CentOS - Jun 2007 - Trouble connecting to CentOS 5.0 host sound device from Windows guest on VMWare Workstation 5.5.4

I am running VMWare Workstation 5.5.4 on a CentOS 5.0 host
(2.6.18-8.1.4 kernel) and I have been haiving some trouble with my
sound device on the Guest Windows XP SP2 OS. When I first had trouble
under CentOS 4.4, WS 5.5.3, it was usually when the sound device on
the host was actually busy. However, now I can't use the sound device
at all - I keep getting this error: "Failed to open sound device
/dev/dsp: Device or resource busy Failed to connect virtual device
sound." on EVERY attempt to connect to the CentOS native sound driver.

I am running a few command windows, SeaMonkey and VW WS and nothing
else.  ps -ef reveals nothing about /dev/dsp and I'm not entirely sure
where else to look.

I had shut off the sound device (disconnected by default) because
Windows likes to make noise and this routinely not only did not work,
but it also kept interrupting everything I was doing with gnome
windows announcing the above error.

Now it just doesn't connect at all, no matter what the host is doing.

Note: This is my work machine.  At home I run VMWare Server 1.0.3 and
only have this problem when the sound device is in fact busy (like I'm
playing music or watching a video or something).

I'd like to be able to run sound in the Windows guest....


-- 
Mark Hull-Richter
DATAllegro (www.datallegro.com)
85 Enterprise, 2nd Floor, Aliso Viejo, CA  92656  Ofc: 949-680-3082
fax: 949-680-3001