Windows XP guest with pc machine type stops booting if PS/2 bus is disabled

[conath]

Since a recent change UTM now disables the PS/2 controller in the VM if USB is enabled. This breaks Windows XP VMs in pc machines, both existing and new installs will fail to boot. For existing VMs there is a black screen after the BIOS boots the hard drive, for new installs it hangs at "Analyzing your hardware configuration".

My other VMs installed on pc like ReactOS and Windows 8.1 are unaffected, and my Windows XP on q35 machine also still works despite the USB 2.0-only option selected.

Suggested fix
Instead of defaulting to "USB 2.0" only when pc VMs are "upgraded" or created in UTM 3.1, default to a new "PS/2 input and USB 2.0 bus" option that mirrors the behavior from previous versions of UTM. This way we have working XP and can use USB sharing.

Configuration

• UTM Version: 3.1.3
• OS Version: macOS 12.1
• Apple Silicon

Debug log
debug-xpflp.log

The debug log contains the parameter -machine pc,vmport=off,i8042=off which causes the problem. If I turn off USB in the Input settings, the log changes to -machine pc,vmport=off and the machine boots again. However, this means I can't use USB sharing.

Upload VM
config.plist.zip

[osy]

I've decided to make "ForcePS2Controller" a new tweak because

1. This issue is isolated to only pc+XP and other "specific configuration issues" are left to toggle-able tweaks
2. Adding something like "PS/2 input and USB 2.0 bus" will confuse a lot of people who may not understand what "PS/2" is and also does not apply for targets that do not have PS/2
3. Exposing most people who are not using Windows XP to the internal details of PS/2 vs USB input emulation goes against the idea of "easy for 99% of people to do 99% of things"

[carlo-righini]

Hi @osy @conath , Enabling USB via the Input settings, still causes XP to not boot. If I disable USB then XP will boot but I cannot access USB devices - I'm just trying to install a program in XP but I cannot find a way to access the installer (USB CD drive and USB stick containing the installer files obviously do not work). Is there any workaround for this? Thanks.
UTM version: 4.2.5 (81)
Mac M1, MacOS Ventura 13.4

[conath]

@carlo-righini A workaround would be to create an ISO image of the CD/DVD you're trying to load into Windows. You can do this using Disk Utility on your Mac. Make sure to choose the option "DVD/CD master" when creating the image file. If needed, rename the resulting file to .iso and then insert the image into the VM's CD drive.

[eyaeya]

Hi, enabling USB through the settings still causes XP to not boot. If I disable USB, then XP will boot but I can't access USB devices - I just want to install a program in XP but I can't find a way to access the installer (apparently, neither the USB optical drive nor the USB flash drive containing the installer files are working). Is there a solution to this problem? Thank you. UTM version: 4.2.5 (81) Mac M1, MacOS Ventura 13.4.

@osy I have the same problem, I don't know how to use the USB interface

[tsboom]

Hello, I cannot get Windows XP with USB 2.0 or USB 3.0 sharing enabled either. I'm trying to use a USB device that's not a usb flash drive.