Quick Fixes for Failed Attachment of USB Device to VirtualBox
VirtualBox lets you run many operating systems in a virtual environment without affecting your host system files. It is a great hypervisor platform perfect for trying out any operating system without installing it alongside your host operating system. But many users face an issue while connecting a USB device to their VirtualBox Virtual machine.
VirtualBox does support USB devices out of the box but requires an extension pack to enable USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 devices. If you see the ‘Failed to Attach the USB Device’ error every time you try to connect a USB device, don’t fret. We will list out the possible reasons why you see the error code along with multiple fixes to resolve the issue.
Reasons for the “Failed to Attach the USB Device” Error
Here are some possible reasons for the VirtualBox USB devices error.
The USB drive is corrupt or the USB port is not working.
You haven’t installed the correct VirtualBox extension pack on your system.
You are running an outdated version of VirtualBox.
You haven’t added the USB device to the virtual machine using USB settings.
Now, you know the possible reasons why VirtualBox throws an error code when you connect a USB device. Here are the following methods you can try to fix the error code and successfully connect the USB device to the virtual machine.
How to Fix the “Failed to Attach the USB Device” Error in Windows
Now that we know what’s potentially causing the issue, let’s explore the fixes.
1. Restart VirtualBox
Before you move on to other advanced fixes, restart the VirtualBox application. If restarting the app doesn’t work, restart Windows. It will restart all the processes and services including the ones VirtualBox needs to function properly. Now, connect a USB device and try to attach it to a virtual machine in VirtualBox. If it still doesn’t show up, move to the next fix.
2. Check the USB Device on the Host System
Before trying to attach the USB device to the VirtualBox virtual machine, first check if it shows up on your host system. Launch the File Explorer and go to This PC and check if the USB drive appears there. If you don’t see the USB drive, do as follows:
First, open Device Manager. There are manydifferent ways to open the Device Manager , but a quick way is to pressWin + R to launch the Run command box. Typedevmgmt.msc and press theEnter key to launch the Device Manager.
Navigate to theDisk Drives option and click thearrow icon to expand the section.
Find the USB drive you connected to the host system. If it is not present in the list, pull it out and reconnect it to another USB port on your system.
If the USB port on your system malfunctions, the USB drive won’t show up in Device Manager or File Explorer. But if the USB drive doesn’t appear in the device manager even after changing the port, it could have a hardware malfunction. In that case, try connecting another USB drive to VirtualBox virtual machine.
Title: Quick Fixes for Failed Attachment of USB Device to VirtualBox