Is it somehow possible to prevent the USB connection checkbox? ("choose where to connect xxx"))

[Gen__K__Whale]

I have a couple Mac OS X Server 10.6 VMs, each hosted on a Mac Pro running Mac OS X 10.6.6. These VMs run 24-7, but the Macs they run on are used for other purposes, too, so USB devices are sometimes getting plugged in.

Currently, every time anything is plugged in, the  "Choose where you would like to connect <device name here>" dialog pops up. Is there any way to prevent that from happening, even if the guest OS does need to connect to and manage one USB device attached to the host machine (in this case, a telephony/voicmeail system).

The reason it is problematic is that some devices do not charge until somebody answers that prompt, which is often unnoticed by some users.

I know I could disable the VM's USB controller, but I need that one device to be connected.

Thanks for any tips.

[gbullman]

I haven't run a Mac OS Server VM, but with Windows VMs there is a choice to always connect the device to either the VM or the hosting Mac.  You could chose for each device to connect to hosting Mac, then connect to the VM after the fact if that is what was needed (or if they always connect to a VM, connect them to that always).

Main point being if you have the option of always connect to host or one of the guest and you chose what is most appropriate you can always change your mind through the Virtual Machine menu.

If it wasn't clear above I believe you will get that dialog box for each device you connect for the first time, then subsequent connection of that device will go to whichever default you selected.

[admin · Accepted solution]

If only a small set of devices is getting plugged/unplugged you could tell Fusion to always connect that device to the host/guest (there should be a checkbox on the dialog; it's also settable in Virtual Machine > Settings > USB). You'll need to do this per device, per port (since the same device plugged into a different port looks different).

Another workaround might be to run the long-running virtual machine as a different user - I'm not sure if this would prevent the popups, but it might.

If it's a large number of devices, there's an unsupported way to revert to the old connect-target-follows-focus model, but I don't recall it off the top of my head. Search the forums, especially for posts by lrucker.

[Gen__K__Whale]

Thanks, but the main problem is a bunch of people sit down and plug their phones into it, so it is always encountering new devices.

[Gen__K__Whale]

Thank you.  I found the post you mention by lrucker[1], and tried his advice to add the following line:

usb.generic.pluginAction = "host"

to the ~/Library/Preferences/VMware Fusion/config file (which did not exist on my system--I had to create it).

After doing this, it seems to have worked! Plugging in USB devices no longer causes a prompt--they connect to the host automatically.

I find this far preferable to the default behavior. I would urge VMWare to at least make this a supported preference, with a popup in the prefs pane to control it.

Anyway thanks very much for pointing me to the solution.

[1]: http://communities.vmware.com/message/1627770#1627770

[ColoradoMarmot]

This no longer works - any idea on the new fix for Fusion 4?

[ColoradoMarmot]

Bump - is there any way to stop Fusion from pestering about attaching devices on a systemwide/vmwide basis?  I *never* attach devices directly to VM's, and it's causing problems across the board.

I'll take a config file hack, but really would like to see this added to the GUI preference window.

[Gen__K__Whale]

This is now implemented in VMWare Fusion 4.

Go to the VM Settings window, navigate to the USB & Bluetooth pane, then expand the Advanced USB Options area. From there you can set the default action via the GUI.

(You do have to set this setting for each VM you create.)

[ColoradoMarmot]

Yes, which isn't acceptable.  I need a global, cross-VM option (which is what this thread originally provided).  I have too many VM's coming and going to do it on each one. 

[ColoradoMarmot]

And this issue still exists in Fusion 5 too, but now it's causing a bigger problem.

When plugging in USB 3.0 devices to the host, even after selecting 'host' in the dialog window, they don't appear on the host (and won't, until I reboot).

Anyone know how to block this, across ALL vm's, with a single preference in a sticky way?

The lack of cross-VM global options is my #1 beef and frustration with Fusion.

[TK999]

I have similar problem.

If I assign all the usb device to the host, is there a programmatic way for the guest OS (vm) to get the usb device from the host?