O’Reilly.net: Linux Laptop Sound Configuration

“Configuring sound for laptops running Linux can be a very
tricky process. Drivers may be difficult to find or install,
reference materials may be incomplete or misleading, and even after
careful configuration, your system may still emit no more than the
beep from its internal speaker. In other words, setting up sound on
a Linux laptop can quickly become an unwanted exercise in patience
and frustration.

“The following article describes my experiences installing and
configuring a sound system for an HP Omnibook 4150. I used the
standard-issue kernel modules (OSS/Free), the commercial OSS/Linux
package, and the ALSA drivers. I must stress that there is no
typical configuration for sound on Linux laptops, and you must be
prepared to do some research to find the necessary information
about your machine’s particular audio chipset and its
capabilities…”

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