have USB connections. USB has become the most popular type of connector because it is Plug and Play compatible and because you can connect or remove a USB device without restarting the computer using Safely Remove Hardware in Windows 7.

1. Click the Safely Remove Hardware icon in the system tray, near the clock.
A popup will appear listing the devices that can be removed.
Since most devices connect to computers using USB connections, the Safely remove devices icon looks like a USB connector with a green check mark on it

2. Click the item you want to remove in the popup menu.
Windows will release the device’s internal connections.

3. When you see a pop-up saying that it is safe to remove the device, you can disconnect the device.
If you want to remove multiple devices, you have to go through the whole process for each item.