Fusion 6.0.2 + OS X 10.8.5 + Ubuntu 13.04 -- USB disk troubleshooting

[tyson312]

Hi all,

I'm troubleshooting the lack of USB connectivity in my Ubuntu 13.04 guest under Fusion 6.0.2, running on OS X 10.8.5. I'd like some suggestions on what else to try, or a confirmation that USB 3 hardware are simply not supported AT ALL under linux guests, regardless if they are connected USB3 or USB2 compatiblity mode. I don't care if it's supported in either mode, I just need access to the disk.

I've got a USB3 external hard disk (Pluggable SATA HDD Docking Station, manufacturer supported under linux). It works fine on the host, and also works fine if I boot the host into Ubuntu 13.04 off a live CD. So I think I can say it's not a hardware problem.

The first time I connected the disk, I got a message from Fusion warning "The device (…) was unable to connect to its ideal host controller" which I'm assuming means a USB 3 controller in the guest.

I found an article discussing limited USB 3 support in Workstation 9 on windows hosts( http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=204159...) but it doesn't address other host platforms. It lists a workaround of using a USB 2 cable and or hub. Apparently Fusion and Wks9 share some code, so I'm not sure this even completly applies to Fusion, but maybe it does.

So I tried it. I used a USB 2 cable, and set USB Compatibility to 2.0 in the VM's settings. I don't have a hub to try. Same error message, still didn't recognize the disk. In the ubuntu live CD environment, this cable combination DOES result in a successful USB 2 link (ahci not xhci kernel modules are automatically loaded). So I think I've got a USB 2 compatible setup.

As seen in the logs below, it appears linux is talking to the disk controller, but not the disk itself. I usually hear it spin down when the drive is connected to the VM.

Here's the guest /var/log/syslog when the disk is connected with a USB 3 cable:

Jan 16 05:59:44 ubuntu kernel: [  261.203979] usb 1-1: new high-speed USB device number 3 using ehci-pci

Jan 16 05:59:44 ubuntu kernel: [  261.452184] usb 1-1: device descriptor read/64, error 18

Jan 16 05:59:44 ubuntu kernel: [  261.803256] usb 1-1: device descriptor read/64, error 18

Jan 16 05:59:44 ubuntu kernel: [  262.163219] usb 1-1: new high-speed USB device number 4 using ehci-pci

Jan 16 05:59:45 ubuntu kernel: [  262.409959] usb 1-1: device descriptor read/64, error 18

Jan 16 05:59:45 ubuntu kernel: [  262.761745] usb 1-1: device descriptor read/64, error 18

Jan 16 05:59:45 ubuntu kernel: [  263.121456] usb 1-1: new high-speed USB device number 5 using ehci-pci

Jan 16 05:59:45 ubuntu kernel: [  263.142057] usb 1-1: Invalid ep0 maxpacket: 9

Jan 16 05:59:46 ubuntu kernel: [  263.421593] usb 1-1: new high-speed USB device number 6 using ehci-pci

Jan 16 05:59:46 ubuntu kernel: [  263.440892] usb 1-1: Invalid ep0 maxpacket: 9

Jan 16 05:59:46 ubuntu kernel: [  263.462297] hub 1-0:1.0: unable to enumerate USB device on port 1

Here's the guest /var/log/syslog when the disk is connected with a USB 2 cable:

Jan 16 05:57:43 ubuntu kernel: [  141.058344] usb 1-1: new high-speed USB device number 2 using ehci-pci

Jan 16 05:57:44 ubuntu kernel: [  141.419723] usb 1-1: New USB device found, idVendor=174c, idProduct=55aa

Jan 16 05:57:44 ubuntu kernel: [  141.419726] usb 1-1: New USB device strings: Mfr=2, Product=3, SerialNumber=1

Jan 16 05:57:44 ubuntu kernel: [  141.419728] usb 1-1: Product: USB3-SATA-UASP1

Jan 16 05:57:44 ubuntu kernel: [  141.419730] usb 1-1: Manufacturer: Plugable

Jan 16 05:57:44 ubuntu kernel: [  141.419731] usb 1-1: SerialNumber: 123456789017

Jan 16 05:57:44 ubuntu mtp-probe: checking bus 1, device 2: "/sys/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:11.0/0000:02:03.0/usb1/1-1"

Jan 16 05:57:44 ubuntu mtp-probe: bus: 1, device: 2 was not an MTP device

Jan 16 05:57:44 ubuntu kernel: [  141.615965] Initializing USB Mass Storage driver...

Jan 16 05:57:44 ubuntu kernel: [  141.621470] scsi33 : usb-storage 1-1:1.0

Jan 16 05:57:44 ubuntu kernel: [  141.621906] usbcore: registered new interface driver usb-storage

Jan 16 05:57:44 ubuntu kernel: [  141.621908] USB Mass Storage support registered.

