Mac OS 8.5 bug leads to sound loss: a follow-up

Last time, we reported on a possible OS 8.5 bug where all sound is lost. Some users report having it all the time. I mentioned that I had it happen only intermittently and only after a crash. Gordon Alley had the exact same symptoms; here is his description:

Frequently, if I have a crash, and then restart, the restart chime will sound, but there is no sound by the time the Finder starts. This doesn't happen after every crash/restart, but maybe 1 out of 5 times. I have the Platinum Sounds turned on in the Appearance control panel, so normally just about every event on the desktop is accompanied by some sound effect. When this problem occurs, the menu bar flashes when a sound should happen, just as if I have the volume turned all the way down or the sound is muted. I've checked every appropriate Control Strip button and control panel, making sure that all the settings are correct. As you said, restarting a second time typically brings the sound back to normal.

Jeff Robbin (author of Conflict Catcher) reports that there is a known bug in Mac OS 8.5.x that can cause this type of loss of sound. It happens only if you have selected something other than "None" as the "Sound track" from the Sound section of the Appearance control panel. In particular:

If you have an Appearance Sound Track enabled, then any use of those sounds before the Sound Manager extension is loaded will cause sounds to be disabled after the Sound Manager extension loads. It's a bug that has been reported to Apple and should be fixed in the next update to the OS.

This problem can be demonstrated by opening either Conflict Catcher or Extensions Manager during startup when an Appearance Sound Track is enabled in the Appearance Control Panel.

Consistent with this, Armando Ramirez found that disabling Sound Manager remedied the problem for him.

Update: Guy d'Humieres suggests that a work-around is to load Sound Manager prior to Conflict Catcher or Extensions Manager.