There are times when you want to install an application or transfer data that is loaded on a USB flash drive on VM, and are looking for the process how to add USB flash drive to Hyper-V virtual machine. We have covered a step by step guide how to do that, catch us after the jump!
Adding a USB flash drive to your Hyper-V virtual machine is easy! Just follow these simple steps:
1. Connect the USB flash drive to your computer.
2. Open the Hyper-V Manager.
3. Select the virtual machine to which you want to add the USB drive and click “Settings.”
4. In the “Hardware” section, click “Add Hardware.”
5. Select “USB Device” and click “Add.”
6. Choose the USB flash drive from the list and click “Finish.”
7. That’s it! The USB flash drive will now be available in your virtual machine.
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Introduction on How to add USB flash drive to Hyper-V virtual machine
Adding a USB flash drive to a Hyper-V virtual machine is a simple process and can be useful for various purposes.
For example, you might want to add a USB drive to a virtual machine to store files or install the software.
Here’s How to add USB flash drive to Hyper-V virtual machine:
1. Start the virtual machine to which you want to add the USB flash drive.
2. In the bottom-right corner of the screen, click the ‘Devices’ menu and then select ‘USB Devices.
3. In the ‘USB Devices’ menu, select the USB flash drive you want to add to the virtual machine.
4. Click ‘OK’ to add the USB flash drive to the virtual machine.
What is Hyper-V?
Microsoft Hyper-V, codenamed Viridian and formerly known as Windows Server Virtualization, is a native hypervisor; it can create virtual machines on x86-64 systems running Windows.
Hyper-V was first released alongside Windows Server 2008 and has been available without charge for use with Microsoft products ever since.
USB support in Hyper-V
Microsoft Hyper-V supports two types of USB devices:
1. USB mass storage devices include devices such as USB flash drives and portable hard drives. You can use these devices to store data, install operating systems and applications, and so on.
2. USB input devices – these include devices such as keyboards, mice, and touchpads. You can use these devices to interact with the virtual machine’s operating system and applications.
To add a USB device to a Hyper-V virtual machine, follow these steps:
1. Connect the USB device to the computer running Hyper-V.
2. In the Hyper-V Manager, select the virtual machine to which you want to add the USB device and click the ‘Settings’ button.
3. In the ‘Settings’ dialogue box, click ‘Add Hardware’ in the ‘Hardware’ section.
4. In the ‘Add Hardware’ Wizard, select ‘USB Device’ and click ‘Next’.
5. Select the desired USB device from the list of available devices and click ‘Next’.
6. Click ‘Finish’ to add the selected USB device to the virtual machine.
Adding a USB device to a Hyper-V virtual machine
To add a USB device to a Hyper-V virtual machine, you must first connect the device to the physical computer that is running Hyper-V.
Once the device is connected, you can then add it to the virtual machine in one of two ways:
1) Adding the USB Device from Hyper-V Manager
Open Hyper-V Manager and select the virtual machine to which you want to add the USB device. In the Actions pane, click Settings.
Under Hardware, select USB Controller and click Add. From the Add Hardware Wizard, select the USB device you want to add and click Add.
2) Adding the USB Device from within the Virtual Machine
Alternatively, you can add the USB device from within the virtual machine. To do this, open Device Manager and expand Universal Serial Bus controllers. Right-click on each USB controller listed and select Properties.
From the Properties dialogue, go to the Advanced tab. In the Advanced Settings section, check Enable Legacy Plug and Play Detection. Click OK to close each dialogue.
Once Legacy Plug and Play detection are enabled, connect the USB device to the physical computer. The device should appear under Other Devices in Device Manager within the virtual machine—Right-click on it and select Update Driver Software.
From here, follow the prompts to Install automatically from Windows Update or Browse my computer for driver software. Once installation is complete, you should be able to use your USB devices normally within your virtual machine.”
Configuring USB device settings in Hyper-V
To use a USB device in a Hyper-V virtual machine, you must change the device settings in Hyper-V Manager.
1. Open Hyper-V Manager and select the server on which you want to configure the USB device.
2. In the left pane-> expand the server and click on “Hyper-V Settings”.
3. In the “Hyper-V Settings” window, select “USB Settings” in the left pane.
4. In the “USB Settings” window, select “Allow guest to connect USB devices”.
5. Click “OK” to save your changes and close the “Hyper-V Settings” window.
Tips for using USB devices in Hyper-V
One of the most common questions about using Hyper-V virtual machines is, “how do I add a USB device to my VM?”.
The USB support in Hyper-V has come a long way since its initial release in Windows Server 2008, but there are still some things to be aware of when using USB devices in your VMs.
Here are some tips on How to add USB flash drive to Hyper-V virtual machine:
Check the compatibility of your devices with Hyper-V. Some devices, such as scanners and printers, will not work with Hyper-V. You can find a list of compatible devices here.
Select the “Connect” option from the Actions pane in Hyper-V Manager when adding a USB device to a VM. This will connect the device to the VM and make it available.
Select the “Disconnect” option from the Actions pane in Hyper-V Manager if you need to disconnect a USB device from a VM. This step will safely remove the device from the VM.
Troubleshooting USB issues in Hyper-V
If you’re having issues using a USB device in a Hyper-V virtual machine, there are a few items you can try to resolve the issue.
First, ensure that the virtual machine’s guest operating system is configured to detect USB devices. In Windows guests, this can be done by going to Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Devices and Printers and checking the box for “Show all devices”.
If that doesn’t work, you may need to install the appropriate drivers for the USB device in the guest operating system. You can usually locate these on the device manufacturer’s website.
At last, if you’re still having problems, you can try connecting the USB device to the host computer and then passing it through to the virtual machine.
This can be done in Hyper-V Manager by selecting the virtual machine and clicking “Edit Settings”. Under “Hardware “, select “USB Controller” and check the box for “Enable USB Controller”.
Conclusion:
Now that we have added the USB drive to the VM, we need to make a few changes to the settings of the VM.
In the “Settings” window of the VM, go to the “Storage” category and add a new controller for the drive.
After that, open the “Security” tab in the same window and add your user account to the list of users with access to this VM.
User can also attach usb to hyper v and transfer data, only check would be if hyperv usb support is enabled. In case it is enabled and still doesn’t work then check under enhanced session mode.
hyper v usb passthrough also helps to connect an external usb disk to a virtualization platform. hyper v attach usb and hyper v mount usb feature using usb passthrough helps to get most of a connected device.
We have tried to cover all steps to connect USB flash drive and solve how to add USB flash drive to Hyper-V virtual machine issue. What are your thoughts on this, do let us know in comment section below.
