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I have a modem which does not work with Windows 7. Its drivers are for XP. My computer runs Windows 7. Is it possible to set up a virtualized Windows XP instance and install the drivers there and use the modem through the virtual XP instance? Or would this not work because the modem doesn't work on the host machine?

I've tried to do this and it isn't working, but I don't know if it's because the host doesn't support the modem or if I just have it misconfigured.

Edit:

The modem is an internal modem (USR5699B).

Joel Harris
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2 Answers2

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If you had a USB modem, it would probably work: VirtualBox is able to pass the USB connection directly to the guest OS, so it doesn't matter if there are drivers for the host, as I've described in my answer to this related question.

From 4.1 beta 2, VirtualBox has experimental support for PCI passthrough; however, it works on Linux hosts only.

So, given that you have a PCI modem and are running a Windows host, I would conclude that it's impossible to use it in the way you desire.

Community
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nc4pk
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No, it can't work. A device cannot be passed through unless the host has rudimentary drivers for it.

David Schwartz
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