By default, unless Workstation Player is currently configured to remember a connection rule for a specific USB device, when you plug the USB device into the host system, Workstation Player prompts you to select a machine to connect the device to. Workstation Player connects the device to the machine you select, but a remember option is also available, which creates a USB device connection rule that, in the future, directs Workstation Player to either automatically connect that device to the host or to a virtual machine, depending on the machine you selected.

If Workstation Player cannot reconnect to the device, for example, because you disconnected the device, the device is removed and Workstation Player displays a message to indicate that it cannot connect to the device. If the device is still available, you can connect to it manually. To connect a USB device to the virtual machine manually, select Player > Removable Devices > Device Name > Connect (Disconnect from host).

Follow the device manufacturer's procedures for unplugging the device from the host computer when you physically unplug the device, move the device from the host system to a virtual machine, or move the device from a virtual machine to the host computer. Following these procedures is especially important for data storage devices, such as zip drives. If you move a data storage device too soon after saving a file and the operating system did not actually write the data to the disk, you can lose data.