This tutorial shows students and new users how to mount or insert an external USB flash/thumb drive into a VirtualBox guest machine running Windows or Ubuntu Linux VMs.
Accessing external USB flash drives from VirtualBox on Ubuntu Linux can be very useful for transferring files between the host and guest machines. By mounting the USB drive on the guest machine, you can easily access and manipulate the files stored on it, just as you would on the host machine.
This can be especially helpful for developers who must test software or applications on different operating systems without physically moving files between machines.
Install VirtualBox Guest Additions on the VM
When you create or install a new guest machine, your first task should be to install its guest addition tool in the VM. The tool contains a suite of utilities that enhance the virtual Machine’s operating systems and improve the management of the Machine…
Without the tool installed, the guest machine will not perform as expected.
To install the guest tools on Ubuntu / Windows guest machines, read the post below:
Note: Windows VMs need only mount the guest addition tool CD and install the executable. No need to install additional software or packages
How to install VirtualBox guest additions
Grant Ubuntu User Account Rights to Mount
After installing the VirtualBox guest addition tool on the VM, open the command terminal on the Ubuntu guest machine. This only works on Ubuntu, and run the commands below:
sudo adduser $USER vboxsf
You should see the output below:
Output: Adding user `richrd' to group `vboxsf' . Adding user richrd to group vboxsf Done.
Or run the commands below if the above fails.
sudo usermod -aG vboxsf $USER
After that, shut down the guest’s Machine.
Mount External USB Drives
Now that you’ve installed the VirtualBox guest addition tool and added your user account to the VirtualBox service group, follow the steps below to mount your external flash/thumb drives.
Shut down the guest machine, then insert the external USB into the host machine.
From the guest machine panel, select Settings or click Machine –> Settings.
Then go to USB on the left navigation panel. There, USB 2.0 (ECCI) Controller should automatically be selected. Most USB 3.0 devices are backward compatible with 2.0.
If your device is USB 3.0, then select that. If not, 2.0 should be perfect!
You will find the add USB button to the right. Click the second button below. Add an attached USB stick. Pick the device from the list. (generally called Generic Mass Storage)
Select it to mount.
Once the device is mounted, turn on the guest machine and log on.
You should then see the USB device mounted and shown on your desktop. Your device should show up automatically in the guest VM, and you can use it the same way you would be able to on the host operating system.
Access the device and the content it contains.
That’s all
Congratulations! You have learned how to install VirtualBox guest addition tools and mounted an external USB thumb drive to the guest machine.
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