Cannot mount USB 3.0 external disk on Mac OS X 10.6.8 Server (Snow Leopard) 64-bit on VMware Fusion 8.5.0 (4352717) on Mac OS X 10.11.6 (15G1004) El Capitan.
Rosetta is needed to run some Mac applications, and Snow Leopard is the last Mac OS X supporting Rosetta.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosetta_(software)
The issue arose after updating VMware Fusion from previous version. No problem mounting USB devices in Mac OS X 10.11.6. The issue arises only when mounting in Mac OS X 10.6.8 Server (which is a virtual machine of VMware Fusion).
I have reinstalled and even uninstalled and reinstalled "Virtual Machine > Reinstall VMware Tools" to no avail. Repairing permissions with Apple Disk Utility does not fix it either.
1. Mac OS X 10.6.8 Server reports:
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System Extension cannot be used
The system extension “/System/Library/Extensions/AppleUSBEthernetHost.kext” was installed improperly and cannot be used. Please try reinstalling it, or contact the product’s vendor for an update.
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2. Also, when I plug an external USB pendrive, I get:
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The device '...' was unable to connect to its ideal host controller.
An attempt will be made to connect this device to the best available host controller. This might result in undefined behavior for this device.
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If then I click OK to continue, Mac OS X 10.6.8 Server is frozen. I must unplug the USB disk or "Virtual Machine > Restart" (or Shut Down) to get out of it.
I have fixed issue 1 above reinstalling iTunes for Mac OS X 10.6.8 (which reinstalls AppleUSBEthernetHost.kext).
iTunes - Download iTunes Now - Apple
Once I turn off the virtual machine (Mac OS X 10.6.8 Server)
Virtual Machine > Settings > USB and Bluetooth > Advanced USB options
shows
USB Compatibility: USB 2.0
in a popup menu in which I can also select USB 1.1. But I cannot select USB 3.0, since it is gray dimmed.
And below it shows
USB 3.0 cannot be used unless the virtual hardware version is upgraded.
I have seen that I can select USB 3.0 with Windows XP, Windows 10 and Ubuntu 16 (all of them showed as USB 2.0 instead of USB 3.0 after the VMware Fusion 8.5 update!!!). But I cannot select USB 3.0 in the case of Mac OS X 10.6.8 Server, as said.
In summary, VMware Fusion 8.5 update resets USB settings (previously configured as USB 3.0 with previous VMware Fusion versions) and defaults to USB 2.0 instead of USB 3.0 in all virtual machines above (Mac OS X 10.6.8 Server, Windows XP, Windows 10 and Ubuntu 16), and then it is not possible to manually configure to USB 3.0 the one corresponding to Mac OS X 10.6.8 Server.
How to fix this issue? Thanks.