6.5.1

Table Of Contents
Remove USB Devices That Are Connected Through a Client
Computer in the vSphere Web Client
You can remove USB devices from a virtual machine if the devices are no longer needed. When you
disconnect a USB device from a virtual machine, the device is released from the virtual machine and is
given back to the client computer, which starts using it.
Prerequisites
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To minimize the risk of data loss, follow the instructions to safely unmount or eject hardware for your
operating system. Safely removing hardware allows accumulated data to be transmitted to a file.
Windows operating systems typically include a Remove Hardware icon located in the System Tray.
Linux operating systems use the umount command.
Note You might need to use the sync command instead of or in addition to the umount command,
for example after you run a dd command on Linux or other UNIX operating systems.
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Required Privilege: Virtual machine.Configuration.Add or remove device
Procedure
1 Unmount or eject the USB device from the guest operating system.
2 On the virtual machine Summary tab, click the disconnect icon on the right side of the USB device
entry.
3 Select a device to disconnect from the drop-down menu.
A Disconnecting label and a spinner appear, indicating that a disconnection is in progress. When the
device is disconnected, after a slight delay, the Summary tab refreshes and the device is removed
from the virtual machine configuration.
The device reconnects to the client computer and is available to add to another virtual machine. In some
cases, Windows Explorer detects the device and opens a dialog box on the client computer. You can
close this dialog box.
Remove a USB Controller from a Virtual Machine in the vSphere
Web Client
You can remove a USB controller from the virtual machine if you do not want to connect to USB devices.
Prerequisites
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Verify that all USB devices are disconnected from the virtual machine.
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Required Privilege: Virtual Machine.Configuration.Add or Remove Device
Procedure
1 Navigate to a datacenter, folder, cluster, resource pool, host, or vApp, and click the Related Options
tab and click Virtual Machines.
vSphere Virtual Machine Administration
VMware, Inc. 168