Windows 7: Problem with thumb drive after exiting virtual machine

Frank1 · 25 Jul 2012

The operating system on my desktop is Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit. Today I installed VMware and then installed Windows XP in the virtual machine. I'm having a problem concerning my USB thumb drive. I am able to use the thumb drive in the guest machine and I think that I am disconnecting it when I shut down the guest machine. But I must be doing something wrong. Twice when I was in my host machine and put in the thumb drive, a message popped up telling me that Windows couldn't not recognize the drive. It did give me an option to scan it which I did. After the scan it was recognize with no problem. So I suppose I am doing something wrong when I shut down the virtual machine. But I don't know what that might be.

kado897 · 26 Jul 2012

The only time I've had that happen to me (not with an XP guest) is when the guest did not shut down cleanly and I had to force it. Are you using the normal XP shutdown routine?

Frank1 · 26 Jul 2012

Quote: Originally Posted by kado897

The only time I've had that happen to me (not with an XP guest) is when the guest did not shut down cleanly and I had to force it. Are you using the normal XP shutdown routine?

After reading your response, I don't think I shutdown the right way. I went back and made sure that I released (disconnected) the SUB drive and then did a proper shutdown. That seems to have corrected the problem. Thanks for your feedback.

kado897 · 26 Jul 2012

I'm glad you are sorted Frank, but shutting down XP using Start->Shutdown with the USB connected should result in the USB being released from the guest and returned to the host during shutdown, maybe something in the way XP handles USB. I don't have a VMPlayer XP VM so I can't test ATM.

Frank1 · 26 Jul 2012

Quote: Originally Posted by kado897

I'm glad you are sorted Frank, but shutting down XP using Start->Shutdown with the USB connected should result in the USB being released from the guest and returned to the host during shutdown, maybe something in the way XP handles USB. I don't have a VMPlayer XP VM so I can't test ATM.

I also thought that it would release it upon shutdown. But I may have shut it down too soon. There is that little icon that I can click on that says something like, "Remove hardware safely". I think I may have shut it down before it was safe to remove. After I read your first response, it made me remember that little icon.

Windows 7: Problem with thumb drive after exiting virtual machine

Problem with thumb drive after exiting virtual machine problems?