VMware Player does not display USB stick and can not connect to network

Question

I am running a Windows 7 guest OS on VMware Player from Windows 7. However, when I insert a USB jump drive the guest OS can not access it. VMware Player tells me the stick is connected, but it does not appear on the guest OS 'my computer'. The same is true with my network card. VMware Player detects it, but I am unable to join any networks. How can I fix this problem?

Solution

For USB:

Ensure you have a USB controller setup for the VM:

Virtual Machine Menu->Virtual Machine Settings

If you don't see "USB Controller" in the list, power down the virtual machine's guest operating system. Click "Add" at the bottom of the Virtual Machine Settings window, click "USB Controller" in the list, click "Next" and click "Finish."

Then ensure it's connected to the guest and not the host:

Virtual Machine Menu->Removable Devices->->Connect (Disconnect from Host)"

If your network controller is also USB this may help you get it working as well. If not, it's probably just a matter of ensuring the adapter is compatible with VMWare and that the drivers are properly loaded into the guest OS.

Comments

[RHPT]

I removed the network adapter from device manager in the guest os and then scanned for new hardware. Win7 then recognized the adapter and reinstalled the drivers, and that fixed the issue. As for the USB, it just occurred to me that wasn't I plugging the drive directly into the computer, but via a usb hub. When I pluggged the drive directly into the computer, it was recognized.

[Ccorock]

Also go to start and run services.msc to check that 'VMWare USB Arbitration Service' is running. Just had this issue.

[weberc2]

I have this problem when plugging directly into the computer. I have to reboot the guest to get it to mount USBs again. I find that this problem manifests itself when I unplug a USB without unmounting it first (it seems to happen more frequently in this case; not sure if it's 100% of the time).