USB Devices Not Working in Windows 7 VM (physical 2 virtual created with vCenter Converter 5, Workstation 10.x)

[Iasonas Chekimoglou]

What I Did:

1. I created a full image of my physical Windows 7 32-bit machine using Macrium Reflect (.mrimg).

2. I later tried VMware vCenter Converter Standalone 5.5 to do a full P2V (physical-to-virtual) conversion instead.

3. The result was a .vmx and .vmdk file that boots fine in VMware Workstation 10.x.

4. Windows 7 loads successfully, but USB devices do not work at all in the VM.
   
   
   

   The Problem:

   • In Device Manager, under Universal Serial Bus controllers, I see yellow exclamation marks.

   • USB entries show:
     "Windows cannot initialize the device driver for this hardware. (Code 37)"

   • No USB devices appear in the VM when connected, but VMware ask me if i want to attach the usb device to Host or Guest but dont appear on VM's device manager 
     
     

     What I Tried So Far:

     • Ensured the VM is set to use USB 2.0 (EHCI) (not USB 3.0).

     • Tried uninstalling all USB devices in Device Manager, then rebooting.

     • Replaced the USB controller in VM settings (remove + re-add).

     • Verified guest OS is set to Windows 7 (32-bit) in the VM settings.

     • Tried mounting the VMware Tools ISO manually.

     • Tried a clean reinstall of VMware Tools by pointing .
       
       

       My Goal:

       I need USB support in this VM so I can pass through flash drives and usb license key (usb dongle).
       
       

       Looking for Suggestions:

       • How can I force-install USB drivers for VMware virtual hardware?

       • Would I change any version of softwares or settings ?

       • Should I try converting the image again using diffrent method?

       Any help would be much appreciated!