Workstation 10.0.1 won't connect usb device

[Technezio]

Hi guys,

I'm trying the trial of Workstation 10.0.1 but don't connect usb devices to the virtual machine.

In past i had installed Workstation 8 and all worked fine, but now i have format the pc and reinstalled windows 7 on a ssd and i'm looking for more performances and i thought to try new version of vmware workstation but seems not work correctly.

I have a brand new installation of windows 7 pro 64 bit sp1  host OS, with all update, on a Dell L502X laptop. Next i've installed Workstation 10.0.1 trial and created a new virtual machine with win xp sp1 all update (guest).

I have been trying to connect some USB devices: an usb hd, the integrated webcam, an usb key but all time i got the messages: The connection for the USB devices " XXXXXXXXXX " was unsuccessful. Driver error.

The laptop contain an usb 3.0 renesas controller, the virtual machine is configured with an usb 2.0 controller.

Why with Workstation 8 works all fine and instead with Workstation 10 the usb connection don't work ??

What i have to configure for usb get working ? What i have to looking for ?

[Technezio]

No one has any idea ?

I tryed reinstall workstation but nothing has changed.

[HensBestEffort]

USB DRIVE RECOGNITION BROKEN IN 10.0.2 UPGRADE

After upgrade to Workstation 10.0.2, my USB SD card readers mount my SD card "drives" in the Linux host, but the virtual machine lacks any awareness of their existence.

VM / SETTINGS / USB CONTROLLER is set to automatically connect (checked, but greyed out.  Why greyed out??)

Trying USB 1.1, 2.0, 3.0 (install extra driver) does not help.

VMWare Tools was upgraded, no avail, reinstalled, no avail.

VM / REMOVABLE DEVICES never lists the USB drive mounted on my host, so I cannot ask to disconnect from host and connect to VM.

When it comes to plugging in a USB device, the endless loss of control with Workstation technology is in marked contrast to the smooth integration of USB devices with the Apple MacBook in the mass market "FUSION" product.  Plugging in a USB device to the Mac produces a popup: connect to MAC side or VM side?  Every time. End of story.

Spare me the vast knowledge base of articles on long-gone versions of the Workstation product and just make it work.

Thank you 

[dariusd]

What is the Linux distribution and version you're using?

Do you see a vmware-usbarbitrator process running on the host?  If not, does it start when running

   sudo /etc/init.d/vmware-USBArbitrator start

?

--

Darius

Message was edited by: Darius Davis -- Corrected capitalization of USBArbitrator.

[HensBestEffort]

Darius, version info, more later:

uname -r             3.2.0-60-generic #91-Ubuntu

K-InfoCenter      KDE SC Version 4.8.5

--jerry

[HensBestEffort]

Darius asked:

Do you see a vmware-usbarbitrator process running on the host?  If not, does it start when running

sudo /etc/init.d/vmware-usbarbitrator start

Darius, yes, running w/PID 1730, don't know what Ss is:

ps ax | grep /vmware-u

1730 ?        Ss     0:00 /usr/bin/vmware-usbarbitrator

So perhaps asking the process to start anyway makes no difference.

But it appears that I never got the start command to work.

The command is "not found" unless I miscapitalize, in which case there is no response at all.

Did you forget to tell me something obvious?

jerry@Wilbur:/etc/init.d$ vmware-USBArbitrator

vmware-USBArbitrator: command not found
jerry@Wilbur:/etc/init.d$ vmware-USBArbitrator start

vmware-USBArbitrator: command not found

jerry@Wilbur:/etc/init.d$ vmware-usbarbitrator

CURRENT STATUS:

USB drive (an SD card in its reader) is sitting unmounted in the host.

The virtual machine sees nothing.

NEW INFORMATION:

Leaving the machine on overnight caused the USB drive to appear in the guest ( !! ).

The guest was in USB 1.1 mode, VIRTUAL MACHINE / SETTINGS / USB CONTROLLER

so I changed it to USB 3.0 and lost it again   😞

So near, yet so far. 

--jerry

[dariusd]

Sorry, I used the wrong capitalization in my earlier post.  I've edited the post to correct it.  The process is /usr/bin/vmware-usbarbitrator but the init-script is /etc/init.d/vmware-USBArbitrator.

It looks like it's running anyway, so that isn't the problem.  (By the way, the default PATH does not include the current directory, so you'd have to run ./vmware-USBArbitrator (with the dot-slash at the start) to tell it to run it from the working directory in order to avoid the "command not found" errors.  You'd also need to run it as root, not as your regular user account.)

