It seems very common that users have a device_mode parameter specified in /etc/modules.d somewhere - on newer kernels this prevents ALSA from loading (the "snd" module rejects the parameter and does not load, then all the other sound modules fail with lots of unknown symbols). Note that the "Unknown symbol" messages pretty much flood out the device_node error, so many people write forum posts as "ALSA unresolved symbols problem"-style, so it would be good if a section on the guide could be written to address it in this way. Search the forums or bugzilla for "device_mode" for various problem reports. A better explanation can be found here: http://dev.gentoo.org/~dsd/genpatches/issues-current.htm#alsa-device_mode-param
Thanks Daniel, this is now in CVS. Sincere apologies for such a long delay.
