Comment 15 for bug 21804

this is still an issue in current dapper; it just bit me after a routine kernel update/reboot.

The error I got was:

: jm 73...; sudo /etc/init.d/alsa-utils start
Password:
 * Setting up ALSA...
 * warning: 'alsactl restore' failed with error message 'alsactl: set_control:894: warning: name mismatch (External Amplifier/Headphone Jack Sense) for control #26
alsactl: set_control:896: warning: index mismatch (0/0) for control #26
alsactl: set_control:898: failed to obtain info for control #26 (Operation not permitted)'...
   ...done.

It was quite tricky to fix, unfortunately, since on my hardware (Thinkpad T40) enabling "Line Jack Sense" inhibits all audio output as a side-effect; attempting to manually recreate a working alsamixer setup led me to switch that on (out of ignorance of the side-effects).

An automatic, script-based recreation of a "sane" mixer setup would have avoided that mis-step.