Specifications

Install a PDA Driver and Synchronize With a Virtual Machine
To install a PDA driver in a virtual machine, you must synchronize the PDA with the virtual machine.
Procedure
1 Connect the PDA to the host system and synchronize it with the host system.
The PDA driver should begin installing in the virtual machine.
2 Allow the virtual machine to install the PDA driver.
3 If connection warning messages appear, dismiss them.
4 If the PDA disconnects from the host system before the virtual machine can synchronize with it,
synchronize the PDA with the host system again.
The total time required to load the VMware USB device driver in the host system and install the PDA
driver in the virtual machine might exceed the device connection timeout value. A second
synchronization attempt usually succeeds.
Troubleshooting USB Device Control Sharing
Only the host system or the virtual machine can have control of a particular USB device at any one time.
Device control operates differently, depending on whether the host system is a Linux or a Windows
computer.
When you connect a device to a virtual machine, it is disconnected from the host system or from the virtual
machine that previously had control of the device. When you disconnect a device from a virtual machine, it
is returned to the host system.
Under some circumstances, if a USB storage device is in use on the host system, for example, one or more
files stored on the device are open on the host, an error appears in the virtual machine when you try to
connect to the device. You must let the host system complete its operation or close any application
connected to the device on the host system and connect to the device in the virtual machine again.
On Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 host systems, a message might appear that says the device can
be removed safely when you connect a USB network or storage device to a virtual machine. This is normal
behavior and you can dismiss the dialog box, but do not remove the device from the physical computer. If
the network or storage device does not disconnect from the host system, use the appropriate system tray
icon to disconnect it. On Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, the system tray icon is called Safely
Remove Hardware.
Troubleshoot USB Device Control Issues on a Linux Host
You have problems connecting or disconnecting USB devices on a Linux host system.
Problem
You are prompted to disconnect the driver on the host system when you connect a USB device to the virtual
machine or disconnecting the device fails.
Cause
On Linux host systems, guest operating systems can use devices that are not claimed by a host operating
system driver. A related issue sometimes affects devices that rely on automatic connection, such as PDAs.
Occasionally, even if you successfully use autoconnection to connect the device to the virtual machine, you
might experience problems with the connection to the device.
Getting Started with VMware Player
56 VMware, Inc.