Jan 16 05:58:06 ubuntu kernel: [  164.102488] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 2 using ehci-pci

Jan 16 05:58:17 ubuntu kernel: [  174.844396] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 2 using ehci-pci

Jan 16 05:58:34 ubuntu kernel: [  191.560883] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 2 using ehci-pci

Jan 16 05:58:35 ubuntu kernel: [  192.307002] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 2 using ehci-pci

Jan 16 05:58:45 ubuntu kernel: [  203.025701] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 2 using ehci-pci

Jan 16 05:58:46 ubuntu kernel: [  203.383944] scsi 33:0:0:0: Device offlined - not ready after error recovery

Other USB 2 devices (like flash drives) work fine in the guest OS.

I'm using Ubuntu 13.04 because it's listed as an officially supported guest. I have also tried 13.10 with identical results.

Any help, ideas, or clarification would be appreciated. As I said before, I don't care about USB 3 speed (although it would be nice). I just need access to the disk in the guest via USB. (Note: the filesystem is ext3 so I would prefer not to mount it on the host and share the folder to the guest os).

Thanks!

[WoodyZ]

and also works fine if I boot the host into Ubuntu 13.04 off a live CD

Did you mean to say "host" here or did mean Guest and in the Virtual Machine?

What are the hardware specs of the Mac Host?

[tyson312]

Thanks for your reply:

Yes, I meant that if I boot the host OS off a live CD (so the hardware is running ubuntu 13.04 not OS X) and try the USB disk in a "native" environment, it works as USB 3. The purpose of trying this was to make sure the disk and the USB controller could communicate under linux.

Mac Host is a macbook pro 10,2 (i5 2.6ghz/8gb)

[WoodyZ]

Okay, I just tested with a Toshiba 1.5 GB USB 3.0 External Hard Drive that is partitioned HFS+/NTFS/FAT32 and plugged into an Ubuntu 13.04 Virtual Machine running under VMware Fusion 6.0.2 on an early 2013 MBP with Retina Display (10,1)  i7/2.8 Ghz/16 GB RAM/768 GB SSD and it automatically mounted all three volumes without any error/information messages.  I then used lsusb in a Terminal to confirm the device was connected as 3.0 and did transfer test of large files.  It worked as I suspected it should although I will say it took much longer to enumerate the contents of the root of the FAT32 volume then the HFS+/NTFS volumes.

So since it's working with this device the only thing I can think of is it's an issue with the device you're using and it may be in the implementation of USB 3.0 in VMware Fusion in that it doesn't handle all USB 3.0 devices equally.  Someone from VMware is going to have to comment on this.

Message was edited by: WoodyZ - Originally posted, Jan 16, 2014 12:00 PM.  Edited (10.2) to (10,1).

[tyson312]

Thanks Woody for confirming that USB 3 does work with a similar host and guest setup, but a with different USB disk.

I didn't save the output, but lsusb output did recognize the Pluggable interface as a USB3 device when connected as such.

I agree that perhaps Fusion doesn't treat all disks equally. I have tried the same Pluggable USB interface with several SATA disks of various sizes and partition structures (MBR, etc) to see if there is any impact. None was noted; they all failed the same way. I also tried connecting a different USB 3 disk, a Seagate Expansion 4TB drive, to see if perhaps I have a problem limited to the Pluggable interface. It also did not work, with similar log messages.

I have also tried a different disk mounted in a USB2 enclosure, which worked fine in the guest. However I can't simply use that enclosure because it's IDE and the disk I'm trying to use is SATA.

I have tried other USB cables of both type 2/3 as well.

The failure is limited to USB3 hardware being connected either USB3 or USB2 (via cable and settings) to the guest.

What is the procedure for getting someone from VMWare to notice this thread? Is there a separate place to file a support ticket?

thanks!

[WoodyZ]

Have a look at: Filing a Support Request in My VMware (2006985)

BTW I sent a message to someone at VMware asking them to look at this thread if they have time.

[tyson312]

Thanks!

[admin]

With the USB 2.0 cable does the device function correctly on the host system? It is possible this is a firmware bug on the device with prevents it from operating in legacy USB 2.0 mode (which is what is triggered by connectivity with a USB 2.0 cable). If not, then please add the following configuration lines to your virtual machine's .vmx file and send me the vmware.log file generated:

usb.analyzer.enable = "TRUE"

[tyson312]

Thanks for your response. I'm currently away from the system, but will get this done tonight and post details and the data you requested.

