I am trying to install the network software for a HP printer inside a virtual machine that's running Windows XP Professional that has no USB connectivity – it doesn't even have USB drivers present. This is OK, because I'm trying to connect to the printer over the network.
However, the HP installation agent is refusing to install the required software because USB is not present (even though I've alread told it that I'm trying to connect over the network. Sigh).
So, are there any "fake" USB drivers, or a USB emulator, that I can install that will make it look like I have USB connectivity, just so I can get past this step in the setup procedure?
The OS is Windows XP Professional, and the virtualisation tool is Hyper-V (hence the lack of USB passthrough).
Best Answer
Try to install Windows and the HP printer software in some other virtualization software that has USB passthrough support, like VirtualBox or VMware, and then import the disk image into Hyper-V.
Due to differences in the emulated hardware you might need to install some additional drivers before the import and reactivate Windows again after.
Also, the USB/IP project's Windows client driver might do what you need.