I'm currently using $ uname -a Linux SpideyHomePC 3.0.4-gentoo #4 SMP Fri Sep 9 16:47:39 BRT 2011 x86_64 Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E8400 @ 3.00GHz GenuineIntel GNU/Linux without problems. It's probably a specific problem with your setup. There is no need to alarm people with this title, it may generate FUD. Anyways, analyzing your output: D: [pulseaudio] cli-command.c: Checking for existence of '/usr/local/lib/pulse-0.99/modules/module-udev-detect.so': success I: [pulseaudio] module-udev-detect.c: Found 0 cards. I: [pulseaudio] module.c: Loaded "module-udev-detect" (index: #4; argument: ""). Is this consistent behavior even after a cold boot? Since there is nothing wrong in the output, udev module loaded fine and all, I'd suggest looking again at your config files. What distribution are you using, by the way?