Over the past several weeks I have written a series of
articles on working with Windows 8’s Client Hyper-V with the aim of
establishing a working Windows XP environment that will allow migrating users
to have something to fall back on as they get used to Windows 8. For your
convenience, those articles are listed here:
- Get
started with Windows 8 Client Hyper-V the right way - Create
a virtual switch in Windows 8 Client Hyper-V - Create
a Client Hyper-V virtual machine for Windows xp
In the most recent article, I walked you through the steps
of creating a virtual machine onto which you would install Windows XP. As you
may have noticed while working through the New Virtual Machine Wizard and
examining the virtual machine Settings window, shown in Figure A, there was no mention of USB connections. Well, that’s
because, unfortunately, Client Hyper-V doesn’t provide native support for USB
connections.
Figure A
The Settings window doesn’t contain any reference to USB devices.
While the lack of USB support in Hyper-V is definitely a
huge shortcoming, it’s actually by design. That may come as a shock, but the
fact is that USB support is not available in Hyper-V Server, because it is
incompatible with certain key features, such as Live Migration.
Unfortunately, the lack of USB support was passed down to Windows 8’s Client
Hyper-V.
Filling the gap
As you can imagine, a number of third-party solutions have
sprung up to fill the gap. For example, there are software products, such as USB Redirector, and
hardware products like the
Network-attached USB hubs. However, when it comes to using Windows 8’s Client
Hyper-V and a Windows XP virtual machine, you don’t have to resort to such
elaborate or expensive methods of making USB devices accessible to a virtual
machine.
Instead, you can employ a little trick that uses the Remote
Desktop Connection tool to connect to a networked virtual machine running in
Client Hyper-V. You can then use the features on the Local Resources tab of a
Remote Desktop Connection to redirect USB devices connected to the host machine,
such as USB drives and USB printers, to the virtual machine. While on the
surface this may sound like a quirky workaround, in actuality it brings with it
host of benefits besides the access to USB. For example, you get a full screen
display, slightly better performance, and you can use the clipboard to copy and
paste data between the host and virtual machines.
In this article, I’ll walk you through the steps you need to
perform in order to make your Windows XP virtual machine accessible through
Remote Desktop Connection. I’ll then show you how to configure and access USB
devices connected to the Windows 8 host machine from within your Windows XP
virtual machine.
This
article is also available as a TechRepublic Screenshot Gallery.
Network configuration
The first thing that you need to do in order to be able to
use Remote Desktop Connection to access a virtual machine, is make sure that
both the host machine and the virtual machine are configured to use the exact
same workgroup. Let’s take a closer look.
On the Windows 8 host machine, press [Windows]+[Break] to
bring up the System window shown in Figure
B. If you haven’t specified a workgroup name or wish to change your
computer name, you can click Change settings and use the Change button on the
System Properties Computer Name tab. Keep in mind that you will be prompted to
Restart the system if you change the computer name or the workgroup name. As
you can see, on my example system, the computer name is Jovian-8 and the
workgroup is SOLAR SYSTEM.
Figure B
From Windows 8’s System screen, you can view or change the computer name
and workgroup name.
Next, launch Hyper-V Manager and access your virtual
machine. Choose your virtual machine and select Connect from the Action menu.
When your Windows XP Virtual Machine Connection window appears, click the Green
Start button. When you see the Windows XP Login screen, select your user name
and enter your password, as shown in Figure
C. Make a mental note of this user name and password, as you will need them
later.
Figure C
Launch Hyper-V Manager and access your Windows XP virtual machine.
When Windows XP starts up, press [Windows]+[Break] to bring
up the System Properties dialog box and then select the Computer Name tab. Then
click the Change button and make sure that your Windows XP virtual machine has
a unique computer name and is using the same workgroup name as your Windows 8
host machine. As you can see in Figure D,
on my example system the computer name is vm-one-xp and the workgroup is SOLAR
SYSTEM. Keep in mind that you will be prompted to Restart the system if you
change the computer name or the workgroup name.
Figure D
Make sure that your Windows XP virtual machine has a unique computer name
and is using the same workgroup name as your Windows 8 host machine.
Once you are done with your network configuration, make sure
that from each machine’s Network list you can see both the host machine and the
host machine. As you can see in Figure E,
both Jovian-8 and Vm-one-xp are visible from Windows XP’s Network Neighborhood
and both are visible from Windows 8’s Network view in File Explorer.
Figure E
Make sure that you can see both the host machine and the host machine from
within each machine’s Network list.
Enabling remote connection
One more thing that you have to do on your Windows XP
virtual machine is enable the remote connection. To do so, press
[Windows]+[Break] to bring up the System Properties dialog box and then select
the Remote tab. Then, select the Allow users to connect remotely to this
computer check box in the Remote Desktop panel, as shown in Figure F.
Figure F
In Windows XP, make sure that the system is ready to accept requests from
Remote Desktop Connection.
At this point, you can click OK and then restart the Windows
XP virtual machine. When your Windows XP virtual machine restarts, it will be
available on the network, but you won’t need to log in again right now. In
fact, you can minimize your Windows XP Virtual Machine Connection window and close
the Hyper-V Manager window.
Configuring Remote Desktop Connection
Now that you Windows XP virtual machine’s network and remote
settings are correctly configured, you’re ready to configure your Windows 8
Remote Desktop Connection. To do begin, use the [Windows] + Q keystroke to access
the Search Apps page. Then, type Remote in the text box and click the Remote
Desktop Connection icon when it appears in the Results.
When you see the Remote Desktop Connection window, click the
Show Options button at the bottom of the screen to reveal the entire window
with all the tabs. Then, type the name that you assigned to your Windows XP
system and your Windows XP User name in the appropriate text boxes. Then, click
the Save As button and assign your connection a name. This process is
illustrated in Figure G.
