hi changhai,
thanks! i do have the tools installed and they work the vast majority of the time.
ala the directions in KB article 1007873, i created a "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users.XP\Application Data\VMware\VMware Tools\tools.conf" file like the sampletools.conf from the article:
===
[logging]
log = true
# Enable tools service logging to a file.
vmtoolsd.level = debug
vmtoolsd.handler = file
vmtoolsd.data = c:/temp/vmtoold.log
# Enable 'vmsvc' service logging to a file.
vmsvc.level = debug
vmsvc.handler = file
vmsvc.data = c:/temp/vmsvc.log
# Enable new "vmusr" service logging to a file.
vmusr.level = debug
vmusr.handler = file
vmusr.data = c:/temp/vmusr.${USER}.log
===
my XP guest OS installation is using the "All Users.XP" directory instead of the "All Users" directory. the article says the tools don't need to be restarted for changes in the file to take place, but it's not obvious from the text that the file needs to at least exist when it starts in order for it to be monitored. i had to restart the guest OS for the logging to start.
also, the sampletools.conf uses backslashes instead of forward slashes in the paths. the article clearly states not to do this, but i didn't experiment with whether or not backslashes work.
anyway, when logging was enabled, i wasn't able to reproduce the bug. i'm guessing i'm no longer losing whatever race i was losing before. i'll run like this for a while and let you know if this changes.
marc