No sound from Gateway MX3416

I recently bought the Gateway. Nice computer for the money.
The great thing about Knoppix is that I could take the CD to the store to verify it works
with the hardware before buying. The one thing I neglected to try was the sound.

I'm running Knoppix 5.0.1 which has been running fine on my Sony VAIO.
I've tried changing settings via the GUI (Control Center).

I've tried the things I came across on the forums so far:

"sndconf"

result-> generates error message; something about not having the modular sound package installed

"sudo alsaconf"

result-> runs without errors, but still no sound

Anybody have any other suggestions I could try before I bring the computer back?