When sound modules are loaded during boot (soundcore, sound, nm256), then subsequently removed after X is started and GNOME/E is running, the system *stops* -- reset button, <CTL><ALT><DEL>, etc., do not work and system must be power cycled. I wrote an init script to load/unload stat modules, and this is what loads saound during startup. Modules were unloaded in reverse order to effect system hang. The init script can be provided if required (but it's my first so it's awfully primitive).
Created attachment 117 [details] sound module loaded at boot-time
Hmm... is esd running when you do this? Probably not, since you wouldn't be allowed to remove it if it was in use. This is probably related to the fact that the sound is actually implemented *on* the video chip, and uses part of the video RAM as it's bufffers.b
If the reset button doesn't work, I guess its too much to hope that the sysrq keys work if you've enabled them via /proc/sys/kernel/sysrq ? If they don't (and I fear they won't), then we're looking at some serious hardware lockup problems rather than just a nice software error in the driver. Further debugging this requires more knowledge of the hardware than we have, and I haven't heard from the anonymous author of this particular driver in ages. Some thoughts: Is anything interesting in the kernel logs after the sound module is loaded? (/bin/dmesg) does the 'Used by' field represent the number of apps that have /dev/dsp open? You might try messing about with the APM/plug n' play settings in your BIOS. Depending on the vendor, these can sometimes affect very odd things that the sound chip might be confusing. I fear we're just going to have to put big "Well, Don't Do That" signs around certain sound/X operations on the nm256.
It looks like this can actually be closed. Under 6.1, I had to manually load the modules for the nm256, hence my primitive init script, which didn't use the switches for module auto-load/unload. It appears that under the 'Piglet' beta, sound module loading for the nm256 is done automatically.