I had the same problem and only this article helped me:
http://thecompudoc.blogspot.com/2008/12/host-usb-driver-problem-of-vmware-on-hp.html
The problem appears to be because VMware doesn't work with the AMD USB filter driver. I followed the steps in the article to find the setup.msi in the hidden folder, which I ran to uninstall the AMD USB filter driver. After this VMware and USB worked like a dream
read USB related entries in the Workstation FAQ
also try to set the service to "delayed start"
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VMX-parameters- Workstation FAQ -[ MOA-liveCD|http://sanbarrow.com/moa241.html] - VM-Sickbay
I had the same problem and only this article helped me:
http://thecompudoc.blogspot.com/2008/12/host-usb-driver-problem-of-vmware-on-hp.html
The problem appears to be because VMware doesn't work with the AMD USB filter driver. I followed the steps in the article to find the setup.msi in the hidden folder, which I ran to uninstall the AMD USB filter driver. After this VMware and USB worked like a dream