Use the Devices menu to connect or disconnect removable virtual devices to the host physical devices or to edit the configuration of a disconnected removable virtual device.
Several of the devices supported by VMware are removable devices, including the floppy, the CD-ROM, serial ports, parallel ports, and the virtual sound card. A removable device can be dynamically connected to or disconnected from the virtual machine. Disconnecting a device allows it to be used by the host or by another virtual machine. When a device is disconnected, the virtual machine will still see the device, but it will have no media present (floppy or CD-ROM), or will be unconnected (serial or parallel port), or play no sound (the virtual sound device).
Devices can be connected or disconnected via the Devices menu only when the virtual machine is powered on. To make the device start connected or disconnected, set the Start Connected option for the device in the Configuration Editor.
A device can be edited via the Devices menu when the virtual machine is powered on and the device is disconnected.