virtualbox.org

Hello,
I'm quite new to Virtualbox, and perhaps I'm making mistakes.

I just installed VirtualBox v6.0 and created my first VM:
Host system: W7 64bit
Guest system: W7 32bit
Everything seems to work fine except the USB memory stick: it works wel in the Host system, but It is not seen as USB stick in the Guest OS.
The only way to access it in the VM, is to create a Shared folder in the VM settings, and have it in the VM as a Mapped Drive...

After searching a bit I understood that I miss the extension pack, so I downloaded the latest (Oracle_VM_VirtualBox_Extension_Pack-6.0.8), and installed correctly through Preferences

With the extension pack installed however, I have no progress on detecting the USB stick directly in the VM: I cannot add it in the USB devices in the VM settings because it is not listed even if it is working correctly... I can only continue to use it as a shared folder and map it as a shared drive in the VM...

Also, with the extension pack installed, I loose some of the guest additions feature of the VM: no scaled mode, no seamless mode (that are fantastic features...)
If instead I remove the extension pack, the display works as expected: ok scaled mode and seamless mode.

How can I do to solve this issue and have the Geuest additions up and unning, but also use the USB stick directly in the VM ?

Thanks in advance
Pietro

Update:
the second time that I launch the VM without the extension pack installed, I realize that the guest additions features of the display (scaled mde seamless mode) are now grayed out/disabled.

What to do ?
Thank in advance
Pietro

You've got to be careful with the terminology. There are two distinct things:

• The Extension Pack (ExtPack) gets installed on the host and it has to match the VirtualBox version. It provides functionality such as USB2-3, Webcam, VRDP, PXE, PCI passthrough on Linux hosts, VDI Encryption. You have to download it and install it separately from the main VirtualBox program, due to its license.
• The Guest Additions (GAs) get installed on the guest and it would be good to match the VirtualBox version, for anything other than enhanced graphics support. It provides functionality such as shared folders, shared clipboard, drag and drop, pointer sharing (for PS/2 mice), enhanced graphics support. You do not have to download it separately from the main VirtualBox program, since it comes bundled with it.

As for your USB problems, read the following thread: USB basics and troubleshooting, all of the posts.

If you still have a problem after reading through the whole thing, please follow the advice of the last post, #8: Asking for help and post the information requested.

If you don't need direct, raw access to the USB, but just access to its files, consider the VirtualBox Shared Folders option instead...

Thanks, after reading I decided to keep the USB stick as a shared folder between the the host and the guest.
Regards

That's the easiest solution, and it keeps the USB stick available both to host and guest.

Marking as [Resolved].