Legacy BMC KVM: Hard-Disk / USB-Key Redirection Fails to Start

Failure shown by the source

The BMC KVM client fails to redirect a USB drive or local partition with this message:

Hard disk/USB Key redirection failed to start.

English localization illustration of the original failure. All three status rows remain Not Connected with n/a read-byte values; no successful redirection is depicted. The nonessential local ISO path is replaced with D:\[ISO_PATH].

1. Check the BMC service

Verify that hd-media is enabled in the actual BMC service settings:

In this screenshot, hd-media is already enabled, with non-secure port 5123, secure port 5127, maximum sessions 4 and active sessions 0. These are source configuration values, not ports guaranteed for every BMC version. The table retains all other service rows and states.

2. Check the network path

Check whether the applicable media service/port is allowed across the actual client-to-BMC path. An accessible web page does not prove that separate virtual-media ports are reachable. Correct the relevant rule/configuration rather than broadly disabling a firewall.

3. Check the legacy Windows client

The source suspects a Windows 7 client security/mounting interaction and mentions a patch, without identifying its KB number or precise affected client build. No exact patch or universal modern-Windows requirement is inferred from that statement.

Its historical UI path is Control Panel → System and Security → Action Center:

Expand Security and locate User Account Control → Change settings:

The source then proposes moving the UAC slider to the lowest Never notify level and restarting the client OS. This lowers client protection and is not a general server/BMC repair. Confirm an applicable authorized legacy-client workaround and restore the intended protection afterward; prefer a supported client/version and required permissions when available.

The source screenshot actually shows the third tick from the top, “Notify me only when programs try to make changes (do not dim my desktop),” rather than the lowest tick described in the prose. This English illustration preserves that before-change state. It does not show that Never notify was applied or that redirection succeeded. Current notification-setting guidance is available from Microsoft; that general reference does not verify this old KVM workaround.