No sound - Ubuntu 10.10 netbook remix on Dell Mini

[mdouble]

I up installed 10.10 netbook remix on my Dell Inspiron netbook about 2 months ago and it's had no problems until yesterday. For reasons that are entirely unclear the sound just stopped functioning. I have no system sound, no sound from audio or video files, no sound at all.

I have read through the forums and tried some of the suggestions offered for other sound issues, but without success. I have checked to be sure nothing is muted in the alsa mixer etc. Unless I've missed something all seems to be as it should.

I run Ubuntu 10.04 on my desktop computer and, oddly enough it also lost all sound. This happened before Christmas 2010. Once again I tried many solutions offered in forums and spent some time working on the problem on IRC #ubuntu. So far no luck getting sound back on that system either.

I am beginning to suspect a ghost in the machine, and the ghost likes thing very quiet. Help with either of these problems will be most gratefully accepted. Thanks in advance

[lidex]

Try this. Reset pulseaudio configuration.
Using a Terminal="Applications->Accessories->Terminal"


rm -r ~/.pulse ~/.asound* ~/.pulse-cookie
sudo rm /etc/asound.conf
Logout/in.
Re-install alsa:

sudo aptitude --purge reinstall linux-sound-base alsa-base alsa-utils linux-image-`uname -r` linux-ubuntu-modules-`uname -r` libasound2
Reboot.