Connect virtual machine to host via IEEE1394, USB or Serial Port?

5

I have a host machine (Laptop, Win 7 Home Premium x64) running Windows 7 Ultimate x64 on VMWare Workstation 9. I've got this system set up for UMDF driver development, because I need a target machine to debug drivers on. However, because I'm developing drivers for Win 7 (x86 and x64), I cannot connect to the virtual machine on via a simple network connection. Connection methods are outlined here.

I have tried a few different pieces of software (mostly Eltima software), and have Google'd every combination of phrases that I can think of. I can't find any information on this anywhere. I don't just need to share data between the machines, I need a more "physical" connection.

Does anyone know how to do this, or if there's another (preferably more simple) way of doing it?

Connor Deckers

Posted 2013-05-16T13:10:47.933

Reputation: 153

I must be missing something here. The link provided says network connections are supported? – Tanner Faulkner – 2013-05-16T14:13:23.327

1Pays to read: "If your target computer is running a version of Windows prior to Windows 8, you cannot use a network connection for debugging; you must use a USB, 1394, or serial connection." – Tanner Faulkner – 2013-05-16T14:17:17.060

Answers

2

You can set up debugging of a virtual machine using named pipes as per this MSDN article.

Setting Up the Target Virtual Machine

In the virtual machine, in an elevated Command Prompt window, enter the following commands.

bcdedit /debug on

bcdedit /dbgsettings serial debugport: n baudrate: 115200

where n is the number of a COM port on the virtual machine.

Reboot the virtual machine.

In the virtual machine, configure the COM port to map to a named pipe. The debugger will connect through this pipe. For more information about how to create this pipe, see your virtual machine's documentation.

Starting the Debugging Session Using WinDbg

On the host computer, open WinDbg.

On the File menu, choose Kernel Debug.

In the Kernel Debugging dialog box, open the COM tab.

Check the Pipe box, and check the Reconnect box. For Baud Rate, enter 115200. For Resets, enter 0.

If the debugger is running on the same computer as the virtual machine, enter the following for Port. \.\pipe\PipeName.

If the debugger is running on a different computer from the virtual machine, enter the following for Port. \VMHost\pipe\PipeName

Click OK.

To configure the named pipe in VMWare Workstation, open the virtual machine settings while the VM is powered off. Add a device:

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Select a new serial port:

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Choose named pipe:

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And select the appropriate settings:

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Some of the information is outdated, but you might be able to find a little help from these blog posts.

Tanner Faulkner

Posted 2013-05-16T13:10:47.933

Reputation: 11 948

Excellent! I haven't tried it yet, but it all makes sense, and +1 for excellent layout. Thanks! – Connor Deckers – 2013-05-16T14:58:52.947

Asked: 2013-05-16T13:10:47.933

Viewed: 2 015 times

Active: 2016-02-12T08:32:32.747