Lineout not working with realtek alc883 audio driver

[Racko]

I got my Acer travelmate 2480 laptop at xmas 07, and after a few weeks the lineout on the front stopped working, or only worked intermittently. I had Norton and uninstalled that and tried reinstalling the audio driver. The audio worked, but then stopped again when i installed zone alarm firewall and AVG free. The audio was fine when AVG was installed but stopped after the restart for the zone alarm software. That makes me think that its a conflict between the firewall and the audio driver. Any one got a suggestion as to how i can resolve the conflict? It doesnt look like the only person out there with this problem, as there is another thread about people with this problem.