start it from a terminal and watch what it tells you.

That's the error I got in the terminal screen.

I know I might sound a little desperate, but can anyone at least give a clue on how to fix this issue?

Thanks.

I'm not sure but maybe you should try reinstalling ALSA - it looks like it's broken.

I was checking the ALSA project website, and it says there that the driver for X-fi cards is still a work in progress, as it's a relative new card. Does it affect me anyhow?

What do you want, a full tutorial on all variations and combination of PC and sound hardware, and Linux distributions (not to mention ALSA and kernel versions)? C'mon, if you're a Linux user, you're supposed to be a little more active. You could start with testing if your soundcard works OK with other applications. You should test digital output (playing MP3 or WAV files), and MIDI sound (playing a MIDI file).

PS: i'm no "active" Linux user, but i have enough experience to be pretty confident in saying that it's very likely for you to be pretty much scr*wed with new sound hardware, especially if it's from Creative. That company treats its customers like idiots, and i doubt they're cooperative towards the open source community.