How can I detect an audio hardware damage in ubuntu 10.04?

Question

Is there a way to detect an audio hardware damage. Since my audio is not working, i need to understand whether it's a hardware issue or some other problem.

Thanks

Answer 1

Short answer to your question is "Not Exactly". Ubuntu can give you some indications of whether the drivers and devices are working properly or not, but it can't really differentiate between a driver problem and a "damaged hardware problem".
Take a look at this thread. Is there a way to check hardware integrity in ubuntu? I think your question may essentially be a duplicate of that one.