Hi Mike,

I don't think you have given us the complete picture, it is good to fully
describe everything so people understand the setup. I had to go to the
"magic jack" website to see what this is.

From the web site, this appears to be a USB dongle that provides VOIP
service through your computer and internet connection. This provides half of
the clues to your problem.

The other half I can probably guess, you have a USB hub (port) on your
monitor, and you plugged the Magic Jack dongle into that port. If this is
the case, then the problem you are seeing is that when you power off the
monitor, you are powering off the hub, so that Magic Jack becomes
disconnected from your computer. Depending on how robust the drivers are,
they may or may not fully recover from this condition. The "Safely Remove
Hardware" icon appears when you have USB devices plugged in that may need
manual intervention to properly disconnect them. When you go through this
removal process, it lets the USB driver properly disconnect from the device.
This would then require you to unplug and plug the device back in for it to
become recognized again.

I suggest that you do not turn your monitor off, but simply set the power
options (right click your desktop, select "Settings" or "Properties", go to
the "Screen Saver" tab and click "Power") to turn off the power to the
monitor after some period of time. This does not actually turn the whole
monitor off, but puts it in a low power standby mode, which doesn't turn off
the USB port.

The other possibility is to plug Magic Jack into a port directly on your
computer rather than the monitor. This may be inconvenient in some cases
(most computers within the last 2 or 3 years should have front USB ports) if
you only have rear USB ports. This could be accomodated by using a USB
extension cable or USB hub to top of your desk or table.

Russ Poffenberger
[log in to unmask] 

-----Original Message-----
From: Personal Computer Hardware discussion List
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Mike
Sent: Friday, January 11, 2008 5:16 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [PCBUILD] "Safely Remove Hardware" Help Needed


Please keep in mind I am a computer novice and may not use the proper
computer language. In the past, I have posted questions and would like to
thank everyone for their help and information. I greatly appreciate it. 

I use a computer phone service called Magic Jack. I think it's considered a
"soft" phone. I have Windows XP, and keep it updated. 

My question is about the icon "Safely Remove Hardware". I know that it is
there for a good reason and not to remove it. My computer is not in
hibernation mode or sleep, and all other power options are off, except for
my monitor. That goes to sleep after 15 minutes. At night, I turn off my
monitor and leave my computer on.

When I turn my monitor on in the morning, I hear a series of 2-3 beeps and
Magic Jack at times will unload itself and then I have to load it. Sometimes
it will reload by itself. Also, there were times, that after the computer
has been idle awhile during the day, this same thing will happen.

I thought it was a Magic Jack problem but now I think it may have something
to do with the "Safely Remove Hardware". Is there a way I can find info
about this "Safely Remove Hardware"? I tried the Help from Windows and
couldn't find anything. 


Again, any help or info will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

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