installing external USB soundcard on an XP guest system

[Tut_Ench]

Hello dear forum,

I am pretty new to Virtualbox and I am currently trying to use a connected USB soundcard on a XP guest system with an Ubuntu 14.04 (64 Bit) host.
My Virtualbox version is 4.3.10_Ubuntu and I already installed the "VirtualBox 4.3.14 Oracle VM VirtualBox Extension Pack", enabled USB 2.0 support for the guest system and additionally created an "empty" USB filter, hoping it would forward the soundcard to the guest somehow.
The soundcard (namely an integrated soundcard from a controller named "Hercules DJ Console RMX") is properly recognized by the host system and I can select and deselect it via the Ubuntu sound settings. Sound from the guest is played via the external soundcard properly, but I cannot select the soundcard directly from the guest system, which is what I want to.

I already downloaded the Windows driver for the soundcard and installed it on a separate partition running Windows on the same computer (but as a separate partition -- not as a VM), where everything works fine.

On the VM, however, I cannot even see the soundcard. I tried playing with the VM "Audio" settings and also unplugged and replugged in the device several times, but the guest XP does not recognize anything, unfortunately.

My actual goal is to install the driver for the soundcard to be able to use it as an ASIO soundcard, so I can use the console to control a DJ-Software named "Traktor", which I already managed to successfully install and run on the VM.
Hopefully this will not be too slow so I could finally say "goodbye" to the simultaneously installed WinXP on this machine, which I only have because of Traktor.

I hope there is some help. I already tried Wine and found out that Windows drivers can't be installed there. I hope (and assume) that this is not the case for Virtualbox.

Greetings and thanks in advance.
Tut-Ench

[Perryg]

Have you placed your user name in the vboxusers group on the host and rebooted?

[Tut_Ench]

Nope, didn't do that. I read that in an old thread but the description of how to to it did not work for my Ubuntu 14.04.
Could you please explain me how to do it?

[Perryg]

In a host terminal run this:

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sudo usermod -aG vboxusers <your username>

Replace <your username> with the name you use to log in. Type your user password when prompted.


Be sure to log off and back in to finalize the change in permissions

[Tut_Ench]

Okay, so I already did a

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sudo adduser $USER vboxusers 

followed by a

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newgrp - vboxusers 

as described on ubuntuusers.de/VirtualBox/Installation?highlight=vboxuser

I hope that didn't do any harm. It definitely didn't solve the problem, but I have to admid, I didn't log out and in again as I thought the

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newgrp - vboxusers 

would do the same job.

Anyways, I followed your advice and did a new login and afterwards it was possible to set a new filter (particullarly for the Hercules console) in the USB-setup section. Now the device is propperly recognized by the VM and the installation not only succeeds, but the ASIO aswell as the WDM sound work. Also the Hercules soundcard is gone from the Ubuntu-Audio menu.

I'll keep you informed about the outcome.

Thank you very much for your help so far.
Tut-Ench

[Perryg]

It's beginning to look like you do not have the official build from VirtualBox.org. Do you tut?

[Tut_Ench]

Well, I installed Virtualbox via the Ubuntu sources.
Is that a problem? Should I rather uninstall it and get the 4.3.14 version from the website?
I generally prefer to install the software provided by Ubuntu rather than software from other sources. And i thought it would be the latest version anyway.

So far I also anaged to run the Traktor software and everything looks nice, except that there is no sound coming out.
The driver installer also installs a smal application with which I can choose between ASIO (midi-control) and WDM (which is basically the "normal" soundcard, as far as I understood).
Now, when I choose WDM, everything works just fine and I can hear sound -- so the soundcard itself seems to be working.
But as soon as I choose ASIO and start Traktor there is no sound coming out.

Any idea what could be the reason for this?

Cheers
Tut-Ench

[mpack]

I generally prefer to install the software provided by Ubuntu rather than software from other sources.

That's fine, provided you also go to Ubuntu for support.

[Perryg]

The Ubuntu fork is *not* the same and as you found out you need to do more to get it to even work. That said the actual use of the sound card may or may not work properly even with the official build. USB snd devices are finicky and may not work properly via VBox USB.