[tyson312]

rgrant wrote:

With the USB 2.0 cable does the device function correctly on the host system?

yes, it does work correctly on the host system with the USB 2 cable. Hardware set up is Pluggable SATA HDD docking station (http://www.amazon.com/Plugable-Lay-Flat-Docking-Station-ASM1053E/dp/B00APP6694/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qi...) with a 1.5 TB disk, and the USB 2.0 cable.

rgrant wrote:

please add the following configuration lines to your virtual machine's .vmx file and send me the vmware.log file generated:

usb.analyzer.enable = "TRUE"

Added. I'll see if I can figure out how to transmit a file to you through this forum. If not, I will post another reply with a hosted link.

Here is some output from the guest OS during the same period as the vmware.log file was being generated:

guest syslog shows:

Jan 23 07:18:49 ubuntu kernel: [   51.065527] usb 3-2.1: new high-speed USB device number 6 using xhci_hcd

Jan 23 07:18:49 ubuntu kernel: [   51.086991] usb 3-2.1: New USB device found, idVendor=174c, idProduct=55aa

Jan 23 07:18:49 ubuntu kernel: [   51.086996] usb 3-2.1: New USB device strings: Mfr=2, Product=3, SerialNumber=1

Jan 23 07:18:49 ubuntu kernel: [   51.086998] usb 3-2.1: Product: USB3-SATA-UASP1

Jan 23 07:18:49 ubuntu kernel: [   51.087000] usb 3-2.1: Manufacturer: Plugable

Jan 23 07:18:49 ubuntu kernel: [   51.087001] usb 3-2.1: SerialNumber: 123456789017

Jan 23 07:18:49 ubuntu mtp-probe: checking bus 3, device 6: "/sys/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:15.0/0000:03:00.0/usb3/3-2/3-2.1"

Jan 23 07:18:49 ubuntu mtp-probe: bus: 3, device: 6 was not an MTP device

Jan 23 07:18:49 ubuntu kernel: [   51.117963] Initializing USB Mass Storage driver...

Jan 23 07:18:49 ubuntu kernel: [   51.118056] scsi33 : usb-storage 3-2.1:1.0

Jan 23 07:18:49 ubuntu kernel: [   51.118337] usbcore: registered new interface driver usb-storage

Jan 23 07:18:49 ubuntu kernel: [   51.118338] USB Mass Storage support registered.

Jan 23 07:19:01 ubuntu kernel: [   62.519212] sda1: WRITE SAME failed. Manually zeroing.

Jan 23 07:19:23 ubuntu kernel: [   73.026129] usb 3-2.1: reset high-speed USB device number 6 using xhci_hcd

Jan 23 07:19:34 ubuntu kernel: [   83.245822] usb 3-2.1: reset high-speed USB device number 6 using xhci_hcd

Jan 23 07:19:50 ubuntu kernel: [   99.561998] usb 3-2.1: reset high-speed USB device number 6 using xhci_hcd

Jan 23 07:19:50 ubuntu kernel: [   99.943828] usb 3-2.1: reset high-speed USB device number 6 using xhci_hcd

Jan 23 07:20:01 ubuntu kernel: [  110.311507] usb 3-2.1: reset high-speed USB device number 6 using xhci_hcd

Jan 23 07:20:01 ubuntu kernel: [  110.398654] scsi 33:0:0:0: Device offlined - not ready after error recovery

lspci shows:

<..cut..>

02:00.0 USB controller: VMware USB1.1 UHCI Controller

02:01.0 Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation 82545EM Gigabit Ethernet Controller (Copper) (rev 01)

02:02.0 Multimedia audio controller: Ensoniq ES1371 [AudioPCI-97] (rev 02)

02:03.0 USB controller: VMware USB2 EHCI Controller

02:05.0 SATA controller: VMware Device 07e0

03:00.0 USB controller: VMware USB3 xHCI Controller

lsusb shows:

Bus 002 Device 002: ID 0e0f:0002 VMware, Inc. Virtual USB Hub

Bus 003 Device 002: ID 0e0f:0002 VMware, Inc. Virtual USB Hub

Bus 003 Device 003: ID 0e0f:0002 VMware, Inc. Virtual USB Hub

Bus 004 Device 002: ID 0e0f:0002 VMware, Inc. Virtual USB Hub

Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub

Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub

Bus 003 Device 004: ID 0e0f:0003 VMware, Inc. Virtual Mouse

Bus 003 Device 005: ID 0e0f:0008 VMware, Inc.

Bus 003 Device 006: ID 174c:55aa ASMedia Technology Inc.

Thanks for looking into this. Let me know if there is anything else I can try to assist with troubleshooting. Would you like the same output except with the 3.0 cable, different USB compatibility setting, etc?

[tyson312]

rgrant wrote:

send me the vmware.log file generated:

Link sent via private message.

