sound problem
 

hi all,
i have just installed debian. i also have xp installed on the system. i m not getting any sound in linux while it is perfect in windows...what to do??

first thing to try is open a terminal (there should be an entry in a menu on your desktop somewhere for this), then type 'alsamixer', bring all the levels up, then unmute your card by toggling the 'M' key on your keyboard. its best to have an mp3 playing in your media player while trying this.

then once you have sound, press the escape key (top left) go back to the terminal, then as root, type 'alsactl_store' to save your changes.

i m using kdm as well as gdm as GUI and it has no command as 'alsamixer'

debian:/# alsamixer
bash: alsamixer: command not found
debian:/#

is there any possibility that linux could not detect the soundcard??

no no - that just means the progam "alsamixer" is not there. can you type cat /proc/devices (i think) and see whther your card is listed? if it's not, there's not a driver for it and you have to get one.