Figure G
You’ll want to save you Remote Desktop Connection configuration.
Normally, I would select the Allow me to save my credentials
check box, to automate the login procedure, but for some reason, I have not
been able to get that feature to work when connecting to a Windows XP virtual
machine via Remote Desktop Connection – it just locks up the connection
procedure. So make sure that you leave the check box blank.
To continue, click the Local Resources tab. Here is where
you can pick and choose what resources connected to the host machine, such as USB
drives and USB printers, which you want to redirect to the virtual machine.
In the Local devices and resources section, both the
Printers and Clipboard check boxes should already be selected. You can then
click the More button. When you do, you’ll see a window that shows a list of
other types of local devices that can be redirected to the virtual machine.
These steps are illustrated in Figure H.
Figure H
Clicking the More button reveals a list of other types of local devices
that can be redirected to the virtual machine.
Having the Printers check box selected means that the Canon
iP3500 USB printer connected to my Windows 8 system will now be available to
the Windows XP virtual machine. (It will need some further configuration as
I’ll show you in a minute.)
As you can see, I’ve selected just about every available
check box in the second Local devices and resources window. The only thing I
didn’t select is the DVD drive because it’s already connected to the virtual
machine. However, I selected Local Disk (C:), which means that I will have
access to the hard disk on the host machine from within the virtual machine. I
also selected IOMAGIC (E:) which is a USB drive connected to the USB port on
the host machine. I then selected the Drives that I plug in later check box, so
that any time I connect a USB flash drive to the host machine, it will be
accessible in the virtual machine.
To continue, click OK to close the second Local devices and
resources window. Then, return to the General tab and click the Save button.
You can leave all the other default settings in Remote Desktop Connection as
they are.
Making the first connection
With all the necessary settings in place, you can launch
Remote Desktop Connection by clicking the Connect button. When you do, you’ll
see the login screen, shown in Figure I,
and will notice another advantage of using Remote Desktop Connection – you
automatically get a full screen display of your virtual machine. After you
enter your password and click OK, you’ll be connected via Remote Desktop
Connection to your Windows XP virtual machine in Hyper-V.
Figure I
With Remote Desktop Connection – you automatically get a full screen
display.
Once your Windows XP virtual machine is up and running, go
ahead and open up My Computer. When you do, you’ll find that there are
connections in the Other section to the hard disk and any other USB disks have
on you Windows 8 host machine, as shown in Figure
J. Now, you can easily access files and folders on your host machine from
within your virtual machine.
Figure J
The host machine’s hard disk and USB disks are now available in your Windows
XP virtual machine.
Configuring your printer
While the disk drives are automatically redirected from your
host machine to your virtual machine, your USB printer will require some
additional configuration before it is fully accessible in your virtual machine.
The first thing that you must do is install the driver on your Windows XP
virtual machine. You can do so, from the CD that came with your printer or you
can download the driver from the Web. In the case of my Canon iP3500 USB
printer, I downloaded the Windows XP driver installation package from the Canon
web site, and then ran it, as shown in Figure
K.
Figure K
You can install your printer driver in Windows XP from a CD or a download.
With the driver installed, you can now add the printer. Go
to the Control Panel and launch the Add Printer Wizard. On the second screen,
select the Local printer attached to this computer option, but then clear the Automatically
detect and install my Plug and Play printer check box, as shown in Figure L. To continue click Next.
Figure L
Be sure to clear the Automatically detect and install my Plug and Play
printer check box.
When you get to the Select a Printer Port screen, select the
Use the following port option and then click the drop down arrow. When you do,
you should find a group of Terminal Server ports identified with the codes TS00# {Host machine name} PRN#. These
are the ports that are redirected from the host machine to the virtual machine
via Remote Desktop Connection. You should select the TS001 port, as shown in Figure M. Then click Next.
Figure M
The TS00# ports are those that are redirected from the host machine to the
virtual machine.
You will now see the Install Printer Software screen, from
the Manufacturer list select your printer brand name. Then in the Printers
list, scroll all the way to the bottom and you should find the printer driver
that you installed earlier. As you can see in Figure N, I selected Canon and then found the Canon iP3500 printer
driver that I downloaded and installed.
Figure N
The printer driver that you installed should now be in the list of
Printers.
As you work your way through the
rest of the Add Printer Wizard, as shown in Figure O, be sure that you select the Keep existing driver option
and then print a test page to ensure that your printer is working correctly.
Figure O
Work your way through the rest of the Add Printer Wizard.
Going forward
Now that you know how to make USB devices accessible to a
Windows XP virtual machine via Remote Desktop Connection, there are a couple of
things that you need to keep in mind. First, you will always have to launch
your Windows XP virtual machine from the Hyper-V Manager and the Virtual
Machine Connection. And you also need to let it run for a few minutes before
you attempt to connect to it from Remote Desktop Connection. When you are
finished using your Windows XP virtual machine for the time being, you will
have to Log off from the virtual machine, which will close the Remote Desktop
Connection. Then you will have to return to the Virtual Machine Connection
window and then use the Turn off computer on the Windows XP screen
Second, I’ve found that Terminal Server ports can be a bit
quirky at times. If you discover that the printer is no longer printing, access
the Printer Properties page, select the Ports tab, and choose a different TS00#
port.
What’s your take?
Were you planning on setting up a Windows XP virtual machine
in Windows 8’s Client Hyper-V? Were you vexed by the lack of native USB support
in Hyper-V? Now that you know about the Remote Desktop Connection trick, will
you move forward with this solution? As always, if you have comments or
information to share about this topic, please take a moment to drop by the TechRepublic Community
Forums and let us hear from you.
