Oracle Virtual Machine Printer Help

[MishGEA]

How do I get my virtual machine to recognize a printer?

Thanks
Mish

 

[Darician]

Ensure you have your printer plugged in to your computer and turn it on. Then within VirtualBox, go to the settings for your Virtual Machine and click on "USB". If you are missing USB, you may need to install the VirtualBox Extension Pack from Downloads - VirtualBox. You would just download and run it and allow it to be installed. Once USB is present, click on the USB icon with the green plus sign on it and select your printer from the list. After that, click "OK" and start up your Virtual Machine and the printer should be detected in it. You would then install drivers for that virtual guest as you would on any other PC.

Also ensure that you've installed the Guest Additions if you haven't already done so.

 

[MishGEA]

Thanks
I did have Extension pack and guest additions installed.
Clicked on USB and found my printer.
Added it.
When I rebooted I saw new USB drivers loading automatically.
Tried to print and got printer not found.
Printer is working from physical machine.
Can it only be connected to one machine at a time?

Mish

 

[Darician]

Yes, it can only be directly connected to one machine at a time. Ensure that you've actually installed the printer on the virtual guest while having the printer connected to the virtual machine by installing its drivers within the virtual guest and having it be detected as you would on any physical machine. For example, if you have Windows XP running in the virtual guest and your printer is an HP CM2320nf, you would download and install Windows XP Drivers for the HP CM2320nf within the virtual guest and it would then work properly.

Just having it be USB detected does allow the virtual guest to see the printer but if the guest operating system doesn't have a built-in driver for the printer, it will not print as you need to add it in.

 

[MishGEA]

Is there a way to network the printer so both machines can see it?

 

[Darician]

Definitely. What you can do is share it from the host machine and provided you are using a bridged adapter for your VM, then you should be able to add this printer in by name in your virtual guest. On your host machine just go to Devices and Printers under the Control Panel and right-click on the printer you wish to share, click on "Printer Properties" then go the sharing tab and make sure the check box to share is checked and pick an easy name with which to identify the printer.