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VMware USB Arbitration Service fails with error 31 or 31A when powering on a virtual machine

Symptoms

You are experiencing these issues:
  • Powering on a virtual machine after connecting a USB device fails with the error:
     
    Error 31: A device attached to the system is not functioning.
     
  • Manually starting the USB Arbitration Service fails.
  • Event logs show the error:
     
    VMware USB Arbitration Service can't be started because of an unknown driver - <drivername>

Resolution

This issue is resolved in Workstation 7.1. This is a free download for Workstation 7.0.x customers, available from VMware's Download Center.
 
These issues occur when unknown USB drivers are installed on a Windows machine hosting the VMware Workstation software.
 
To resolve these issues, roll back to the original Microsoft USB drivers on the host:
  1. Right-click (My) Computer and select Manage.
  2. In the left pane of the Computer Management window, select Device Manager.
  3. Expand Universal Serial Bus Controllers.
  4. Right-click USB Root Hub and select Properties.
  5. In the Driver tab, click Roll Back Driver.
For computers with AMD processors:
  1. Right-click (My) Computer and select Manage.
  2. In the left pane of the Computer Management window, select Device Manager.
  3. Expand Universal Serial Bus Controllers.
  4. Locate the AMD USB Filter Driver.
  5. Right-click it and select Uninstall.
  6. Select Uninstall the driver software for the device.
  7. Restart your computer.
if the above method fails, you can also uninstall the AMD USB driver manually. To do so:
  1. Open the Windows registry, and go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{36FC9E60-C465-11CF-8056-444553540000}.
  2. Remove the usbfilter value from the UpperFilter string.
  3. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\.
  4. Delete the usbfilter string.
  5. Delete this file: %system32%\drivers\usbfilter.sys.
  6. Reboot your computer.

Update History

05/25/2010 - Added steps for AMD processors; Indicated that this issue is resolved in Workstation 7.1.

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Actions
  • KB Article: 1016809
  • Updated: Jul 22, 2010
  • Category
    Troubleshooting
  • Products:
    VMware ACE
    VMware Player
    VMware Workstation
  • Product Versions:
    VMware ACE 2.0.x
    VMware ACE 2.5.x
    VMware ACE 2.6.x
    VMware Player 2.x (Windows)
    VMware Player 3.x (Windows )
    VMware Workstation 6.x (Windows)
    VMware Workstation 7.x (Windows)