USB Workaround

[Eru Ithildur]

Hello all,

I'm back for now emerging from my programming cove after getting my CMS framework finished and the structure of: Ardent Flame (http://ardentflamedesigns.com/) built. Hopefully I will be on more again...

Anyway, I found a workaround to get USB to work with the latest couple builds of Parallels for version 2.5 and both X.4.9 and X.4.10. After a few hours of testing I isolated WHERE the problem occurs... Here goes:

The problem seems to occur when mounting from, or an alias pointing at, the configuration file. Why? I won't even venture to guess. Also, it works most reliably if Parallels has been opened and closed then re-opened at least once since the Macs boot.

This has worked for USB Mass Storage devices, the Palm Treo 700p and the Blackberry 8703e. Maybe some other people can test my theory, if it holds any water, perhaps Parallels can use this as a start to solve the issue.

Here are the steps:
1. Open the Parallels application i.e. "Parallels.app"!
2. Boot into the guest OS (your most recent config should be populated automatically, maybe someone with multiple configs could test opening a config file and moving from one to the other...).

Edit: jrosengarden kindly noted that the sync ONLY works on the first time, after which the app must be restarted with his Treo 700p.

Edit: it seems that according to my experience and jrosengarden's the app does NOT need to be restarted once upon boot.

Hope this helps!

[jrosengarden]

Eru;

Your workaround WORKS! Not quite as advertised..but close. Ever since x.4.10 my USB sync with a Treo700p stopped working. I installed build 3214 but, alas, THAT didn't fix the problem either. I had it working fine, prior to x.4.10 (albiet I had to do a couple of 'weird' things to make it work...consistently). I've spent HOURS trying to find the 'pattern' to make it work again (Parallels support is USELESS). I could NOT find the pattern. Not until I read your post. Your solution of starting up the guest from the APP is what did the trick. I don't have to reboot the Mac. I also don't have to start/restart Parallels. All I have to do is start the guest OS from the APP...and the 1st sync with the Treo700p works. Notice I said "...the 1st sync". Any sync attempt beyond that fails. However...all I have to do is close down the guest OS, restart it again, from the APP, and the 1st sync works.

While this is not quite a TOTAL solution...it is what I refer to as a "Parallels community" solution. It works, it works consistently...nobody knows why or how...but it works.

Thanks for your valuable insight. At least I'm back to syncing my Palm again! :)

[Eru Ithildur]

Glad it helped. I made a note with a credit to you to the matter of the sync only working once... Hopefully this can help Parallels.

[LizzyB]

Dear Gurus:

There's nothing I can do to get my VM to recognize USB plug-ins beyond the mouse and keyboard. I'm trying to get my video camera to function. I'm using Mac10.4 latest version, 3170 in Parallels, on Windows XP. Every time I plug in the camera or a thumb drive I'm told the device is in use elsewhere, etc. I really don't understand the work-around (sorry). To open the VM I go to applications on the Mac, open the parallels folder, click the Parallels desktop icon, and after a quick look at the confic page then Windows opens up. Is this what you are doing for the work around? As everyone else is saying, if you can't plug anything in then Parallels is practically useless.

[Eru Ithildur]

Dear Gurus:

There's nothing I can do to get my VM to recognize USB plug-ins beyond the mouse and keyboard. I'm trying to get my video camera to function. I'm using Mac10.4 latest version, 3170 in Parallels, on Windows XP. Every time I plug in the camera or a thumb drive I'm told the device is in use elsewhere, etc. I really don't understand the work-around (sorry). To open the VM I go to applications on the Mac, open the parallels folder, click the Parallels desktop icon, and after a quick look at the confic page then Windows opens up. Is this what you are doing for the work around? As everyone else is saying, if you can't plug anything in then Parallels is practically useless.
The idea is that you open the program itself, and not the program via a configuration file. First things first, though, upgrade your Parallels to the latest build, it is likely that that will take care of your issue, or at least allow the workaround to work. The oldest version I have tested with my Treo 700ps, Mass storage and BB 8703e is 3188. 3170 was a glitchy build if I recall correctly.

