sound - reinstalling software?

[David]

I've been fiddling for ages trying to get a sound card to work. I suspect 
the problem in the first place was that the card was post-installed.

Question:
If I do something like 

sudo apt-get remove linux-sound-base

and then re-install, is there any possibility that everything will nicely 
detect when I re-install? If so, what packages so I need remove/reinstall?

I've made so many changes trying to get the card to work that I doubt I 
could get everything back how it was, so re-installation of the sound 
software seems like the best option to me, but sound seem to be a black 
art.

regards

David.