Help! Removing Removable(!) Drives
 

So, uh. Here's my problem.

I was using a USB drive to transfer some files on to my new desktop PC. I was sure to use the "safely remove hardware" dongle in my tray each time I took the drive out. But, I guess even though it gave me the message that it was safe to remove the drive, the computer doesn't realize I actually removed it. So what I'm stuck with in My Computer is this:

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j4...edu/drives.jpg

Whenever I restart Windows, the Safely Remove Hardware tray icon pops up and tells me I can remove the drives. So I go into it, and remove the drives.

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j4...edu/remove.jpg

But they don't go away. They go away temporarily, but if I restart Windows, the computer thinks for some reason that these drives are still present.

I've tried deleting them in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE registry, but they keep coming back.

What am I missing? :tpg:

I also have 4 removable disks that won't go away.
Whenever I insert an actual USB Flash Drive, it takes the next available drive letter.
I'm not sure what those 4 are linked to, but it could be my media card reader (the ones for digital cameras n shit.)

If you really want those drive letters gone, go into your System Properties (Windows key + Break) > Hardware Tab > Device Manager > "Storage Volumes"

There you will see those "Generic Volumes" and can disable/enable as you wish.
Try that and see if those drives come back on restart or not.

What does Disk Management Console show? (Start -> Run -> Diskmgmt.msc)

Question: Do you have a media card [SD, CF, Memory Stick, etc] reader in/attached to your computer?

I do have a media card reader. But, shouldn't those drives only show up when there's something in the drive? And why does my computer tell me I can safely remove my media from those drives, even though there's nothing in them? And when I do run the safely remove the nonexistant hardware, the drives all disappear from my drive list?

It's nothing particularly major, I guess. Just annoying.

Heh, I didn't pay attention to the graphic. Those ARE media card slots. And yes, they will appear on your computer even without media inserted. What's happening is Windows is auto-detecting them every time you start up, so that's why deleting them did no good.

If you want them gone for good, disable them as per striped phantom's instructions.

I usually assign drive letters to my media card slots, P, Q, R and S. You can do that via Disk Manager.

My computer has a card reader built in, and displays all those extra drives. I rarely use it though--the only thing I usually DO use is a memory stick, and I connect it via my PSP so I don't use the card slots at all.

I just disable the drivers for the card reader in the device manager, and they go away. :D