virtualbox.org

How do I get my external USB Hard drive recognised in Windows 7 ?

By reading the manual concerning USB. And the Forum Posting Guide for the rules of this forum. Dumping a single line question without any additional information won't get you anywhere.

Sorry to upset people but see it from my point of view. First I'm 80 and don't have such an active mind and am not used to forums. Secondly, I thought my question was factual. I plug in the USB connection of my external hard drive and it is not recognised in Windows 7 but it is in my host (XP). Thirdly I don't know of any manual. Best Wishes. I hope any further responses will be more helpful. Thank you.

In the guest settings for the Windows 7 VM you create A Blank Filter (one with the .). This will allow almost everything to work but once you boot the guest you must unplug the device and plug it back in to allow the guest to get focus. The (+) or fixed filter makes it available to the guest as soon as it boots but has problems.
The only other problem with this is the fact that it is an external hard drive, and unplugging and plugging it back in is not a good thing. (IMHO)

Another way is to not create any filter and then when you start the guest you go to the devices tab at the top and click on USB and select the device you want to use.
But this is the same thing as unplugging the drive since it must be unmounted from the host to be mounted in the guest.

I would suggest that if you need to use the external USB hard drive you share the folder you need and then map it instead. (But that is just me.)

The users guide can be found by clicking help in the VBox program and then contents.

Thank you Perryg for your constructive comments.