Undock Button to "safely remove" drives?

[golightlygl]

On all other laptops I've owned there has been an "undock" button which effectively carries out the "safely remove USB" functions and screen disconnect functions.

I can find no such thing on the SP3 and no discussion of its absence. Is there a hack to restore it or at least an app or macro that can execute the "safely remove" functions with a single click?

 

[Jesse San Nicolas]

You have to have a device connected in order to see this option in the systray. Just plug in a USB flash drive and you will see it. If nothing is connected, then it doesn't show in systray.

 

[golightlygl]

I do have a drive connected to the docking station. The "safely remove" icon shows but I'm looking for an Undock option (it used to be tied to shutdown/logoff/restart) that will "safely remove" everything and reset the projector from the external screen to the laptop screen. Much more convenient than doing everything individually and in a logical place.

 

[GreyFox7]

I do have a drive connected to the docking station. The "safely remove" icon shows but I'm looking for an Undock option (it used to be tied to shutdown/logoff/restart) that will "safely remove" everything and reset the projector from the external screen to the laptop screen. Much more convenient than doing everything individually and in a logical place.

That sounds like a vendor specific modification? I don't recall ever seeing that... what brand of laptop was it? Then again maybe I just never knew it was there

 

[golightlygl]

I've had it on everything from Dells, Toshibas, Sonys. In Windows 7, MS said:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc754084.aspx

To undock a portable computer

1. Click Start.
2. On the Start menu, to the right of the Power down and Lock buttons, click the arrow button to reveal the Shutdown Options menu.
   
   If your computer is recognized by Windows as a portable computer that supports undocking, then Undock appears on this menu. If you computer is not recognized as a computer that supports undocking, then Undock does not appear.
3. Click Undock.

After you receive notification that it is safe to do so, undock your portable computer.I If you have a motorized docking station, your portable computer will undock automatically.

Additional considerations

• Undock appears on the Shutdown Options menu only if the computer is Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI)-enabled and recognized as a portable computer in a docking station. If Undock does not appear on the Shutdown Options menu, your computer is not ACPI-enabled, or might not support undocking.
• Some computers have an eject button on the docking station. Pressing the eject button instead of following this procedure also undocks the laptop. For more information, see the documentation provided with your docking station.

It seems very odd that this is missing from their own device with their own software.

 

[ColEdinburgh]

 

[golightlygl]

Thanks but that is to "safely remove" each piece of hardware attached. Windows 7 had the ability to safely remove all the devices in one go and restore the screen with an "undock" button. Do we know if that has been hidden, can be restored or has been deliberately left off the functionality of Windows 8.1?

 

[GreyFox7]

That explains it, I never used any of the traditional docking stations even though I got one with laptops that were handed out they went in the drawer. I was so used to mobile working a dock just didn't fit into my system

 

[dleuen]

It seems very odd that this is missing from their own device with their own software.

It seems pretty clear that Microsoft is organized as silos and the Windows division hardly knows the Surface division even exists. That is quite common in large corporations.

That being said, I installed a program called usb_disk_eject and created a desktop shortcut to one click eject my USB drive before I remove my SP3 from my dock since I have enabled disk caching on it to improve performance.