Is there another way to safely remove hardware if the icon has disappeared from the taskbar?

Is there another way to safely remove hardware if the icon has disappeared from the task bar?

YES!

However, it depends on the hardware.

For USB Memory Sticks or Externally connected Hard Drives then the best way to safely remove them is:

1) From your start menu, find and execute Run (i.e. run "RUN").
2) Type in the following (or copy and paste) including the spaces:

"RunDll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL hotplug.dll"

3) Click 'OK'.
4) A new window will appear. In the bottom left hand side tick the box "Display Device Components".
5) Select the device you wish to safely remove (so it's highlighted), and click on "Stop".
6) Windows should then remove the device safely.

Do I have to keep doing this all the time?

No! You can create a shortcut on the desktop easily:

1) Right click on the desktop, select "New", select "Shortcut"
2) In the location field type in the following and then click on 'Next' (do not click the browse button):

"RunDll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL hotplug.dll"

3) Name it 'Safely Remove Hardware', then click on 'Finish'.
4) The shortcut will be on your desktop and you can use this if the icon disappears again in the future.