Computer Haven
https://computerhaven.com/forum/

How to make USB work
https://computerhaven.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=34&t=599		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  chadslink [ Sun Jun 30, 2013 12:53 pm ]
Post subject:  How to make USB work
Is it possible to plug a flash drive into my Windows 7 Pro computer and have it recognized on the screen in a Virtual Box running Windows 8.1 or Windows XP ?
Author:  jaylach [ Sun Jun 30, 2013 6:45 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How to make USB work
Yes it is but I can't be of much help. Look at your tools bar at the top and possibly in the settings. Some devices have to be manually set up.
Author:  chadslink [ Mon Jul 01, 2013 1:24 am ]
Post subject:  Re: How to make USB work
jaylach wrote:
Yes it is but I can't be of much help. Look at your tools bar at the top and possibly in the settings. Some devices have to be manually set up.


Hi Jay, I was stumbling all around in the usb settings but could not get any of them to work but while I was messing around with it, my San Disk Image Reader showed up. Why that and not usb drives I don't have a clue because they were all listed. It can only handle about 60mb but makes it quite easy to load an image to the reader from my Windows 7 Computer and have it open from the same reader in XP. I experimented a bit with the reader and found that I was also able to load text documents and videos providing the videos are under the 60mb.

Attachments:
reader.jpg
reader.jpg [ 47.27 KiB | Viewed 10356 times ]
Author:  Acadia [ Mon Jul 01, 2013 7:16 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How to make USB work
chadslink, did you install your Guest Additions?

Acadia
Author:  jaylach [ Mon Jul 01, 2013 7:29 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How to make USB work
First off on the XP side I would not use VirtualBox, I'd use XP Mode. You will not have USB issues and you will also be able to launch programs installed on XP Mode straight from the Win 7 Pro Desktop.

On the 8.1 VM, did you look in the tools bar at the top of the VirtualBox Window under the different tabs to see if your Flash Drive is listed? You may have to click here and there to find it. If I remember correctly you will need to select your flash drive from such a menu option and mount. What I'm saying is pretty much guess work and memory. I have not run VirtualBox in ages. Since MS has added USB to their virtual software I have not seen the need. If I wanted to preview a new OS such as Win 8.1 I would not install to a virtual machine at all. If I did not have an actual drive to do the install I would not. You have to keep in mind that a virtual machine has its own hardware emulated through software. It is not directly using your physical hardware. The emulated hardware in a virtual machine is far inferior to the actual physical hardware of your machine. In a virtual environment you will never see how the new OS would actually run on your physical machine. Virtual machines have their use and place but testing the performance of a new OS is not one of them.
Author:  chadslink [ Mon Jul 01, 2013 10:04 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How to make USB work
Acadia wrote:
chadslink, did you install your Guest Additions?

Acadia


I'm working on trying to do this.
Author:  chadslink [ Mon Jul 01, 2013 11:56 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How to make USB work
jaylach wrote:
First off on the XP side I would not use VirtualBox, I'd use XP Mode. You will not have USB issues and you will also be able to launch programs installed on XP Mode straight from the Win 7 Pro Desktop.

On the 8.1 VM, did you look in the tools bar at the top of the VirtualBox Window under the different tabs to see if your Flash Drive is listed? You may have to click here and there to find it. If I remember correctly you will need to select your flash drive from such a menu option and mount. What I'm saying is pretty much guess work and memory. I have not run VirtualBox in ages. Since MS has added USB to their virtual software I have not seen the need. If I wanted to preview a new OS such as Win 8.1 I would not install to a virtual machine at all. If I did not have an actual drive to do the install I would not. You have to keep in mind that a virtual machine has its own hardware emulated through software. It is not directly using your physical hardware. The emulated hardware in a virtual machine is far inferior to the actual physical hardware of your machine. In a virtual environment you will never see how the new OS would actually run on your physical machine. Virtual machines have their use and place but testing the performance of a new OS is not one of them.


Can't use XP Mode because Movie Maker does not work in that. I have 4 usb ports running on Windows 7 Pro and only the San disk Image one works. Don't have a clue why that one and not the others.

Attachments:
usba.jpg
usba.jpg [ 55.34 KiB | Viewed 10325 times ]
Author:  Acadia [ Tue Jul 02, 2013 7:03 am ]
Post subject:  Re: How to make USB work
You can download a manual from the VB website that explains all of this. My guess is that after you get those Guest Additions installed, everything will work. Good luck.

Acadia
Author:  jaylach [ Tue Jul 02, 2013 7:38 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How to make USB work
Yes, as Acadia states Guest Additions needs to be installed in any case but I'm not totally sure that it is needed for USB.

