ibm t41 laptop running ubuntu 8.10

my audio for such as timidity, play, etc has ceased to work.
terminal beeps sound fine.  the sound up/down buttons seem
to function normally.

a month ago, the sound worked fine -- now it doesn't.
could there be some software switch i've inadvertantly
thrown, or is this likely to be a hardware failure?

tia,
dan

j. daniel moylan
84 harvard ave
brookline, ma 02446-6202
617-232-2360 (tel)
810-454-1823 (fax)
jdm-LPA1KyJyIuz1P9xLtpHBDw@public.gmane.org
www.moylan.us
[death to html bloat!]