Back / Forward mouse buttons do not work in VMWare Workstation 6.5 Guest OS

Edit the .VMX file (while VM powered off) using notepad and add the following lines:

usb.generic.allowHID = "TRUE"
mouse.vusb.enable = "TRUE"

Save file and exit notepad.

After adding usb.generic.allowHID = TRUE to the vmx file, just enable USB for that VM and then go to the Hardware Manager (guest system) and "scan for hardware changes". New USB Devices will then be recognized by the VM and after that your back/forward buttons should work without deactivating the mouse in the host system.

For workstation 10 you need another line in you .vmx than the previous suggestions. Now it's:

usb.generic.allowHID = "TRUE"
mouse.vusb.enable = "TRUE"
mouse.vusb.useBasicMouse = "FALSE"

https://communities.vmware.com/message/2328267#2328267