VBox USB settings problem

Discussions related to using VirtualBox on Windows hosts.
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ittiandro
Posts: 11
Joined: 17. Dec 2022, 16:36

VBox USB settings problem

Post by ittiandro »

I am running VBox 5.2 on Windows 10 Pro and Macrium Viboot. Hyper-v is enabled. .I want to recover a drive Image ( Macrium Reflect) from another PC on my PC.
Here is the problem. I think it has to do with the USB settings.
After the VBox guest machine loads the Reflect .ISO file, I am prompted to browse for the recovery image file . ( This image file is in an external USB drive ( Seagate Ultra) showing under “ Network “ as a shared drive d:\ in the Host machine).
Unfortunately, this network d:\ drive is not detected by the guest machine .
I am in a bind:

a. If the USB adaptor in the settings is set for USB 2.0 or 3.0, there is an error message and I am prompted to disable the support for USB 3.0.

b. If, however I do this and I set the USB adapter for USB 1.1 , the VBox will start, but then the network path is not found.
The network drive is set as shared and the permissions are set for everybody. The extensionpack is installed as well.

Thanks for your help

Ittiandro
scottgus1
Site Moderator
Posts: 20965
Joined: 30. Dec 2009, 20:14
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows, Linux

Re: VBox USB settings problem

Post by scottgus1 »

ittiandro wrote:This image file is in an external USB drive ( Seagate Ultra) showing under “ Network “ as a shared drive d:\ in the Host machine
You won't be able to get this drive shared from another PC to share again into the VM:

1. A VM is a separate PC from a network and sharing viewpoint. So what's shared to the host from another PC is not visible in the third PC: the VM.

2. The "D" mount letter is only accessible by the PC account that created it. (This is why drive letter mounts fail when the app accessing them is run as administrator: the admin privileges mean a different account.) The VM doesn't have the same account, let alone the same environment, for the letter mount to be seen, because it's a different PC.

3. I don't think it's possible to share a share in Windows.

Since the drive is shared over the network, it may be possible to see it over the network directly inside the VM. Your VM's Virtualbox network settings need to be set to Bridged, and the Macrium ISO needs drivers for the Virtualbox network card. Then Macrium should be able to see out on the network to find the shared folder on the other PC.

Alternative 1: Bring the USB drive to the Virtualbox host PC. Use Virtualbox USB Filters to put the USB drive into the VM, see USB basics and troubleshooting. The Macrium ISO neds drivers for the USB controller presented by the VM. USB 2 should work, though slow. USB 3 would be nice if the ISO has drivers. USB 1, well, you'll not get this done anytime this decade.

Alternative 2: Make a fixed-size VHD drive file on the Windows host OS, web-search how. Copy the Macrium image to the VHD. Then unmount the VHD from the host OS and add it as a second drive to the VM. Boot the Macrium ISO and restore from the VHD drive's image.
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