Dell XPS PCI Sound Slots

A month after setting up & using the Dell I had sound go completely away. It's like here today gone the next time you shake the mouse to wake it from standby (which mine works good). Now, 2 yrs later I'm still having the sound problem occurring off & on. It's like a kidney stone...you never know why or when it happens. Dell tech support was then to remove the Creative Audigy 2 sound devices & uninstall it's Soundworks then re-install the drivers & the sound sofeware fm the disk. That event never has worked. When it goes I had to open the tower & physically pull out & re-insert the sound card. This always restored sound for maybe a couple of weeks. On page 79 of Dell's owner's manual, it explains that for optimal performance install a PCI sound card only in slots 3 or 4. Well, the first time I opened the tower I saw it was in slot 2 so I put in slot 3. Seemed to work better for a long time but still had lost sound from time to time. My microphone would not function for quite some time & today I relocated the sound card to slot 4 & that restored my mic to operational. Time will tell if the sound disappears again. Never expected this fm a new big machine of Dell's. All the tech help always wants to do it re-format the hard drive when things go wrong. Is anyone else having this same problem with their Dell?