VirtualBox Installation and Required Extras

[CelticWarrior]

The menu is Devices » USB » ... exactly as mentioned in the on-the-fly section of the instructions, which is the method you want to use.

The main thing to understand here is what a VM is, how does it work and how it handles hardware. A VM uses for the most part a virtual CPU (one or more cores from the real one), part of the RAM, a virtual graphics subsystem and a virtual drive, that's it. Just because the VM is running doesn't mean it can access and use the stuff connected by USB. As a matter of fact, this is exactly the beginning of the instructions:

USB devices cannot be shared at the bus level. That means that two computers (a host and a guest) cannot share the same device. Think of it as having a USB stick, a printer, a webcam or a WiFi adapter hooked into two computers at the same time. You simply can't.

Unfortunately this whole discussion suggests your expectations were very different than what can be done in reality. No, in order to use the device in the VM it need to be "detached" (become unavailable) from the host OS first. The guide provides two methods, one transient via a point-and-click menu, and one "permanent" (as long as Virtualbox and that VM are running) that sequesters the device as soon as it detects it. The "permanent" way, via USB filter, does indeed require "Vendor ID" and Product ID". Those can be obtained with 'lsusb'. Example:

Bus 001 Device 004: ID 0a12:0001 Cambridge Silicon Radio, Ltd Bluetooth Dongle (HCI mode)

In the above example (Bluetooth USB dongle), the Vendor ID=0a12 and the Product ID=0001

Whether or not you should have the drivers/software already installed I don't know but it should be the exact same way as in a bare-metal installation. When the device is passed to the guest via Virtualbox menu that is exactly the same as connecting the device in a normal installation, the (guest) OS behaves the same indicating "new hardware found", plays a sound, etc.
32-bit or 64-bit doesn't matter unless the required drivers/software only run in one or another.

If this is hard to understand - it shouldn't be... - then consider using supported hardware instead. Only you can know how valuable your time is. I certainly wouldn't have spent even half of that just to make a piece of museum work.

[kesetyan]

Hi CelticWarrior,

Thank you for your patience and the time you have given in helping me. I guess I'm a poor student but at nearly eighty years old perhaps I can plead senility. I've made some progress following your advice in that I now have the scanner and a usb memory stick listed in the usb filter settings but as yet I am not able to access them in XP.

I would fully understand if you feel you cannot take this any further with me and really I am quite happy in getting as far as I have with VirtualBox. I take your point that using outdated, unsupported hardware is not an efficient use of time but for me this is a bit of a personal challenge and it help keeps my brain active in these times of covid lockdown.

I'm sorry that I find it hard to understand - I'm generally not too bad at working things out but this is a new concept for me so progress comes in small steps rather than giant leaps. It might be time to call it a day and stick with things as far as they have come but please understand that I am very grateful for the help I have received from you and the others who have come to my aid.

Cheers.

[kesetyan]

UPDATE:

Thanks to the help and encouragement I have received on this forum especially from kema77 and CelticWarrior, I have resolved the issue with the scanner and learned fair bit en route. The issue was mainly caused by my incompetence and lack of understanding (both aspect improving a little after the experience). It does seem that the guest operating system (XP professional SP3) had trouble with the USB3 ports on my computer where it recognized plugged in items but failed to load them. The USB2 ports are OK so I can do all I was hoping to be able to do at last.

Cheers.

[Paulgirardin]

I find Gnome Boxes much easier to set up file and USB sharing on. Just install Spice Guest Tools on the guest OS.
I have used both Virtualbox and Boxes, Boxes is less confusing,Vbox allows you to export the appliance to make reinstallation simple.

[kesetyan]

Hi Paul,

Thanks for your input. I'll have a look at Gnome Boxes but while I have VirtualBox doing everything I require, I shall keep that on the system.

My guest system, XP Professional SP3, is working well and I've installed some of my old software although there were registration problems with some where original registration keys no longer work. Fortunately I was able to find alternatives without registration key requirements including Libre Office 5.1 which is old enough to be compatible but new enough to read and write to most office files such as xlsx and docx.

My original scanner problem, now fully resolved, was worsened by the fact that a couple of usb leads had iffy plugs so contact was erratic. Those leads have been replaced by reliable alternatives. One pleasing thing I have noticed is that although XP is running in a VM, it is quicker than it used to be when installed directly in the original desktop computer which became defunct and stripped down several years ago.

Cheers

[kema77]

One pleasing thing I have noticed is that although XP is running in a VM, it is quicker than it used to be when installed directly in the original desktop computer

Your experience inspired me to find a legit iso of XP and fire up my own VM. I too was pleased at how snappy it booted and ran. No USB issues either.

I've installed some of my old software although there were registration problems with some where original registration keys no longer work.

Interesting. My old version of Word (2000) accepted the product key. Haven't tried Excel 97 yet. But you are right, Libre Office is a fine alternative.

[kesetyan]

@kema77,
I'm learning more by just playing with the VM and am certainly rather more confident than I was this time last week. I don't intend overloading XP with software although I have set up a folder for several portable applications and those I've added are working well.

@Paulgirardin,
First impressions of Gnome Boxes are encouraging save for one problem, I cannot get XP Professional to install either directly from the installation cd or from an iso file. However there are plenty of Linux distributions to explore so I may hang on to it for testing so of those in a virtual environment.

[kesetyan]

Hi,
Well I've given Gnome Boxes a brief trial and have decided it is not for me - I much prefer VirtualBox. My question now, which perhaps should be posed in a new thread, is what is the best way to get rid of Gnome Boxes completely. I'm reasonably competent using the terminal and familiar with terms like purge etc. in removing software but don't want to make a mistake. Would "sudo apt-get remove --purge gnome-boxes" do the trick?