[Solved] USB devices mounted but invisible

[nauved]

Running 32 bit Devuan Ascii on Devuan Jessie with Oracle virtualbox-5.1.30, Guest additions etc. and Oracle_VM_VirtualBox_Extension_Pack-5.1.30-118389.vbox-extpack. Set up was successful. Everything is working but . . .

The USB flash drive is recognized by name - SanDisk U3 Cruzer Micro (0200) - and moves from the host but it is nowhere to be found on the guest OS. No icon pops up on the Xfce Desktop - yes those icons are enabled. /media/<user>/ is empty even though the USB switcher icon, and USB settings indicate it is recognized. When I uncheck, it releases and the icon pops back up on the host. I have reinstalled the .vbox-extpack but no joy.

The USB thing was working on a similar setup a few weeks ago on the same machine but I never got the GA working due to mismatch of versions. I got that sorted on this attempt.

What am I missing?

Thanks . . . nauved

[socratis]

Please 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.

[nauved]

Additional information:

1. Oracle virtualbox-5.1.30-118389~Debian~Jessie (download virtualbox.org)
Guest additions installed
Oracle_VM_VirtualBox_Extension_Pack-5.1.30-118389.vbox-extpack

2. Host - Devuan Jessie 1.0 - 32 bit - 4 gb
Guest - Devuan ascii (under development) - 32 bit - 1gb

3. Log file attached

Possibly useful information: I reset the USB filter as per the instructions. The edited version appears in the USB settings. However the complete unedited information including the serial # etc. is displayed by the icon when the USB is captured. I deleted and recreated the filter but the USB icon information continues to ignore it when it captures the USB. Is there a way to flush these conflicting profiles?

As stated above, the USB is captured by the guest and can go back and forth from host to guest. I just can't see it in the guest.

[socratis]

Thank you for the log, but that's not all the information that is asked for. I can't see the filters, I can't see your devices, I can't see a lot of things, so please follow the instruction linked in my last post...

[nauved]

Sorry for being a slow learner. Thanks for your patience. I hope the attached is all that you need.

[nauved]

PS. I just plugged in an external HDD and both partitions on it mounted on the guest as expected including the desktop icon. Also tried another sandisk flash drive and it was mounted.

The now invisible drive was working on a previous 4.3 VB version. When I reinstalled with the current 5.1.3 I think I remember seeing some sort of message the first time I tried to connect the USB in question. I'm thinking that it might be locked into that previous filter configuration.

Since I now know that I have other options, it's no longer critical to figure out why this one USB stopped mounting properly. However, it would be useful to know how to fix this in case it ever happens again.

[socratis]

I took a look and everything looks pretty normal. Can you switch your VM Setting to use USB 3 (xHCI) instead of USB 2 (EHCI)? Shut down the VM beforehand of course...

[nauved]

Did you see my last entry posted a few minutes before your response? Anyway, since everything is working except for that one flash drive, I not going to experiment in ways that might break things. I'd still like to know why that one drive doesn't show up though . . .

You've been very attentive. Thanks for that.

[socratis]

Yes, I did see your entry. Plus I did some searching around for the "U3 Cruzer Micro" that has the problem. Guess what? It has issues in real systems as well. Not reading, self-ejecting, all sorts of (not so nice) comments.

Try the USB3 option and see how it goes. If that doesn't work either, it sounds more like a device issue rather than a VirtualBox issue...

[nauved]

Yes, I did see your entry. Plus I did some searching around for the "U3 Cruzer Micro" that has the problem. Guess what? It has issues in real systems as well. Not reading, self-ejecting, all sorts of (not so nice) comments.

Good idea. I never thought to do that because I've had that drive for maybe 10 years, it's been a real workhorse and I can't remember it ever having an issue. The fact that it worked seamlessly on a previous install still has me scratching my head.

Try the USB3 option and see how it goes. If that doesn't work either, it sounds more like a device issue rather than a VirtualBox issue...

Maybe I'll get brave enough to do that sometime. I'm a real wuss when it comes to taking any sort of (perceived) risk.

[socratis]

Risk? What risk? To change from USB2 to USB3? That's not a risk, that's a no brainer! Your host supports it, your guest supports it, where's the risk? Please do...

[nauved]

Risk? What risk? To change from USB2 to USB3? That's not a risk, that's a no brainer! Your host supports it, your guest supports it, where's the risk? Please do...

Ha! Thanks for your encouragement. That actually worked even though It is illogical for a USB3 configuration to fix a USB2 issue on a USB2 port. /me scratches my head . . . Marked as solved.

[socratis]

That actually worked even though It is illogical for a USB3 configuration to fix a USB2 issue on a USB2 port.

Tsk, tsk, tsk... nauved, you didn't read carefully what I linked to...
From #4: USB Filters, point 2:

It is important to note that if your guest supports USB3, you should definitely enable that, even if your host does NOT support USB3 at the hardware or software level, mainly because the USB3 stack is much better designed compared to USB1 and USB2.

Glad you got it going finally! Marking as [Solved]. I know you marked your last message too (Kudos!), but usually we mark the first post, because that's what shows in the forum topic list and in the search engine results.

[nauved]

That actually worked even though It is illogical for a USB3 configuration to fix a USB2 issue on a USB2 port.

Tsk, tsk, tsk... nauved, you didn't read carefully what I linked to...
From #4: USB Filters, point 2:

It is important to note that if your guest supports USB3, you should definitely enable that, even if your host does NOT support USB3 at the hardware or software level, mainly because the USB3 stack is much better designed compared to USB1 and USB2.

Oh, but I did read that. And didn't quite believe it. LOL!

Glad you got it going finally! Marking as [Solved]. I know you marked your last message too (Kudos!), but usually we mark the first post, because that's what shows in the forum topic list and in the search engine results.

I know that too! Heck, I actually admin a forum! By the time you get to my age (closer to 80 than 70), you really don't trust much of anything and can be quite forgetful.