VirtualBox USB capture issue (Windows 7 Host/Guest)

Solution 1:

The solution (in this case) was found on this VirtualBox Forums post. There is also a slightly expanded version of the same steps on this reply to that post. The issue was identified as early as 2009 VirtualBox Defect #5343.

The steps are as follows:

1. Edit your registry

   • Open the Windows registry, by clicking on Start > Run and typing regedit
   • Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class{36FC9E60-C465-11CF-8056-444553540000}
   • In the right hand panel, if the UpperFilters entry exists, delete it

2. Install the VirtualBox USB driver manually

   • Go to folder C:\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox\drivers\USB\filter
   • Right-click on VboxUSBMon.inf
   • Click Install

3. Reboot the host computer

4. Unplug your USB device (I did this before the reboot)

5. Open VirtualBox and Close it (to remove the USB device from the VM's captured list)

6. Plug your USB device

7. Open VirtualBox and Run Virtual Machine.

8. Right click on the VM status bar USB icon and select the USB device you want to attach to the VM (or select it from the Devices > USB list)

The VirtualBox forum post also included a warning about not attaching a USB device connected to a USB bridge without first capturing the USB bridge. I have successfully used devices connected via an external USB hub without capturing any other devices, but be aware that could be an issue.