Disconnecting USB Devices crashes the system

[aschb]

If I disconnect an USB Device (plug off the cable) like SanDisk Cruzer Mini 4GB or any other devices like an attached Harddisk Maxtor, sometimes (but not always) the Notebook will issue a warning message (on a blue screen) that a serious hardware malfunction happened and afterwards a reboot takes place. After the Windows startup a message from XP shows up "Driver malfunction" and the system will continue as usual. If a plug in an USB Device everyhing works fine. Only at disconnect time (with our without Software disconnect) the crash takes place 4 times out of 5. Thx for help.

[GomJabbar]

That's what the Safely Remove Hardware icon is for in the Tasktray.

Look for the cocked silver rectangle with the green left pointing arrow on top. That is the Safely Remove Hardware icon. Single left click on it and a dialog box will pop up, showing the hardware devices you can remove. Highlight the one for the USB drive and click on it. Very soon another dialog box will pop up saying it is now safe to remove the hardware. Now you can unplug the USB drive. You should always do this before unplugging any drive or memory device. It is not necessary to do this for a USB mouse.

[jdhurst]

I had almost always done a "Safely Remove" anyway, and then when I got my Sony-Ericsson wireless card, they pointed out that failure to use "Safely Remove" could wreck the card because of voltage damage. No idle warning, then, to use "Safely Remove" - always be sure to use.
... JD Hurst

[aschb]

Thx. I used 'Safely Remove Hardware' Icon. The USB Device is "disconnected" and the light of the Device turns off.

Same result. When I disconnect the hardware it takes about 5-10 seconds and my T43 crashes...