VirtualBox USB permissions

[lemaymd]

Hello,

I've been using VirtualBox on Fedora 7 running a Windows XP guest quite successfully for a little while now. However, I can't get any USB devices to connect to it unless I manually do a chmod -R 777 /proc/bus/usb beforehand. Otherwise, I get the following:

Not permitted to open the USB device, check usbfs options.

Result Code: 0x80004005
Component: Console
Interface: IConsole {1dea5c4b-0753-4193-b909-22330f64ec45}

I've tried modifying /etc/udev/rules.d/50-udev.rules so it contains the following line:

ACTION=="add", SUBSYSTEM=="usb_device", \
        PROGRAM="/bin/sh -c 'K=%k; K=$${K#usbdev}; printf bus/usb/%%03i/%%03i $$
{K%%%%.*} $${K#*.}'", \
        NAME="%c", MODE="0666"

in place of the following:

ACTION=="add", SUBSYSTEM=="usb_device", \
        PROGRAM="/bin/sh -c 'K=%k; K=$${K#usbdev}; printf bus/usb/%%03i/%%03i $$
{K%%%%.*} $${K#*.}'", \
        NAME="%c", MODE="0644"

No success, unfortunately. I also added the following to /etc/fstab:

none /proc/bus/usb usbfs devgid=508,devmode=664 0 0

and added my user to the vboxusers group, but that didn't help either.

[SlowJet]

www.virtual-box.com - need free version
read forums - documetation, help
www.windows.com
is virtual guest fully updated with SP2 +

yum update --enablerepo-updates-testing
Needs lot of bug fixes.

Plug the usb into usb port 1 or 2 before booting.

read many threads on usb not mounting.

wait for more kernel with usb fixes.

That's the status in a nutshell.

SJ

[b_chris]

You should Log your USB problems with VirtualBox, I'm having the same problem.... Damn it....

regards.

[zaog]

Hi,

problem solved today (I hope can help you, too).

Since changing /etc/fstab like many people and user's manual suggest to do don't solve the problem, I tried this way:

1 - create a new group called "usb";
2 - locate file usbfs: in my case is /sys/bus/usb/drivers (I suggest to find the file with a usb device inserted;
3 - modify file /etc/fstab inserting a line containing the right path and the number corresponding the "usb" group :
none /sys/bus/usb/drivers usbfs devgid=503,devmode=664 0 0
4 - command mount -a;
5 - start VB and try...;

I can't believe it, but now it works!!!

Please let me know if this way effectively fix the problem or I drunk too much!

Bye!

[b_chris]

Hey zaog,

Seems to work well, the only two things I had to do were assign myself to the newly created usb group and reboot.

Thanks for that....

regards.

[jaevans]

Works great on two installations here. By the way, if anyone finds an easy process for "fixing" virtualbox after a kernel upgrade, I'd appreciate the info.

john

[BKJ1]

For fixing virtualbox after kernel upgrade simply run:

sudo /etc/init.d/vboxdrv setup

[jaevans]

Originally Posted by BKJ1

For fixing virtualbox after kernel upgrade simply run:

sudo /etc/init.d/vboxdrv setup

Indeed, this worked great and I had located this weeks ago, but I am not sure why I didn't post the correct solution. Thanks for pointing this out to me.

john

[barf]

Yes this solution allows you to attach usb devices to guest system. Unfortunately once you do they become permanently unavailable to the host system (at least in the case of my usb printer) until you reboot the host. Need a better solution.

[citojaso]

Thanks zaog, for the short lesson....it works ! Only thing i would like to add is I had to re-boot my host machine after adding your fix. And barf, after reading the VirtualBox User Manual i found paragraph 3.7.6.2 which states that V'Box can only proxy to virtual machines USB devices which are not claimed by a Linux host USB driver.

[citojaso]

Thanks zaog, for the short lesson....it works ! Only thing i would like to add is I had to re-boot my host machine after adding your fix. And barf, after reading the VirtualBox User Manual i found paragraph 3.7.6.2 which states that V'Box can only proxy to virtual machines USB devices which are not claimed by a Linux host USB driver.
If you are using V'Box to run Windows you should stop the usb device using one of several ways available in Windows. This will make the device available to your host machine.

[barf]

Originally Posted by citojaso

And barf, after reading the VirtualBox User Manual i found paragraph 3.7.6.2 which states that V'Box can only proxy to virtual machines USB devices which are not claimed by a Linux host USB driver.

Yeah, read that myself, what the f* does it actually mean.

If you are using V'Box to run Windows you should stop the usb device using one of several ways available in Windows. This will make the device available to your host machine.

Mate, I've shut down the whole VM and it still wont let CUPS print anything without a reboot.

[yelserp87]

Originally Posted by zaog

Hi,

problem solved today (I hope can help you, too).

Since changing /etc/fstab like many people and user's manual suggest to do don't solve the problem, I tried this way:

1 - create a new group called "usb";
2 - locate file usbfs: in my case is /sys/bus/usb/drivers (I suggest to find the file with a usb device inserted;
3 - modify file /etc/fstab inserting a line containing the right path and the number corresponding the "usb" group :
none /sys/bus/usb/drivers usbfs devgid=503,devmode=664 0 0
4 - command mount -a;
5 - start VB and try...;

I can't believe it, but now it works!!!

Please let me know if this way effectively fix the problem or I drunk too much!

Bye!

Bah. I cant get this to work. I am running Fed 8 and its still a no go. I tried it once using "none /proc/bus/usb usbfs devgid=501,devmode=664 0 0" and it worked once...but now it does not work anymore. I have tried to do it over again but its still a no go. Any help?

[marklf]

Thanks, I works for me!
But I can not use my USB pointer on the host of F8 any more, it is only availble in VirtualBox. My USB storage dosen't come up either.
Anything I can do? Thanks.

[yelserp87]

I was able to resolve my issue with usb. The only thing I can't get to work is usb externall hdd.