Sound in Ubuntu using the VIA VT1708/A on-board sound card

The Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala) distribution is an almost flawless and amazing distro for desktop use, despite what some say.

Unfortunately, owners of the Asrock 4CoreDual SATA2 motherboard will face sound problems though due to the lack of support for Linux by the manufacturer. Shame on them, they should not be ignoring Linux as a valid OS.

Despite this, there is a workaround for getting the VIA VT1708/A [Azalia HDAC] High Definition Audio Controller to work.

1) Install the "alsa-oss" package using the Synaptic package manager. (v1.0.17-1 at the time of writing)
2) Right-click on the audio icon (top left of desktop) and click "Preferences"
3) At the bottom, change the Profile to "Analog Output" or "Analog Output Duplex". You may choose any surround profiles supported if you have the right speakers. That's it!

Enjoy your Karmic Koala audio.