[admin]

Thank you for the logs. If you connect the drive to your Mac while the Linux virtual machine is running and select "Connect to Linux" from the dialog that appears when the USB device is detected is the behavior any different? You must have "Ask what to do" selected in the advanced USB & Bluetooth settings for this dialog box to appear. This connection path is different from selecting the device from the toolbar because OS X is not given an opportunity to talk to the device before Linux. Double initialization is known to cause problems for some devices.

[tyson312]

No change. The behavior appears identical.

/var/log/syslog

Jan 24 11:25:42 ubuntu kernel: [  558.041910] usb 3-2.1: new high-speed USB device number 6 using xhci_hcd

Jan 24 11:25:42 ubuntu kernel: [  558.062413] usb 3-2.1: New USB device found, idVendor=174c, idProduct=55aa

Jan 24 11:25:42 ubuntu kernel: [  558.062417] usb 3-2.1: New USB device strings: Mfr=2, Product=3, SerialNumber=1

Jan 24 11:25:42 ubuntu kernel: [  558.062419] usb 3-2.1: Product: USB3-SATA-UASP1

Jan 24 11:25:42 ubuntu kernel: [  558.062420] usb 3-2.1: Manufacturer: Plugable

Jan 24 11:25:42 ubuntu kernel: [  558.062422] usb 3-2.1: SerialNumber: 123456789017

Jan 24 11:25:42 ubuntu mtp-probe: checking bus 3, device 6: "/sys/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:15.0/0000:03:00.0/usb3/3-2/3-2.1"

Jan 24 11:25:42 ubuntu mtp-probe: bus: 3, device: 6 was not an MTP device

Jan 24 11:25:42 ubuntu kernel: [  558.254019] Initializing USB Mass Storage driver...

Jan 24 11:25:42 ubuntu kernel: [  558.254143] scsi33 : usb-storage 3-2.1:1.0

Jan 24 11:25:42 ubuntu kernel: [  558.254471] usbcore: registered new interface driver usb-storage

Jan 24 11:25:42 ubuntu kernel: [  558.254472] USB Mass Storage support registered.

Jan 24 11:26:04 ubuntu kernel: [  580.071361] usb 3-2.1: reset high-speed USB device number 6 using xhci_hcd

Jan 24 11:26:14 ubuntu kernel: [  590.289159] usb 3-2.1: reset high-speed USB device number 6 using xhci_hcd

Jan 24 11:26:30 ubuntu kernel: [  606.496299] usb 3-2.1: reset high-speed USB device number 6 using xhci_hcd

Jan 24 11:26:30 ubuntu kernel: [  606.747648] usb 3-2.1: reset high-speed USB device number 6 using xhci_hcd

Jan 24 11:26:41 ubuntu kernel: [  616.978216] usb 3-2.1: reset high-speed USB device number 6 using xhci_hcd

Jan 24 11:26:41 ubuntu kernel: [  617.036062] scsi 33:0:0:0: Device offlined - not ready after error recovery

Thanks for keeping on this issue!

[wila]

Hi,

PMJI, just as a for your information as you had trouble locating the feature before.

You can attach files in this forum using the "Use advanced editor" link at the top right of your reply window.

After doing that you can use the button below your edit window to attach a file.

Good luck with getting the USB disk to work.

--

Wil

[admin]

I've found a device which claims to be the same chipset as yours in-house but it's an older (non-UAS) version. Can you send me a link to Amazon or NewEgg for the device that you're using?

[tyson312]

Here's a link on amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Plugable-Lay-Flat-Docking-Station-ASM1053E/dp/B00APP6694/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qi...

Thanks!

[corthon]

For what it's worth, I'm having this exact same problem with a MacBook Air (Haswell), OS X Mavericks (10.9.1) Host, Ubuntu 13.10 Guest (Kernel 3.11.0-15), VMWare Fusion 6.0.2.

Anyone get anywhere with this?

Edit: HDD is a 3TB Seagate Expansion Desktop

Message was edited by: corthon

[tyson312]

No, I'm the OP and still waiting on a resolution from vmware. I haven't heard anything since my last reply above. Still an issue for me. In fact today it prevented me from using a linux guest to do some dd_rescue work between two usb disks. Frustrating!

I'm not so concerned with getting USB3 speed- I just need USB to WORK!

[admin]

Thank you for your patience Tyson. I have the device now and can reproduce the issue but do not yet have a resolution.

[WoodyZ]

tyson312 wrote: In fact today it prevented me from using a linux guest to do some dd_rescue work between two usb disks. Frustrating!

Is there any reason why you don't do the ddrescue work directly under OS X?  I use GNU ddrescue directly under OS X quite often and it works just fine.  I compiled it under OS X from the source code and if you don't have Xcode install and want a compiled copy just let me know.