no alsa audio

[Mike Payst]

I installed a new mobo recently with a built-in "nVidia 
Corporation|nForce2 AC97 Audio Controler (MCP)" and then upgraded FC1 to 
FC2.  This is my first time using alsa.  My only usage for audio is to 
listen to a PBS station using Real Player 8.   When I try to listen to 
the FM station, there is no audio at first.   The sound driver is loaded:

# service alsasound status
ALSA sound driver loaded.

I discovered that if I run "system-config-soundcard", click on "Play 
test sound", then the audio will play properly once again until the next 
reboot (I shut the machine down at night).  This sequence is very 
repeatable.

Or, if I do the "Play test sound" first, then I can hear the FM station 
as soon as I start real Player.

Despite a bunch of digging, I have not been able to figure out what 
process "Play test sound" is kicking off.  Can anyone tell me what I am 
missing?