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CHAPTER 13 Connecting Devices to Virtual Machines
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Choose VM > Removable Devices to connect specific USB devices to your virtual
machine. You can connect up to two USB devices at a time. If the physical USB devices
are connected to the host computer through a hub, the virtual machine sees only the
USB devices, not the hub.
There is a menu item for each of the USB ports. Move the mouse over one of these
items to see a cascading menu of devices that are plugged into your host computer
and available for use. To connect a device to the virtual machine, click its name.
If a device is already connected to that port, click the name of a new device to release
the first device and connect the new one.
To release a connected device, click None on the cascading menu for the port to
which it is connected.
If you physically plug a new device into the host computer and the autoconnect
feature does not connect it to a virtual machine, the device is initially connected to
the host. Its name is also added to the VM > Removable Devices menu so you can
connect it to the virtual machine manually.
Using USB with a Windows Host
Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 hosts: When a particular
USB device is connected to a virtual machine for the first time, the host detects it as a
new device named VMware USB Device and installs the appropriate VMware driver.
Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 hosts: User confirmation is required in the
Found New Hardware Wizard. Select the default action — Install the software
automatically. Once the software is installed, the guest operating system detects the
USB device and searches for a suitable driver.
When you are synchronizing a PDA, such as a Palm handheld or Handspring Visor, to a
virtual machine for the first time, the total time required to load the VMware USB
device driver on the host and the PDA driver in the guest may exceed the device’s
connection timeout value. This causes the device to disconnect itself from the
computer before the guest can synchronize with it. If this occurs, let the guest finish
installing the PDA driver, dismiss any connection error warnings, then try
synchronizing the PDA again. The second attempt should succeed.
Replacing USB 2.0 Drivers on a Windows 2000 Host
To use VMware ACE on a Windows 2000 host that has USB 2.0 ports, you must use the
Microsoft USB 2.0 drivers for the USB controller in the host operating system. If your
host operating system is using a third-party driver — a driver supplied by your
motherboard vendor, for example — you must replace it.