We currently have a problem which has been experienced on VMWare Workstation 7 and VMWare Player 3.1.6 build-744570 and VMWare Workstation 7.1.6 build-744570.
The problem causes mouse clicks to be ignored within the guest OS, and seems to occur after a sound is played within the guest OS. The issue can be reproduced by opening Windows explorer and navigating through folders by double clicking on the folder. After opening a folder and then attempting to open another folder or selecting a file within the folder, any further mouse clicks are ignored for a period of time (around 3-5 seconds). The same thing occurs if a Windows application displays an error message. The only workaround we have found so far is to disconnect the sound between the host and guest OS: VMWare menu > Removable Devices > Sound > Disconnect.
The issue was first experienced after a laptop upgrade for the Host OS (upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 8.1, and a new model of Lenovo Thinkpad). The issue occurs in VMs that we working fine with the old laptops using the same versions of VMWare. We are speculating the issue must be related to either Windows 8.1 or the sound driver installed in the Host OS (or a combination).
The driver being used in the Host OS is:
Realtek High Definition Audio
Driver Date: 18/02/2014
Driver Version: 6.0.1.7179
Laptop being used is Lenovo Thinkpad W540 (although this has been seen with other versions of Lenovo laptop)
Host OS version is : Windows 8.1 64-Bit.
Has anyone else experienced these symptoms?