Kernel 3.2.0-60-generic suggests you're running Kubuntu 12.04 LTS (Precise Pangolin).

I'll ask the USB folks if they have any ideas.

Cheers,

--

Darius

[dariusd]

One* more question: What were you running before you upgraded to Workstation 10.0.2?  Did the problems start with an update from Workstation 10.0.1, or did you upgrade from an earlier "major" version of Workstation (9.x, 8.x, etc...)?  And it all worked correctly before that upgrade?

Thanks,

--

Darius

(* - For large values of "One". )

[HensBestEffort]

Darius,

Yes, version is Precise Pangolin Ubuntu 12.04.02 LTS until Apr2017, sorry I forgot to say.

uname -r             3.2.0-60-generic #91-Ubuntu

K-InfoCenter      KDE SC Version 4.8.5

Yes, USB recognition worked fine if sluggishly (plug it in twice).  It was only a minor upgrade 10.01 to 10.02 and my wife is totally outraged, Over 30 years of computing and you haven't learned not to upgrade, what am I going to do with you?

Thank you for reminding me about sudo & dot-slash if standing in current directory.  I swore I'd never learn another operating system and here I am with Linux.

Could you say a word about the rationale for VM grabbing of USB removable devices?  Should the  "Super Top Mass Storage Device" (my SD card reader) -- be connected to host or VM if you want the VM to claim it? The VM presents this, but never the card ("dirve") plugged into it.   If we should connect the reader to host, then, when the card ("drive") comes up (success!!)  there, do we mount it or leave it hanging if we want the VM to grab it and present it in menus? 

I am working around by mounting the USB drive in host and declaring it a share for Windows machines (guest is XP). 

I still could be doing something stupid and "obvious" once you see it.  The USB drive **did** appear in the VM by itself while workstation was idling overnight, and that **does** seem like abnormal behavior as well as a hint of system misconfiguration by me -- a bad network stack can resolve itself in time (discovery), the Windows Name Service can come back to life as a Master Browser gets appointed from among the workgroup machines).

Plug and pray.

--jerry

[wila]

Hello Jerry,

PMJI,

HensBestEffort wrote:

NEW INFORMATION:

Leaving the machine on overnight caused the USB drive to appear in the guest ( !! ).

The guest was in USB 1.1 mode, VIRTUAL MACHINE / SETTINGS / USB CONTROLLER

so I changed it to USB 3.0 and lost it again   😞

In earlier versions of VMware Workstation when problems with USB3 happened, you could work around that by forcing both the device and virtual machine to use USB2.

The common way to force the device to use USB2 is by inserting a USB2 hub between computer and USB device.

Hope this helps,

--

Wil

[skitheo]

I'm seeing similar behavior.

Host:

Windows 7 Professional, 64-bit 6.1.7601, Service Pack 1

Dell Precision T3600

Renesas Electronics USB 3.0 Host Controller, Driver version 2.0.30.0, Firmware version: 4015

VMware Workstation 10.0.2 build-1744117

Guest:

Workstation 10 VM

Linux Mint 16 - 64

uname -a

Linux lm16vm 3.11.0-12-generic #19-Ubuntu SMP Wed Oct 9 16:20:46 UTC 2013 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

Device:

Lexar microSD RDR (UMBus device)

Message: "The connection to ... was unsuccessful. Driver Error"

[skitheo]

With Renesas USB3 Driver Version 2.1.39.0, now the device doesn't even show up in the VMware Workstation "Removable Devices" list when plugged in to a USB3.0 port. It does connect to the VMs when plugged in to a USB2 port.

However, after the Win7 host loaded a driver, I restarted the VMware USB Arbitration Service, VMware Workstation service and reloaded the VM's, the Lexar is now usable in the VM.

Ergo, make sure the host adapter driver is updated, the device has been installed on the host, and the VMware USB Arbitration service is restarted in order for the devices to be visible in the VM.

[sunriver61]

In using Ubuntu 14.04.1 LTS in a VMWare WorkStation 10.0.2 build-1744117 environment on a Windows 7 box, this happens to me when I simply unplug a usb stick and then reinsert another one (or the same one) multiple times without using the VM -> Removable Devices -> {usb type} -> Disconnect (Connect to host).

If I remember to Disconnect first (which is not often...) then I seem to have no problem in inserting and reading other usb devices.  Hope this helps, maybe in WS 11 they've made this better.