Virtual Usb Drive For Mac

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Best File Manager For Mac; File Manager Virtual Usb Drive For Mac Windows 10. If its Virtual Box, are you sure you've installed the guest essentials?

The following sections describe how to use USB devices in a virtual machine: How to install canon printer driver on mac.

VMware Workstation 4 provides a two-port USB 1.1 controller. You can use up to two USB devices in your virtual machine if both your host operating system and your guest operating system support USB. If your host computer supports USB 2.0 devices, you can use those devices in the virtual machine.

Note: Windows NT and Linux kernels older than 2.2.17 do not support USB.

Although your host operating system must support USB, you do not need to install device-specific drivers for your USB devices in the host operating system if you want to use those devices only in the virtual machine.

On a Windows 2000 host computer with USB 2.0 support, be sure you are using the Microsoft USB 2.0 driver for the USB controller. Third-party USB 2.0 drivers, such as those provided by some motherboard manufacturers, are not supported. For notes on replacing the third-party drivers, see Replacing USB 2.0 Drivers on a Windows 2000 Host.

We have tested a variety of USB devices with this release. In general, if the guest operating system has appropriate drivers, you should be able to use PDAs, printers, storage (disk) devices, scanners, MP3 players, digital cameras and memory card readers.

Modems and certain streaming data devices, such as speakers and Web cams, do not work properly.

The virtual machine's USB ports are enabled by default. If you will not be using USB devices in a virtual machine, you can disable its USB controller using the virtual machine settings editor.

When a virtual machine is running, its window is the active window and a USB device is plugged into the host computer, the device automatically connects to the guest instead of the host. This autoconnect feature can be disabled in the USB Controller panel of the virtual machine settings editor (VM > Settings). If all of the virtual machine's USB ports are already occupied when it is trying to connect automatically to a new device, a dialog box gives you a choice: you can either disconnect one of the existing USB devices to free its port or ignore the new device, allowing the device to connect to the host.

Choose VM > Removable Devices to connect specific USB devices to your virtual machine. You can connect up to two USB devices at a time. If the physical USB devices are connected to the host computer through a hub, the virtual machine sees only the USB devices, not the hub.

There is a menu item for each of the USB ports. Move the mouse over one of these items to see a cascading menu of devices that are plugged into your host computer and available for use. To connect a device to the virtual machine, click its name.

If a device is already connected to that port, click the name of a new device to release the first device and connect the new one.

To release a connected device, click None on the cascading menu for the port to which it is connected.

If you physically plug a new device into the host computer and the autoconnect feature does not connect it to a virtual machine, the device is initially connected to the host. Its name is also added to the VM > Removable Devices menu so you can connect it to the virtual machine manually.

Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 hosts: When a particular USB device is connected to a virtual machine for the first time, the host detects it as a new device named VMware USB Device and installs the appropriate VMware driver.

Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 hosts: User confirmation is required in the Found New Hardware Wizard. Select the default action — Install the software automatically. Once the software is installed, the guest operating system detects the USB device and searches for a suitable driver.

When you are synchronizing a PDA, such as a Palm handheld or Handspring Visor, to a virtual machine for the first time, the total time required to load the VMware USB device driver in the host and the PDA driver in the guest may exceed the device's connection timeout value. This causes the device to disconnect itself from the computer before the guest can synchronize with it. If this occurs, let the guest finish installing the PDA driver, dismiss any connection error warnings, then try synchronizing the PDA again. The second attempt should succeed.

To use VMware Workstation 4 on a Windows 2000 host that has USB 2.0 ports, you must use the Microsoft USB 2.0 drivers for the USB controller in the host operating system. If your host operating system is using a third-party driver — a driver supplied by your motherboard vendor, for example — you must replace it.

Take the following steps to check the provider of your driver:

1. Go to the Device Manager. Right-click My Computer, choose Properties, click the Hardware tab, then click Device Manager.
2. Expand the listing for Universal Serial Bus controllers.
3. Right-click the listing for the controller and choose Properties.
4. Click the Driver tab. If the driver provider shown on that page is Microsoft, you have the correct driver already.

If the driver provider is not Microsoft, download the latest USB driver for your host operating system from the Microsoft Web site and follow the Microsoft instructions to install it. Details are available in Microsoft knowledge base article 319973.

Any user on a Windows host can connect USB devices for use in a virtual machine. You no longer need administrative privileges on the host to connect a USB device to a virtual machine.

This functionality is not enabled by default. To enable it, you must use a text editor such as Notepad to add one line to the global configuration file. This file is
C:Documents and Settings<username>Application DataVMwareconfig.ini

Add the following line anywhere in the file:

usb.EnablePnpMgr = TRUE

Note: A user with administrative privileges on the host operating system must install a USB device on the host before it can be connected by users who do not have administrative privileges.

On Linux hosts, VMware Workstation uses the USB device file system to connect to USB devices. In most Linux systems that support USB, the USB device file system is at /proc/bus/usb. If your host operating system uses a different path to the USB device file system, you can change it in the virtual machine settings editor (VM > Settings > USB). Enter the correct path in the Path to usbdevfs field.

Only one computer — host or guest — can have control of a USB device at any one time.

When you connect a device to a virtual machine, it is 'unplugged' from the host or from the virtual machine that previously had control of the device. When you disconnect a device from a virtual machine, it is 'plugged in' to the host.

Caution: On Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 hosts, you need to take a special step to disconnect USB network and storage devices from the host. There is a system tray icon called Eject Hardware on Windows 2000 and Safely Remove Hardware on Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. Use this icon to disconnect the device from the host before connecting it to a virtual machine.

