Re the USB connection icon: I got that yesterday after I hooked up to my laptop to transfer some books. I realized that I had forgotten to do a proper disconnect from the laptop before shutting off the USB connection on the PE. Could that be why it kept showing in your notification bar? When I'm doing things "properly" I use either the "Safely Remove Hardware" icon in Windows or the "Eject Device" tab in Calibre to disconnect before I tell my PE to shut down the USB connection and then pull the plug.

Am I correct in thinking this is the best method?? I'll try it again later and see if that USB icon in the notification bar does NOT appear.