You are posting a screen shot of the VirtualBox settings console. Have you looked for and mounted another USB device from the top menu bar in a VirtualBox Window? If you are running VirtualBox full screen exit to running in a Window. At the top you will see a menu list. Go through this menu looking for USB and then an option to mount a USB device. If I remember right VirtualBox is a little like Linux in this respect, you have to mount the device.

Please keep in mind that I'm trying to go from memory on software that I never used a lot.
Author:  chadslink [ Wed Jul 03, 2013 7:21 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How to make USB work
jaylach wrote:
Yes, as Acadia states Guest Additions needs to be installed in any case but I'm not totally sure that it is needed for USB.

You are posting a screen shot of the VirtualBox settings console. Have you looked for and mounted another USB device from the top menu bar in a VirtualBox Window? If you are running VirtualBox full screen exit to running in a Window. At the top you will see a menu list. Go through this menu looking for USB and then an option to mount a USB device. If I remember right VirtualBox is a little like Linux in this respect, you have to mount the device.

Please keep in mind that I'm trying to go from memory on software that I never used a lot.


The VB guest Additions are installed on XP Pro. Windows 8.1 does not allow the guest additions to be installed. On XP, I get an error message when I try to mount any usb device other than my San disk image writer. See pic below. I do not understand why one usb device can work and not the others.

Attachments:
screenshot6.jpg
screenshot6.jpg [ 98.52 KiB | Viewed 10291 times ]
Author:  jaylach [ Wed Jul 03, 2013 10:55 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How to make USB work
While I never really used VirtualBox much I will do what I can... probably very little.

OK, two things that I want to know...

1) You have one USB device working. Have you tried pulgging another device into the exact same USB port as the device that is working?

2) When I try to help I will often reference previous posts via a site search. With a screen shot it is impossible to search for text. Could you please give a text listing of all devices involved and if they work or not. I know, the one Sandisk is the only one working. The text list is just to help me help you.

Ahhh, one other point. Is it possible that the working device is plugged into either front or back USB ports while the not working devices are plugged into the opposite? It is not impossible that VirtualBox is only picking up one USB Root Hub.

Since one USB device works it is apparent that the Guest Additions are not needed for USB although the install would probably help a lot even if not with the USB.

I would REALLY like to see you plug another device, preferably a simple one such as another not working flash drive, into the same port as the working device. I would suggest re-booting the VM when this is done. Please let me know the results.
Author:  chadslink [ Thu Jul 04, 2013 12:19 am ]
Post subject:  Re: How to make USB work
jaylach wrote:
While I never really used VirtualBox much I will do what I can... probably very little.

OK, two things that I want to know...

1) You have one USB device working. Have you tried pulgging another device into the exact same USB port as the device that is working?

2) When I try to help I will often reference previous posts via a site search. With a screen shot it is impossible to search for text. Could you please give a text listing of all devices involved and if they work or not. I know, the one Sandisk is the only one working. The text list is just to help me help you.

Ahhh, one other point. Is it possible that the working device is plugged into either front or back USB ports while the not working devices are plugged into the opposite? It is not impossible that VirtualBox is only picking up one USB Root Hub.

Since one USB device works it is apparent that the Guest Additions are not needed for USB although the install would probably help a lot even if not with the USB.

I would REALLY like to see you plug another device, preferably a simple one such as another not working flash drive, into the same port as the working device. I would suggest re-booting the VM when this is done. Please let me know the results.


I plugged my San Disk into the same port as the working device was in and I was able to make everything work in XP Pro so thanks very much for that Jay. I can't find any information on how to make all this work in 8.1 though. I was able to download the VBox Extension Pack but when I try to install the Virtual Box extension pack, a window pops up and asks, "how do you want to open this type of file". It is not an .exe file so I do not see any options that will allow me to open it. I downloaded a couple of .exe files like a video convertor and they open and work fine.
Author:  jaylach [ Thu Jul 04, 2013 12:56 am ]
Post subject:  Re: How to make USB work
It is quite possible that this just is not going to work with Win 8.1 until VirtualBos rewrites the code to handle the new OS.

No matter what they call it the current version of 8.1 is a test version you have to expect issues. When you then try to run it in a VM you are compounding the potential for issues.

My honest, best, advice is to quit doing this. Unless you can dedicate a partition, or better, a totally different drive to do the install, you will have more issues than success.

You have already stated that there is no way that you would use Win 8.1 so why do you keep trying to go on with it? Please do not say that you want to see what it is like because putting it on a VM is NOT seeing what it is like.
Page 1 of 1 All times are UTC - 5 hours [ DST ]
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group
http://www.phpbb.com/