virtualbox.org

i have an xp guest on an ubuntu host. my logitech cordless keyboard/mouse works fine in the ubuntu host, in the xp virtual machine, the mouse is fine but the keyboard doesn't work.
in the dropdown menu of the VM window, i see the logitech sensor listed as a usb device. if i select it then the mouse stops working properly. i have the newest version of virtualbox (not the open source one) and addons are installed. i tried a newer logitech keyboard/mouse and had the same problem.

any suggestions are appreciated...

yes, do the google trick below and search for usb mouse keyboard. This one has come up before.

I have been googling for hours and have yet to locate the solution. i didn't post here to add to my frustration, believe it or not. I was actually hoping that some kind-hearted soul would lend a hand. 'just google it' rarely helps.

I would estimate that over half the Qs posted here have an answer within the first dozen posts from such a search. My main point about referring to the posting guide is its discussion on how to use a site filter, and was what I was suggesting? If you scanned these posts you would have seen that passing dual mode devices into Windows OSs is very difficult to get working. I have got a Logitech keyboard and mouse on my Ubuntu machine as well, but I just let the host virtualize it and present a standard keyboard and mouse to my VMs.

thanks for your patience with me. i have continued to plod away and i did some searching about "passing dual mode devices" but to be honest, i didn't quite get it when you said

"I just let the host virtualize it and present a standard keyboard and mouse to my VMs".

today,with the newer keyboard, i found that when i added the usb sensor to the VM, the keyboard worked in the VM but the mouse was weird. the cursor was frozen but as i moved the mouse around, things were getting highlighted in the background and i could select them when i clicked.

the keyboard is a logitech desktop ex110.

don't know if any of this helps but i would be happy to provide any information you ask for. i have my computer connected to my tv and am so close to the perfect setup i have dreamed of. this is the very last thing (my wife isn't ready to give up XP just yet) so i sincerely appreciate any help you can offer.

thanks in advance...

OK, let us expand this whole issue a little more. The VBox VMM presents a virtual machine with a given set of I/O devices that are abstracted at the H/W level (that is the guest OS talks to them through the virtualised I/O space. When you install Guest Additions, this adds paravirtualized device drivers to extend the functionality of the mouse, display and time keeping. This removes much of the I/O virtualisation overhead associated with user GUI interaction is perhaps the main reason why many users perceive VBox as far more responsive than is competitors such as MSVPC.

So if you have a Logitech keyboard and mouse (such as I have on one of my PCs) then if you are willing to live with the standard mouse/keyboard functionality, then you should leave the VMM to virtualize the mouse and keyboard and present the standard virtualised devices to the guest OS in the VM. The problems with this are that the extra keys on the keyboard and the extra keys and functions on the mouse are not passed through to the guest OS: best integration, but loss of functionality.

The alternative approach is to treat the keyboard and mouse as an attached device and to pass control of this USB device directly to the guest OS. When you do this it is an "all or nothing" thing. If you allocate the keyboard and mouse to the VM then you loose control in the host and any host integration. Here you really need a second keyboard and mouse: one set for the host and one set for the guest. They become two machines that happen be mapped onto a common display. Of course you also loose smart windows at the same time because this uses the mouse integration. You also need to configure your USB device and here you need to read 3.7.6 in the User Guide carefully and head its warnings. This will explain how to set up the USB Device Filter for the keyboard and mouse. Difficult to configure; loss of windows integration; you need duplicate H/W.

usb keyboard +ticket site:www.virtualbox.org

• http://www.virtualbox.org/ticket/915
  http://www.virtualbox.org/ticket/1891

wheel mouse +ticket site:www.virtualbox.org

• http://www.virtualbox.org/ticket/768
  http://www.virtualbox.org/ticket/898

Logitech USB keyboard site:forums.virtualbox.org

• http://forums.virtualbox.org/viewtopic.php?t=2521
  http://forums.virtualbox.org/viewtopic.php?t=8356
  http://forums.virtualbox.org/viewtopic.php?t=8758

USB keyboard mouse site:forums.virtualbox.org

• Well you've got the idea...

I am not saying that these are instant solutions, but you can easily find related discussion, which will let you know whether this problem has been solved or whether there are other pooh-traps out there that you might get into. But I can only point the way. You need to do this research yourself.

the way that you have done it on your system is fine for me. i have no need for extra function keys in windows. thanks for taking the time to add those links. i will work my way through them and post back.

well i read the discussions and followed what i could understand. i see how deep the rabbit hole can go if i want to understand all the ins and outs of virtual machines. but for now, there is a whole lot that i don't get. in the meantime, you also have a logitech cordless mouse/keyboard combination running on an XP VM, right? so, if i want to have mine set up the same way that yours is set up, is there a box to check? a value that needs to be typed in someplace?
i understand that learning how this works will get me a lot further in the long run and i appreciate you taking the time to explain things and give me some good links to get me started. as far as now goes, i didn't see anything in there that i can use to get my keyboard to work. how did you do it?

nevermind. i installed vmware server, installed a fresh copy of xp and 'voila!' everything worked out of the box.