[yastern]

I am on a MACBook Pro with Max OSX (10.4.10). I'm using Parallels build 3214. As discussed above, I'm trying to use PDANet in order to use my Verizon Treo 700p as a modem through a USB cable. It works about 1/3 of the time and I can't tell what makes it work. When ist is not working well it sounds as if the USB post is constantly connecting and disconnecting with the Treo. When it works well I can be online for a long time.
I always start the app 1st and then the virtual machine.
Rebooting everything (including a soft reboot of the Treo) does not necessarily help.
I'm thinking of giving up and trying the USBModem program or the hacks I've been reading about, but I already inversted in PDANet. Any ideas?
Thanks.

[ken32803@bellsouth.net]

New to Parallels. You stated, "The idea is that you open the program itself, and not the program via a configuration file." What does that mean, exactly? I am running OS 10.4.10 and build 3212 with it stating that USB device is in uses.

Sorry to seem like such a novice but this is new ground for me.

Thanks,

Ken

[Andrew @ Parallels]

New to Parallels. You stated, "The idea is that you open the program itself, and not the program via a configuration file." What does that mean, exactly? I am running OS 10.4.10 and build 3212 with it stating that USB device is in uses.

Sorry to seem like such a novice but this is new ground for me.

Thanks,

Ken
Please upgrade to 3214! USB compatibility with Mac OS X 10.4.10 is solved only in build 3214.

[trayner@san.rr.com]

How do you open parallels.app? Do you need a DOS screen to do that? If so, how do you get that?
Thanks

[Eru Ithildur]

Parallels.app is the program configuration. No, you don't need a DOS screen, and unless you have Parallels open you will be hard pressed to find one on a Mac. ;)

You can use BASH or another shell if you want, or you can just navigate to find the Parallels APPLICATION, not the configuration file (which is suffixed by .pvs).

Tell me if I am being unclear, or people are not following the concept.

[carlynl]

Please upgrade to 3214! USB compatibility with Mac OS X 10.4.10 is solved only in build 3214.

Unfortunately, it's still not fully solved in 3214.

I was finally able to sync via my USB hub after reading someone's suggestion to push the hotsync button on the palm and then activate the device on the "devices->USB" menu. And also to try repeatedly. that worked. But I am not sure it will work reliably! It seems that Parallels doesn't see the Palm until you push the sync button. and even after it has seen it, another sync doesn't always work.

I am probably going to have to rearrange my desk and keep the palm plugged straight into the iMac USB port.

[ken32803@bellsouth.net]

Thanks. Now, how do I update? I went over to "downloads" and it seems version 4128 is available. Hmmmmmmmmmm. Am I in the right place?

Thanks,

Ken

[Eru Ithildur]

Thanks. Now, how do I update? I went over to "downloads" and it seems version 4128 is available. Hmmmmmmmmmm. Am I in the right place?

Thanks,

Ken
Sounds like you found V. 3. Use the updater in the program.

[Eru Ithildur]

Unfortunately, it's still not fully solved in 3214.

I was finally able to sync via my USB hub after reading someone's suggestion to push the hotsync button on the palm and then activate the device on the "devices->USB" menu. And also to try repeatedly. that worked. But I am not sure it will work reliably! It seems that Parallels doesn't see the Palm until you push the sync button. and even after it has seen it, another sync doesn't always work.

I am probably going to have to rearrange my desk and keep the palm plugged straight into the iMac USB port.
What does the workaround do? Does it help at all? I know things aren't fully solved that's why I called this a workaround.

[ken32803@bellsouth.net]

Oh, yeah -- that -- geeze -- this living in two worlds is interesting, at worst. OK. Did that in the hotel hot spot and will update later today -- then try to sync up, again. Once I get Parallels working like it should I will only carry one laptop -- and, of course, a phone that thinks it is a PeeCee -- Again, thank you,

Ken

[Eru Ithildur]

You'll get it working, but hopefully they will get things so that we will not have to constantly find workarounds, that is what irks me are all these countless workarounds. Just keep trying, and use the forums when you get stumped.

[Hilary Fascination Design]

I posted over a month ago several questions related to palm syncing and some other ideas (I was considering my ipod as a possible solution so I could skip using the palm altogether.) Here's the post:
http://forum.parallels.com/showthread.php?t=12361&highlight=hamachi (http://forum.parallels.com/showthread.php?t=12361&highlight=hamachi)

There was NO response by anyone and I'm a BIT TICKED about that. :mad:

SO I spent one heck of a lot of time getting the palm to sync... and now it works 1 out of 3 times ... literally every third time it syncs.

