Specifications

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VMware GSX Server Virtual Machine Guide
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 GSX Server 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.
Take the following steps to check the provider of your driver:
1. Go to the Device Manager. Right-click My Computer, choose Properties, click
the Hardware tab, then click Device Manager.
2. Expand the listing for Universal Serial Bus controllers.
3. Right-click the listing for the controller and choose Properties.
4. Click the Driver tab. If the driver provider shown on that page is Microsoft, you
have the correct driver already.
If the driver provider is not Microsoft, download the latest USB driver for your host
operating system from the Microsoft Web site and follow the Microsoft instructions to
install it. Details are available in Microsoft knowledge base article 319973.
Using USB with a Linux Host
On Linux hosts, GSX Server uses the USB device file system to connect to USB devices.
In most Linux systems that support USB, the USB device file system is at
/proc/bus/usb. If your host operating system uses a different path to the USB
device file system, you can change it in the virtual machine settings editor (VM >
Settings > USB). Enter the correct path in the Path to usbdevfs field.
Who Has Control over a USB Device?
Only one computer — host or guest — can have control of a USB device at any one
time.
Device Control on a Windows Host
When you connect a device to a virtual machine, it is “unplugged” from the host or
from the virtual machine that previously had control of the device. When you
disconnect a device from a virtual machine, it is “plugged in” to the host.
Caution: You need to take a special step to disconnect USB network and storage
devices from the host. There is a system tray icon called Eject Hardware on Windows