LinuxQuestions.org - dell inspiron 3200 sound issues with FC4

hello, my name is tjsonner. thanks for reading.
i have installed Fedora Core 4 on my dell inspiron 3200 and everything works fine except for the sound.
-the soundcard for the dell inspiron (supposedly)
is the crystal sound 4236 or cs4236
ive read lots of posts on the subject and tried some different configurations, etc.
Such as:
-installing and running alsaconf (using lots of different drivers ie. cs4232, cs4236, and cs4231).
-editing /etc/modprobe.conf and adding lines to the alsa portion such as fm_port=blah, etc.
ive read lots of posts and been searching the engines for days, i haven't found a solid fix except to downgrade to redhat 9.0.
---btw when i say the sound doesn't work i mean that when i try to use say 'cdplayer' my screen locks up. i seriously can't get any response and i have to just hold down the power button and reboot. it is very frustrating to have my box lock up like that. i haven't had that happen with linux before and it drives me nuts just like windows 98 used to.
anyway i am a musician and i plan to use my machine as a mixer/mastering tool for my recordings. if i missed a post here, i am sorry i really have tried to find the fix. i just thought i could post here to get some help its late here n im goin to bed thanks.