Background: OSX 10.4.10, Parallels Build 3214, Windows XP Pro with Outlook, Palm Tungsten E

Here's what I did (just another solution amongst many):
- I had to uninstall the palm software I had already installed.
- I had to hard reset the palm.
- I had to make sure that the USB for the virtual machine was set to automatically connect (once parallels is open and the OS installation you want to work on is selected, go to "Edit">"Virtual Machine"> check both boxes under the USB setting.) Also make sure that you can use your installer cd (CD setting in the virtual machine are correct as well.)
- I opened the virtual machine and let it load fully.
- Inserted the palm disc and followed the directions until the hotsync point.
- Plugged in the USB cable, with the palm off (just in case this matters) I plugged the usb cable to the palm and turned on the palm. I used the hotsync button. Waited. Nothing.
- I hit cancel on the hotsync screen on my palm. I tried again. Waited. Nothing. I hit cancel on the hotsync screen. I hit the hotsync button a 3rd time and it started the syncing process.
- The sync got most of the way through before the application crashed.
- The palm asked me to restart with a button on the screen. I did not do another hard reset.
- I opened up Hotsync again on the virtual pc.
- I used the hotsync on the palm (same process ... 3rd try it worked) - this time it synced fully. It asked me to resstart it again and I did. I think I had to restart windows as well. I kept the usb cable connected.
- On windows restart it finished up the palm installation. Just to be safe I synced again (same process ... did nothing the first 2 times, 3rd time it synced.)
- Then from the palm disc I installed the Outlook conduit files so I could sync my palm with outlook.
- Synced again (only the 3rd try worked again.) The hotsync application crashed and I had to use the soft reset button on the back of the palm (it wouldn't recognize that it wasn't syncing anymore.) And I reopened the palm hotsync. 3rd time again it synced and this time it made it all the way through the sync process.
- I checked outlook ... a lot of my calendar and contacts had been moved the to the trash. I assume it was related to hotsync crashing so I had to move everything back to where it was supposed to be (good thing I didn't close outlook and loose all of that info.) I synced again and this time nothing went into the trash folder and everything that was supposed to sync did.

Each time it only syncs on the third try. I don't know why but now that it's set up correctly it simply seems to work fine as long as I give it 3 chances. Frustrating but functional enough for the moment (and it's better than the month I beat my head against the wall trying to get this to work and missing my palm with up to date calendar and such...)

Next task ... get my old phone to work with bitpim using parallels ... I'm just not sure I'm up for it at the moment. It's not nearly as important anyway (I can continue to back it up on the desktop pc here ... there's not much info in it that isn't already in the palm and outlook.)

[Eru Ithildur]

Every third sync... that is weird if I may say so...

[CStephen84]

Eru. I certainly know how to open paralells desktop. Then to go to windows I normall click the green arrow type thing. But how do I open windows without doing that and running paralells?? Maybe you could say "click _______" and then "click ________". :) Thanks

[Eru Ithildur]

You click the Parallels APPLICATION and then you click the green arrow. You WANT to have to click the green arrow, for if you are not, you likely are clicking the configuration file directly which trashes a lot of USB support, at least in my experience.

[CStephen84]

Thanks. That's the way I always open Paralells and Windows. I will do that later tonight, then open outlook and see if I can synch my Sprint Blackberry 8703e. So far the Blackberry desktop has always frozen but I haven't tried to use it right after opening the VM.

[CStephen84]

I got my Blackberry to synch -- first time since I started using Parallels in December of last year. Started parallels per Eru's instructions. Then closed windows and parallels desktop. Started Parallels again. Started Blackberry Desktop. Plugged phone into USB. Then when I tried to configure it froze. Unplugged phone. Plugged in phone and got it configured. Then had to unplug on one more freeze but then it worked. Who knows. Might not ever work again but it sure was fun to watch it happen tonight!

[Eru Ithildur]

Frequently if the BB freezes during configuration, I use BootCamp to get the settings set initially.

[Zerodev]

I tried everything you guys have mentioned, but I was finally able to fix the issue by deleting my virtual machine and reinstalling it (after I installed the update as well). Parallels must have retained some old configuration or something that wasn't allowing me to use USB devices. Thank goodness, I was getting supremely frustrated.