Note: On Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 hosts, when you connect a USB network or storage device in a virtual machine, you may see a message on your host that says the device can be removed safely. This is normal behavior, and you can simply dismiss the dialog box. However, do not remove the device from your physical computer. VMware Workstation automatically transfers control of the device to the virtual machine.

Under some circumstances, if a USB storage device is in use on the host (for example, one or more files stored on the device are open on the host), an error appears in the virtual machine when you try to connect to the device. You must let the host complete its operation or close any application connected to the device on the host, then connect to the device in the virtual machine again.

On Linux hosts, guest operating systems can use devices that are not already in use by the host — that is, devices that are not claimed by a host operating system driver.

If your device is in use by the host and you try to connect it to the guest using the VM > Removable Devices menu, a dialog box appears, informing you that there is a problem connecting to the device.

To disconnect the device from the host, you must unload the device driver. You can unload the driver manually as root (su) using the rmmod command. Or, if the driver was automatically loaded by hotplug, you can disable it in the hotplug configuration files in the /etc/hotplug directory. See your Linux distribution's documentation for details on editing these configuration files.

A related issue sometimes affects devices that rely on automatic connection (as PDAs often do).

If you have successfully used autoconnection to connect the device to your virtual machine, then experience problems with the connection to the device, take the following steps:

1. Disconnect and reconnect the device. You can either unplug it physically, then plug it back in or use the VM > Removable Devices menu to disconnect it and reconnect it.
2. If you see a dialog box warning that the device is in use, disable it in the hotplug configuration files in the /etc/hotplug directory.

Before unplugging a USB device or using the VM > Removable Devices menu to disconnect it from a virtual machine, be sure it is in a safe state.

You should follow the procedures the device manufacturer specifies for unplugging the device from a physical computer. This is true whether you are physically unplugging it, moving it from host to virtual machine, moving it between virtual machines or moving it from virtual machine to host.

This is particularly important with data storage devices (a Zip drive, for example). If you move a data storage device too soon after saving a file and the operating system has not actually written the data to the disk, you can lose data.

USB human interface devices, such as the keyboard and mouse, are not handled though the virtual machine's USB controller. Instead, they appear in the virtual machine as a standard PS/2 keyboard and mouse, even though they are plugged into USB ports on the host.

By default, Mac starts from its built-in hard disk, but a startup disk can be any storage device that contains bootable contents that compatible with your Mac. For example, if you install macOS or Microsoft Windows on a USB drive, your Mac can recognize that drive as a startup disk. This guide provides 2 ways to boot a Mac from a USB flash drive.

Requirement

Starting up your Mac from an external disk requires the following:

• Intel-based Mac.
• Bootable USB thumb drive formatted with a GUID partition type and containing an OS X installer or a usable operating system.

Let’s see how to boot a Mac from a bootable USB drive and what to do if your Mac doesn’t start up from it.

Way 1: Boot Mac from USB Drive using Startup Manager

Getting your Mac to load from a USB drive is fairly straightforward. Use the following steps, you can easily set Mac boot from an external drive in Startup Manager, so it’ll only boot from USB that one time.

Step 1: Insert the USB boot media into a USB slot.

Step 2: Turn on your Mac (or Restart your Mac if it’s already on).

Step 3: Press and hold the Option key immediately after you see the Apple logo. Holding that key gives you access to OS X’s Startup Manager. Once the Startup Manager screen appears, release the Option key. The utility will look for any available drives that include bootable content.

Step 4: Using either the pointer or arrow keys on the keyboard, select the USB drive you wish to boot from. Once selected, either hit the Return key or double-click your selection. The machine will start to boot from the USB drive.

Way 2: Set a Mac Boot from USB Drive using Startup Disk

When you use Startup Disk preferences to set Mac boot from an external drive, so it’ll boot from that disk until you choose a different one. Here is how:

Step 1: Go to Apple menu > System Preference, then click Startup Disk.

Step 2: Click the locked icon and then enter your administrator password.

Step 3: Select External drive as the startup disk, then restart your Mac.

What to do if your Mac does not boot from the selected drive

If you see a message prompts that your security settings do not allow this Mac to use an external startup disk, check the External Boot setting in Startup Security Utility, and then allow your Mac to use an external startup disk.

Step 1: Open Startup Security Utility.

Turn on your Mac, then press and hold Command (⌘) + R immediately after you see the Apple logo. Your Mac starts up from macOS Recovery. When you see the macOS utility window, choose Utilities > Startup Security Utility from the menu bar. When you’re asked to authenticate, click Enter macOS Password, then choose an administrator account and enter its password.

Step 2: Select “Allow booting from external media“.

If you want to select an external startup disk before restarting your Mac, quit Startup Security Utility, then choose Apple menu > Startup Disk.

Note: If you’re using Boot Camp in a dual-boot Windows/OS X environment, you may be unable to boot negatively into supported versions of Microsoft Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 10 operating systems installed on external USB hard drive.

Make sure disk has been formatted with a GUID partition type

Intel-based Macs support starting from an external USB storage device’s volume that has been formatted with a GUID partition type. If you wish to boot from the drive, it’s important to format the partition as “GUID Partition Table” rather than either of the other two ahead of time when you use that drive as a bootable drive.

Make sure your disk is bootable

Volumes that aren’t bootable and don’t contain a copy of a valid operating system aren’t listed in Startup Disk or Startup Manager. Make sure the external drive you’re trying to start from contains a usable operating system.