If you hot-unplug a USB audio device the links to /dev/audio are broken. As a result, some audio applications might not recognize audio devices, including on-board audio. Rebooting the system or hot-plugging the USB audio device has no effect.
Workaround: Perform the following steps after a USB audio device is hot-unplugged.
Become superuser.
Correct the broken links by typing the following on a command line.
# rm /dev/audio* # /usr/sbin/devfsadm -c audio |
For more information see devfsadm(1M).