Connecting modem USB device to a guest

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Bushido
Posts: 53
Joined: 13. Sep 2022, 23:28

Connecting modem USB device to a guest

Post by Bushido »

Hi!

Regarding the point 4 of viewtopic.php?p=255997#p255997, "New hardware found" dialog box did not appear on Windows hosts. What to do?

Best Regards,
Bushido
scottgus1
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Joined: 30. Dec 2009, 20:14
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
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Re: Connecting modem USB device to a guest

Post by scottgus1 »

That post was in 2013, and the "New Hardware Found" box has morphed and moved in Windows OS's since then. You may find it as an icon in the System Tray next to the clock, in Windows 7 - 10. No idea what 11 has done with it.

Additionally, if you have ever got a USB device into a VM on that host, you may not see the "New Hardware Found" box, because it's happened before, and there's no need for it now. The box would have been for Virtualbox's USB filter driver, not for the device you're plugging in. Once that filter driver has been loaded, it does not ask to be loaded again, so the box/icon/whatever won't keep appearing.

To top the above off, you're apparently using a Linux host, based on the forum you're posting in, and the "New Hardware Found" box is a Windows thing. :lol:

Since this tutorial's instructions are "General advice for connecting any USB device to a guest", please also Carefully go through USB basics and troubleshooting. If you finish all the steps 1-7 and cannot get your USB device into the guest OS, carefully post the outputs of the commands in step 8 as text, not screenshots. Zip and post the logs step 8 call for, using the forum's Upload Attachment tab.
mpack
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Re: Connecting modem USB device to a guest

Post by mpack »

I still get a "New hardware found" message in Windows 10/11, though the wording has changed slightly: the message pops up near the notification icon and the wording is "Windows is preparing new hardware for use" (or something like that). Only if it fails to find a driver online (a feature that didn't exist in 2013) will it prompt for a local driver.

That tutorial states right up front that to avoid too much vagueness it discusses a specific scenario (attaching a 3G dongle to an XP VM running on an XP host) and requires you to adapt your expectations to the OSs you are actually using.

The generic USB tutorial does not discuss the particular issues involved in my 2013 tutorial (i.e. the hidden "virtual CD" on the dongle). That said, the OP has given no indication that that's the problem he has.
Bushido
Posts: 53
Joined: 13. Sep 2022, 23:28

Re: Connecting modem USB device to a guest

Post by Bushido »

I am surprised that the USB modem appeared under "optical drives". I managed to install necessary software for it via Windows Explorer but Mobile Broadband software does not recognize the modem although I can see it via Windows Explorer.
Why as an optical drive instead USB?
mpack
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Primary OS: MS Windows 10
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Re: Connecting modem USB device to a guest

Post by mpack »

Bushido wrote:I am surprised that the USB modem appeared under "optical drives". I managed to install necessary software for it via Windows Explorer but Mobile Broadband software does not recognize the modem although I can see it via Windows Explorer.
Why as an optical drive instead USB?
What do you mean "instead USB"? USB is a comms protocol, not any kind of drive or device.

If you read my tutorial it should be clear why the cellular dongle presents as an optical drive, at least until drivers are installed in the guest.
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