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For my VirtualBox 5.0.14, I downloaded and installed the Extension Pack (All Supported Platforms) and I also became a member of "vboxusers". From what I have read up on the matter, these ought to have sufficed for the Windows XP SP3 running in the VM to detect a USB device but this is not happening.

A few more details:

Originally the USB Settings in the VM allowed only USB 1.0, but now it allows both USB 2.0 and 3.0. This I think is sufficient proof that the extension pack has been properly installed.

For becoming a member of the vboxusers group I used the command "sudo apt-get genome-system-tools" in the terminal and then opened "Users and Groups" from the dash. I then clicked "Manage Groups", found and selected "vboxusers" from the list and clicked "Add". At this point, however, I was presented with a choice I didn't fully understand: I was asked to provide a Group Name once again! So once I entered just "VirtualBox" and at the second time "Windows XP" (my guest OS).

I hope someone more experienced can help diagnose the problem and suggest a remedy.

user255726
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1 Answers1

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Open a terminal and execute this command : 

sudo usermod -G vboxsf -a $USER

Now the guest should detect the USB device.

Update addressing the circumstance that you have chosen the wrong repository for VirtualBox :

Open Software & Updates -> Other Software -> Highlight the VirtualBox entry - click on Remove.

Reload to update the repositories.

Completely uninstall VirtualBox : 

sudo apt-get purge "^virtualbox-.*"

Download and register the ORACLE public key : 

wget -q -O - https://www.virtualbox.org/download/oracle_vbox.asc | sudo apt-key add -

Add the ORACLE VirtualBox repository to the software sources :

echo "deb http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian trusty contrib" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/oracle-vbox.list

Update the repositories : 

sudo apt-get update

Install VirtualBox 5.0 : 

sudo apt-get install virtualbox-5.0

Now reboot the system.

Note for other users reading this answer, in case they use another Ubuntu edition as 14.04 :

You have to replace trusty with the Ubuntu edition you are using when adding the repository !

As of Ubuntu 16.04 the ORACLE public key to download and register has changed :

oracle_vbox.asc has to be replaced with oracle_vbox_2016.asc !

cl-netbox
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