Another ALSA post

[users@linuxforums.org]

Okay, I have done as much as I can.

I love Debian, but its silence is getting to me.

I have an Audigy 2 (Creative) sound card, and need ALSA to make the
sound work.

I am running a 2.4.18-bf2.4 kernel with absolutely no modifications
yet.  When I boot to KDE, I get the following message:


Sound server informational message:

Error while initialize the sound driver:
device /dev/dsp can't be opened (No such device)

The sound server will continue, using the null output device.



I read all that I can read about installing ALSA, but all I can find
requires 1.  Kernel headers -- no big deal, apt-get did that for me 
2.  Kernel source -- ?what?? there ISN'T a kernel source for
2.4.18-bf2.4, at least via apt-get there isn't.  I do not trust
dselect to do this for me (it's down awful things before).   

Next option is to compile and install a new kernel.  At this point,
that is like throwing poop in my face.  I spent all weekend trying to
figure out how to do that;  I finally got a kernel installed and
configured (I thought), then rebooted and NOTHING worked;  I did
something wrong, God knows what (skipped a step?  I don't know) and
none of the modules were present any more.  I couldn't even get
network support to look up what in the hell I did wrong.  The old
kernel wouldn't install (even editing lilo.conf wouldn't show it up),
so I had to reinstall.  I have most of what I want from linux -- open
office, I can figure out how to get the video card working (9800 pro,
but I can only get 2D accel going, which is really all of what I need
and most of what I want anyway);  heck, I even got my USB printer
working without resorting to the newsgroups.

Thus my exasperated, researched, "done my homework" question:

How do I get alsa working using my current kernel?  Surely there is
someone out there that has a working version with my same kernel;  I
assume I need the kernel source for 2.4.18-bf2.4?  Where can I even
get it?

I can post my apt sources file on request.  

Thanks for any support you guys may lend.
----
Message posted via www.linuxforums.org
.