At wits' end trying to find USB external in Explorer

[socratis]

which is likely a red herring based on webcam aspect?

Exactly. Webcam pass-through is available on OSX > 10.7.

As for your actual problem, I did see your attempts to plug your hard drive (device 1058:0910). What I didn't see in the logs were references to EHCI, the USB 2.0 controller. Are you sure it's enabled in the USB tab of the Ports settings of your VM?

[Al Dunbar]

I've checked that again and am still having the same issue: recognized by VB and checked (not grayed out) but not showing in Windows Explorer, i.e., no way to actually access the drive. Here's the latest. Thanks for staying with me.

[socratis]

OK, I'm throwing differences between our two systems. I'm running 10.6.8 on a MBP (early 2011). You're running 10.6.8 on a MBP (late 2009). I'm not sure if any or all of them will stick. You have to try several of these to see if something makes a difference. We can't be walking one step at a time, because the thread is going to be 5-pages long...

• You're running 32-bit OSX with a 64-bit guest. I'm running 64-bit OSX with a 32-bit guest.
• Try to boot OSX in 64-bit mode. See: Starting up with the 32-bit or 64-bit kernel.
• Your system supports it. See: Macs that use the 64-bit kernel.
• See: How to tell if your Intel-based Mac has a 32-bit or 64-bit processor.
• You have a space (" ") at the end of your VM. Not sure if it throws VB off (highly doubt it).
• You now have enabled EHCI. Before you hadn't. It's a good start...
• Your VRAM is way too low (30 MB). Increase it while decreasing the RAM (from 2048 MB to either 1024 or 1536 MB).
• I'll repeat the question just for completion; your external hard drive is not a USB3 device, correct?
• Do you have another USB device that you can try? Joystick, flash drive, webcam, phone, etc. Just for comparison, I have 16 different devices, all of them working with no problems.
• When in Windows, go to Computer -> Properties -> Device Manager. See if you have any errors or warnings. Plug your hard drive. Check again.

I'd start with booting in 64-bit mode. Not sure if you have to re-install VBox. But it's the least painful way to try out.