USB Preferences

In the USB pane of Parallels Desktop Preferences, you can specify how to connect USB devices that are plugged into your Mac.

General Behavior

You can choose a general action to perform when a new USB device is plugged into your Mac by choosing one of these options:

• Connect it to the computer. If you select this option, the USB device plugged into your Mac will be connected to the primary OS.
• Connect it to a virtual machine. If you select this option, the USB device plugged into your Mac will be automatically connected to the virtual machine that is currently running on your Mac. When no virtual machine is running, the USB device will be connected to the primary OS.
• Ask me what to do. If you select this option, you will be prompted to choose how to connect the USB device each time a new USB device is plugged into your Mac.

Permanent Assignments

You can also set permanent assignments for certain USB devices. These assignments are displayed in the Permanent assignments list.

To add a new assignment:

1. Click the Add button below the Permanent assignments list.
2. Click the device field in the USB Device column to choose a USB device from the list.
3. In the Connect To column, double-click the destination field to open the list of available destinations and choose the virtual machine you want to connect this device to. If you want to connect this USB device to the primary OS, choose Computer.

   Note: To be able to use the USB device in a virtual machine, you may need to install the necessary drivers in its guest OS. By default, such drivers can be obtained from the manufacturers of this device.

4. Click OK to apply the changes.

Note: You can connect up to eight USB 2.0 devices and up to eight USB 1.1 devices to each virtual machine.

You can change an assignment by editing the device and destination in the USB Device and Connect To fields.

To remove an existing assignment, select it in the Permanent assignments list and click the Remove button .

For more information about using USB devices in a virtual machine, refer to Connecting USB Devices to a Virtual Machine.

Restoring default settings

The Restore Defaults button enables you to restore the default settings for all options available in this pane.

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