USB access on OpenSUSE 10.2

yid_witch · Post by **yid_witch** » 27. Aug 2007, 12:40

Firstly, although I've plenty of experience in the IT world... I'm not a programmer by any stretch of imagination - so I need help with a stupid issue I've got with VB running on OpenSUSE.

I've got it running on a workstation where the host is Mint linux 3.0 - and the USB works absolutely fine. I can use the attached Epson printer perfectly which is important given that I'm a graphics designer and photographer nowdays and the windows printer drivers are currently more versatile.

However, my other machine is the preferred one - because of noise levels - and I run that under OpenSUSE 10.2. This is because it's far better suited to operations as a server than any other distro I've tried. (Yast's control panels seem to be a lot better than other systems and a lot more 'obvious').

Anyway - the problem is that I can't get the VB guest to access the USB ports on the host. I get errors regarding the 'Host USB proxy service' - and these I don't understand as, everything I have plugged into the USB on the host machine (a Dell Dimension 4550) works fine with the host applications - such as the HP Laserjet 1022 printer, Fuji, Olympus and Minolta digital camera's... and even the Epson RX500 worked fine when it was attached... but they all work fine with the host apps - not with the guest OS - Windows XP Pro and 2000 Pro.

I've just checked and I've got libusb and usbutils installed on the Dell - but there seems to be something definitely missing...

Anyone got any ideas as to why the USB is working fine from the host apps but not from the VB guest O/S?

PS - I can't remember whether I installed VB from the OpenSUSE specific version or the generic linux version. I've tried both - and neither seems to want to work with the USB ports.

Technologov · Post by **Technologov** » 27. Aug 2007, 15:44

This is an openSUSE 10.2 kernel problem. Try to install 10.3 BETA or follow the instructions here:

http://forgeftp.novell.com/lfl/.html/virtualbox.html

yid_witch · Post by **yid_witch** » 27. Aug 2007, 18:35

Thanks for that!

I suspect I shall be busy installing the latest 10.3 beta to get this facility. I wouldn't normally be that worried by it but I'm finding that I value the quietness of the Dell and I still need to be able to run some windows-only apps such as InDesign - and I need to be able to produce accurate proofs. As soon as my house guests have gone (by Friday), I shall start work on this!

yid_witch · Post by **yid_witch** » 23. Sep 2007, 18:37

Curiously, I've tried the OpenSUSE 10.3 RC build... and it's not got the relevant modules to allow the USB access through the host.

I've tried a few others - and decided that while Mint 3.0 gives me what I need, I'll stay with it. For my work, the stability runs somewhat higher than a nicer technical solution.

Post by **LFS-Nr-3305** » 23. Sep 2007, 19:06

There have been approx. half a dozen threads about Suse and USB support. I had the impression I could install Suse 10.3 final as soon as it would be published for download (October 4th, as I believe) and use Virtualbox. Furthermore, I was told that it is simple to get USB support under Suse 10.2 as host, too, but I decided to wait for Suse 10.3.
Did no one of the solutions work for you? Then I will have a problem...

yid_witch · Post by **yid_witch** » 11. Oct 2007, 11:27

I've tried the GM version of OpenSUSE 10.3 - and it, like the preceding version, doesn't have the USB proxy service - so it's a no-go option for me at this time.

On the subject of OpenSUSE including VirtualBox 1.5.0 in the GM release of 10.3 - don't hold your breath! It's the OSS version of VirtualBox - and when I queried the USB access, I was effectively told that VirtualBox doesn't support it....... so, tough!

This was not exactly what they should be saying if they're going to want to get business users on board. We need that USB access for our peripherals that don't have drivers within linux - and to take the moral high ground and ignore those of us who will use the closed-source versions of applications because our business depends on their facilities...... that's how you loose the faithful and drive people to other distro's.

What gets to me is that VMware can also use the USB proxy service - and again, without a recompile (which a lot of us aren't comfortable with), we won't get to use it!

I'm now hanging my printers off another machine running Mint 3.0 - and I'm able to use the printers quite comfortably from the VM's - the way they should be usable! From now on, I'm only recommending OpenSUSE for those who want a file server - if you want a usable business machine, use something else!

longshot-nm · Post by **longshot-nm** » 11. Oct 2007, 13:21

I have Virtualbox running on OpenSuSE 10.3 GM 64 bit using the 10.2 release that is posted on Virtualbox. It took a little work to get usb working but it works. What was your problem in trying to get it to work?

yid_witch · Post by **yid_witch** » 11. Oct 2007, 18:49

Sorry for being daft...

I've found another thread and tried it on my OpenSUSE 10.3 VM - and it appears to work. The USB controller appears to be enabled now, in that it shows up in the settings for the VM and can be enabled when you go to edit the USB settings. Of course nothing shows on the USB bus because it's hosted in VMware running on an unmodified OpenSUSE 10.2! I hope that all made sense?

The thread in question is http://forums.virtualbox.org/viewtopic. ... ba385e0bb6

I'll be trying it again on real hardware when I can bring myself to flatten a beautiful installation of Mint 3.0 that's 'just purring along'!

For the record, it seems to be easier than I believed possible...

Get the group ID for the vboxusers group...

cat /etc/group | grep vboxusers

which gave me a group IG of 1000 on my system

and then edit /etc/fstab to comment out the line starting with usbfs and replace it with...

/dev/bus/usb /proc/bus/usb usbfs defaults,devmode=660,devgid=1000 0 0

That seems to work... for 10.3...... so I'm going to try and make it work in 10.2....

Thanks to everyone who tried to help me!

yid_witch · Post by **yid_witch** » 12. Oct 2007, 21:53

I've now got it working in 10.3 - directly on the hardware - and it works.

My VM's now talk to the USB ports and I can now do proper colour proofs for my clients!

The above alteration for 10.3 works and it takes about 3 minutes, including a reboot. I still don't know how to make it work simply on 10.2 but I'll try and sort out a VM for 10,2 and see if I can find a way!