I have a laptop and before i disconnect a external usb mouse, i look for the hardware icon in the right hand side task bar so that i can safely remove it. (The same as before you would remove a usb thumb drive - storage).

Question - should there be a hardware icon for a usb mouse in task bar, or is it normal for there to be no icon (it is OK to just pull the usb mouse out/remove),

thanks,

OK too pull the USB mouse out or plug it in for that matter. Not OK with PS/2 mouse port. Turn the machine off to unplug or plug in a PS/2 device.