Can your system see the sound card? Has it inserted the modules?
su to root, then do;
$lsmod
and see if the modules are running. If they are, then try and run;
$alsamixer
and check that the sound isn't muted. Use 'm' to unmute them and the up arrow keys to raise the volumes. if your sound now works (try playing a simple .wav file to test it), then just go back to the root prompt and do:
$alsactl store
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