same problem i encountered from ubuntu and the result wasn't pretty..i ended up doing a fresh install of vista and linux (laptop's dual boot)..

is there someone who can fix this? this is the only problem i have for the longest time and it gets frustrating when you cant fix a problem something like this after going through google and other forums.

i have a realtek soundcard with these drivers: ALC861 and Intel HDA (i found this out through my adventures of googling)
lorenz@lorenz-laptop ~ $ aplay -l
**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: Intel [HDA Intel], device 0: ALC861VD Analog [ALC861VD Analog]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0