I run oracle virtualbox to run XP for one program for which there is no comparable Linux equivalent. I use to have sound working when I had debian 7 installed. But with debian 8 sound on a prexisting image does not work the virtual device is only recognized as a pci device which means XP's plug and play feature will not work.
The problem? I was using the K desktop and just about everything I have ever seen in linux is usually developed with Gnome in mind. The solution? Install Gnome...