I'm a new user of linux. I installed two week ago Mandrake 9.1 and everithing looks quite simple, except managing sound. Using sndconfig i managed to install my sound card (soundblaster 16). Now i can listen CD but not mp3 or any other system sounds (like game sounds and so on). I tried to use aRtsbuilder but I discover it crashes for a bug.To Install Alsa is a little bit too difficoult for me, and I am not sure it works with my soundcard. I don't know if the problem can be the bug of aRts. Do you think so? And if so how can I repair it? Anyone have some suggestion? Please let me hear SOUNDS!

This is a common problem. One quick tip: go into Multimedia --> sound --> aumix (or kmix) and make sure your sound is not muted (i.e. set to 0).

That sometimes works, but if not... run a search on these forums and you'll see many other people with the same problem, and advice on how to fix it.

Good luck