Kubuntu setup

[Victor Odhner]

I'm having problem setting up a Kubuntu 5.10
(Breezy) system on an old Pentium II 350 box
with an old SoundBlaster card and an Acer
7133s monitor.

It is not recognizing the Sound Blaster.  I get an
error message box saying "Error while initializing
the sound driver:  device /dev/dsp can't be opened;
no such file or directory."  That's on the Autodetect
setting.  Other messages on other device settings.
I installed "esound" because some occurrences of
this message were reported fixed by that, but no go.

When I try to configure the display, it does not ask
what kind of monitor I have, and won't offer me
better than 800x600 resolution.  Adding insult to
injury, the sound setup dialog demands more than
800x600 and has no scroll bar!

To that last problem, I know I've had Linux setups
before where I had "virtual desktop" space so that I
could pan around by dragging the mouse.  Is there
some way I can use that here?

Any suggestions (or even just sympathy!) would be
appreciated.  I'm doing this for a friend who has
no money and is no hacker.  (I've got half a mind to
just go out and buy him a Mac mini!)

A recommendation for a better distro for old
equipment might also solve my problem.  I've got
good bandwidth, so burning a few experimental
CDs is no problem at all.

TIA,

Vic