virtualbox.org

The freecom USB external hard drive is listed and ticked in the devices menu but does not appear in the Windows 7 VM.

The latest drivers are installed in the VM and drive works fine in the host Windows 8 system with the same drivers.

How can I force the VM to see the drive?

Oh dear. If you have to be able to understand all that stuff to get Virtualbox to do something as simple as install a USB drive then I am going to give up on it!

Can anybody recommend simple virtual computer software that understands USB drives without having to do lots of technical wizardry?

Well, if you can't give the details of your setup, I can only give you the generic way of using USB devices and make them appear in the guest : User Manual - USB Support.

Well, of course, those instructions talk about how USB drives work in Virtualbox in theory

Why is it that in the USB devices section of the devices menu my external hard drive is listed by name (so Virtual Box obviously knows it is there) - and I have ticked it - but Windows Explorer in Virtual Box still cannot see it?

Footnote:
It seems to me that virtualbox is not really very good at emulating. Proof:
Host: Windows 7 + Freecom Hard Drive + latest driver = no problem
Virtual box: same copy of W7 + same hard drive + same driver = hassle

noteirak wrote:Minimum information needed for assistance

???

(I hope I am incorrect in thinking that this forum is as unhelpful as the product it discusses!)

If you will only help people that provide the information required will somebody please explain exactly what I have to do get that information in reasonable clear english? (In other words, will somebody please translate "Minimum information needed for assistance" into simple intelligible steps)

I think we are done here. This topic is now locked since nothing constructive will come out of this and you clearly won't get help with this attitude.

@rwmj: Perhaps you do not understand that this is a user forum - everyone you talk to here is a user like yourself. We are not employed by Oracle and get no benefit from your use of the product - even supposing you had paid for it. Help is given by volunteer users with a bit more experience, and if you piss them off... well, it's unlikely they will keep volunteering to help you. You might want to bear that in mind the next time you have a question. By all means go to VMWare if you are unsatisified here. Likewise you also of course have the option of buying a support contract from Oracle.