"Failed to attach the USB device" "USB device busy.."

Discussions related to using VirtualBox on Windows hosts.
ElQuia
Posts: 155
Joined: 30. May 2008, 23:31

Re: "Failed to attach the USB device" "USB device busy.."

Post by ElQuia »

Perryg wrote:@ElQuia,

You can eliminate the mouse and keyboard as they are shared resources. For the most part you can eliminate pen drives and just about anything USB that does not have a driver. Like I said it will be a conflict with a driver. I know first hand that the HP printers that have memory card slots driver is a major cause of problems. HP likes to take total control and does not play well with others. Another issue is being caused by an AMD USB driver (search for it) all hypervisors have issue with that one.
OK my only problem may be the amd driver then, I got all my systems on amd (athlon or phenom) and asus with nvidia chipsets ... which driver may be the conflicting one !?!?!?!? and how is a system supposed to work without a basic or important driver...
Perryg
Site Moderator
Posts: 34369
Joined: 6. Sep 2008, 22:55
Primary OS: Linux other
VBox Version: OSE self-compiled
Guest OSses: *NIX

Re: "Failed to attach the USB device" "USB device busy.."

Post by Perryg »

This is not just a VirtualBox problem. Here is the VMware suggestion as well. http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/micros ... Id=1016809

Yes it can be tricky, yes it is an issue, but seriously have you even tried to see if this fixes your problem? Make a restore point and follow the instructions. It will either fix your issue or you will know for a fact that you and USB are just not going to play together in a Virtual machine.
type11
Posts: 1
Joined: 1. Dec 2011, 19:31
Primary OS: Mac OS X other
VBox Version: OSE other
Guest OSses: Windows XP

Re: "Failed to attach the USB device" "USB device busy.."

Post by type11 »

mpack wrote:The message means that the host OS is grabbing the device when you plug it in, preempting the VM.

Create a blank filter in your USB settings. Wait until VM is running before plugging in the external drive. The "New hardware found" wizard should pop up, this is VirtualBox wanting to install a USB filter driver on your host for that device - allow it to do so. Then unplug the device and plug it in again. This time the filter driver should grab the device and it should work in the VM.

The same procedure may work with a non-blank USB filter. I.e. with VM not running, go to VM settings, create a blank USB filter, plug in device, then edit the filter, selecting the correct device details from the list of active USB connections shown.

This worked perfectly for me. Thank you, thank you!
pogo
Posts: 1
Joined: 24. Apr 2013, 01:54

Re: "Failed to attach the USB device" "USB device busy.."

Post by pogo »

mpack wrote:The message means that the host OS is grabbing the device when you plug it in, preempting the VM.

Create a blank filter in your USB settings. Wait until VM is running before plugging in the external drive. The "New hardware found" wizard should pop up, this is VirtualBox wanting to install a USB filter driver on your host for that device - allow it to do so. Then unplug the device and plug it in again. This time the filter driver should grab the device and it should work in the VM.

The same procedure may work with a non-blank USB filter. I.e. with VM not running, go to VM settings, create a blank USB filter, plug in device, then edit the filter, selecting the correct device details from the list of active USB connections shown.
Thought I ought to create an account here to say thanks. It worked for me, however -- the guest OS now grabs any usb device that I plug in so that they aren't available to the host OS. This is sort of minor, but my primary operating mode is to leave the guest open in seamless mode, so anything that I plug in that I want to use in the host OS has to be first disattached from Vbox. Any ideas for this?
noteirak
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Posts: 5229
Joined: 13. Jan 2012, 11:14
Primary OS: Debian other
VBox Version: OSE Debian
Guest OSses: Debian, Win 2k8, Win 7
Contact:

Re: "Failed to attach the USB device" "USB device busy.."

Post by noteirak »

Set specific filters instead of a blank one.
Hyperbox - Virtual Infrastructure Manager - https://apps.kamax.lu/hyperbox/
Manage your VirtualBox infrastructure the free way!
mpack
Site Moderator
Posts: 39156
Joined: 4. Sep 2008, 17:09
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Mostly XP

Re: "Failed to attach the USB device" "USB device busy.."

Post by mpack »

The blank filter is a "nuclear option" designed to guarantee that the procedure works for newbies. A more elegant solution is to tailor a non-blank filter so that it matches just one device. A separate such filter would be needed for each specific device you want the VM to grab. I alluded to this in the final paragraph of my previous answer.
dwestberry
Posts: 1
Joined: 21. Nov 2013, 07:08

Re: "Failed to attach the USB device" "USB device busy.."

Post by dwestberry »

I had this issue. I have not resolved it as of yet, but I believe I have found the solution. I was getting this same error. When I checked some of the settings for my virtual machine, I noticed that there is an option under USB to Enable USB 2.0 which requires installing the extension pack for VirtualBox. I have just downloaded it and will see if that fixes the problem. I will post back with the results. It might be something you want to look into if you have not already.
MOV EAX
Posts: 1
Joined: 14. Dec 2017, 05:55

Re: "Failed to attach the USB device" "USB device busy.."

Post by MOV EAX »

I know this topic is old, but it still happens in the new version.

I found one solution was to remove any USB filters.

For example I had installed Wireshark and it installed USBPcap. After uninstalling that, my usb devices attached.
mpack
Site Moderator
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Primary OS: MS Windows 10
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Re: "Failed to attach the USB device" "USB device busy.."

Post by mpack »

Thanks for the tip, however just to be clear, what most users will understand by the term "filters" in the above discussion will be config items created in the <VM settings> | USB config panel for a VirtualBox VM. This does indirectly configure a host USB driver (at least on Windows hosts), but I'm not sure most would understand that.

But, point taken: USB filter drivers installed by other apps can be a cause of USB failures in VirtualBox.
socratis
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Primary OS: Mac OS X other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Win(*>98), Linux*, OSX>10.5
Location: Greece

Re: "Failed to attach the USB device" "USB device busy.."

Post by socratis »

A couple of notes:
Do NOT send me Personal Messages (PMs) for troubleshooting, they are simply deleted.
Do NOT reply with the "QUOTE" button, please use the "POST REPLY", at the bottom of the form.
If you obfuscate any information requested, I will obfuscate my response. These are virtual UUIDs, not real ones.
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