hey guys from my previous notice they way to handle any kind of issue with vmware and linux is when u first intall redhat on vmware 4 choose the cdrom drive that appears on the options menu for cdrom devices and there is a check box choose the legacy emulation.
once u have configured linux and the x windows u can change the cdrom drive to auot detect.
but leave legacy emulation, for all properties of sound on cd rom devices.
this aids in cd rom activity and once this is all done enjoy redhta linux