This has stumped the only IT guy I know.  After spending 2 days on it, he said, "It's not working, and I don't know why."  Then, "Maybe it's supposed to work like that."

I set up a virtual hard disk in Windows 8.1 and virtual computer and all the rest so it's running Windows XP.

Virtual computer will at least now a) boot into Windows and b) allow me to make changes to files on XP.

Unfortunately, it flat-out refuses to see anything barring a newly-created hard disk (which must be mounted and then offlined in Windows 8.1).

I use TrueCrypt to password protect my personal files.  I found it very useful in Windows 7 as XP Mode saw a plugged-in flash drive as a drive, and a mounted TrueCrypt container as a drive.

The virtual computer in Windows 8.1 can't see any flash drives plugged in unless the flash drive has a virtual hard disk, yada yada.  And it hates TrueCrypt.  In fact, I have to use TrueCrypt in traveller mode INSIDE the virtual hard disk to access the files while keeping them password protected.

Don't suggest BitLocker unless you can tell me how to get it to work properly.  BitLocker To Go is set up on the virtual computer and it flat-out refuses to see any BitLocker drives even when the yada yada is done.  Can't see it - can't use it.

Personally, I like TrueCrypt as I can take it in traveller mode on a flash drive, plug it into another computer and run it direct from the flash drive.  BitLocker and virtual hard drives seem like a pain in the backside, but as the virtual computer on 8.1 is making it very difficult to make backups from itself...

Also, the IT guy set up an internal switch on the XP virtual computer, which seems to disable my internet on 8.1 if it's removed.  It does very little as far as I can tell on communicating with 8.1.  I thought I'd be able to transfer files between the XP computer and the TrueCrypt container (mounted as a removable drive) on 8.1.  XP virtual computer is having none of it.

I have no idea how compatible BitLocker is with older versions of Windows or how safe it is to trust my files to something that requires you to jump through hoops to access it.  Also, it doesn't ask for a password when accessing it in the virtual computer.  I want it to ask on every access.

Questions:

1a) Is there any way to get a virtual computer to see a mounted TrueCrypt container as a removable drive?  (Ideal situation.)

1b) Is there any way to get it to see a flash drive when it's plugged into the host computer?

2) Is there any way to make files on the virtual computer accessible to the host computer?  (I downloaded a search program so I don't need to use XP search any more.)  Jumping through hoops is not my thing.

3) Is the whole thing an issue with the way my virtual machine was set up?  If it is, how do I fix it?

(I can, at a pinch, get everything off the virtual machine by jumping through hoops.)

I don't want the XP virtual computer having internet access (security issues) and I actually only use it for 1 program.  Unfortunately, the program was discontinued and is too complicated to decompile (besides being 16-bit, I think), and I haven't managed to find another in the past several years that does the same thing.

I deliberately bought 8.1 Pro for the virtual computer, but it's a lot more difficult to use than the 7 Pro XP Mode.  (Why the heck did they stop that when it WORKED?!)  I'm half considering downgrading back to Windows 7 because at least it WORKS without the aforementioned hoop-jumping.

• Moved by BrianEhMVP Monday, June 15, 2015 3:16 PM

Sounds to me like your virtual machine hasn't be setup correctly, or your IT guy hasn't explained how it works properly.

Within Hyper-V your VM only has access to those resources you allow it to have, so for instance if you insert a USB HDD device in your PC the VM will not know about it unless you've configured it within the settings for the VM. There are work arounds to get this to work in some situations, for instance http://blogs.technet.com/b/hollis/archive/2012/02/21/accessing-usb-drives-in-a-hyper-v-vm.aspx but as you'll see from the comments it doesn't work for all types of USB devices.

Keep in mind that IMHO Hyper-V isn't so much a desktop VM solution, rather it's the standard server virtualisation which MS have made available on the desktop version of Windows to those people who want it. I use it at home extensively, but there are limitations due to the nature of it, for instance the need in a server environment to maintain separation between the VM's and the server running them.

I'd suggest it may be that you've been poorly advised in terms of how best to do what you're trying to achieve. You may find you're better off downloading and installing VirtualBox (https://www.virtualbox.org/) instead, which is free and far more geared up for what you need. For instance it does properly handle USB keys, and does allow the VM to directly access and share a folder on the host server so you can easily move content between host and VM. It also has better copy/paste support and other things which may be beneficial. What I don't know however is how it handles TrueCrypt, though I suspect that so long as you've unlocked it before you start the VM then it should be able to access files in there if you point a shared folder there.

Hi solitairedaxel,

For the first question:
There is a feature called "Enhanced Session Mode" of Hyper-V, it can be used to redirect the devices connected to the host to the virtual machine. Please check this option to have a check.
Here is a link for reference of the Enhanced Session Mode feature:
Overview: Client Hyper-V Enhanced Session Mode in Windows 8.1
https://blogs.windows.com/bloggingwindows/2013/12/05/overview-client-hyper-v-enhanced-session-mode-in-windows-8-1/

For the second question:
We can try to create a shared folder to share it with "Everyone"and the host will be accessible to the shared folders.

To access Bitlocker To Go drive from a Windows XP machine, we need to use the BitLocker To Go Reader.
Here is a link for reference:
What is the BitLocker To Go Reader?
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-HK/windows7/what-is-the-bitlocker-to-go-reader

"I don't want the XP virtual computer having internet access "
We can change the network configuration of the hyper-v to internal to restrict the network connection of the virtual machine.

For the TrueCrypt issue,considering it is a third party software and we are lack of resources to use it. We can try to ask for help from the software developer.

Best regards