Windows 10 --- usb 'stick' connection problems

[EdP2]

Using VMWare 10 Workstation I cloned a working Windows 8 guest (stripped out Start8 & ModernMix) then installed Windows 10. VMWare tools reinstalled without issue, however previously working usb thumbdrives are no longer detected in usb3 outlets and although usb2 outlets can detect the thumbdrives the drives cannot be read.

[aussieboykie]

Can anyone comment on whether USB thumb drives are recognised by Windows 10 Preview running on VMWare Workstation 11? I have Workstation 10.0.4 build-2249910 and am experiencing the same symptoms as the OP. I can connect a thumb drive to the Windows 10 VM but it does not show up as a hard drive in Windows File Manager.

Regards, AB

[fizzywiz]

I am having the same issue with Windows 10 Preview on VMware Player.  When I run VMware Player in USB 3.0 mode, I can usually connect to USB 3.0 devices when it is plugged into a USB 3.0 port using USB 3.0 as my configuration.  Similarly, I can connect a USB 2.0 device if I have a USB 2.0 port and USB 2.0 configuration.  Apparently, I cannot mix the combinations (for example a USB 3.0 device running on a USB 2.0 port with either a USB 2.0 or 3.0 configuration).  Using mixed configuration results in a device id failure on the virtual machine resulting in an unrecognized USB device.

Does anyone know if this is a VMware issue or a Windows 10 issue?  Is there a workaround?

[aussieboykie]

fizzywiz

Thanks for your post. It encouraged me to experiment with USB settings and I managed to get my thumb drive to switch between host and W10 VM. The first time I set the USB controller in the VM to USB3 and used a USB3 port I got a usable device connection when I switched the device to the VM. Since then, using the same device on the same USB port, the only way I can get a connection is to set the virtual  USB controller to USB2. Despite rebooting both the physical host and the VM I have never been able to get a USB3 connection to work again. Anyway, a USB2 connection is better than no connection, so thanks again.

Regards, AB

[EdP2]

I have had problems with a USB3 hub since updating to VMWare 11. The performance of the hub with vmware guests (Linux, Windows 7/8/10) is very hit or miss, but usb3 thumb-drives seem to cause the most problem. For my nickel Windows 10 is not the problem , but the VMWare Workstation usb hub driver.

[MThomas8]

I had the exact same issue as op.  Apparently, VMWare has since released updates that fix this issue.  I just opened my VMWare and went to Help->Updates and checked for updates.  It downloaded and installed new updates and now my external devices are working with the windows 10 VM.