installed an external USB floppy disk drive. In W7, device manager, I see USB device under FloppyDrive and USB floppy under USB controllers. Can read directory of floppy disk and install programs. Switch to XP mode. In XP device Manager,there is no listing for Floppy Drive and under USB controllers see Virtualization listings. Obviously A: doesn't work. What am I missing? Thanks
What virtual program are you using?
Vmware, virtual pc, virtual box?
Make sure the VM's settings are set to share hardware.
and I couldn't find any place to set "sharing" in ms virtual pc?
Unfortunately I am not familiar with Microsoft virtual pc. I use vmware player. I will ask to see if others know how to help you.
Try running Windows Update from the Virtual XP and see if it will still work. I suspect you need the USB drivers for XP.
I found an article in 7tutorials.com on the subject. It turns out it is not quite accurate. There is a USB choice on the XP mode menu and it lists the floppy as "shared" but since "shared" is past tense I assume the floppy was shared. Apparently not so. I clicked on the floppy listing and received a message that
".... disconnecting device from computer, do you want to continue attaching to virtual machine?" Yes.
When I look at the computer info display I see not only floppy a: but floppy b: !!! Normal floppy listings then appear in the Device Manager and the floppy now works! In the USB column I now have a floppy --- release item. The only negative aspect is that this condition reverts when I exit the xp mode. Fortunately I only need to use the floppy for program loads (rarely) so it is a non issue. I will try VMware one of these days and see how that works.
Vmware player has a lot more advantages. The drivers they use are a lot faster and better performance wise, and video is really fast inside virtual machines compared to Microsoft virtual pc. Unity, Vmware player supports aero, and it can also run almost any OS. Linux, any version of windows, mac osx, android, etc.
Vmware vs windows virtual pc:
VMware Player - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Windows Virtual PC - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
7 Reasons Why I Prefer VMware Player over Windows Virtual PC to Run My Virtual Machines on Windows 7 | Next of Windows
Compare feature: VMware Player, Microsoft Virtual PC, VirtualBox - Softonic
VMWare player vs Windows Virtual PC
Importing xp mode into vmware player:
http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/mic...rnalId=2014936
Here is a guide:
A little old:
http://www.vmware.com/pdf/desktop/vmware_player50.pdf
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