Hey Im having a similar problem, crashes at the same point, only I dont get errors about sound device. When running pssetup, it reports an error when saving the configuration file, I\'ve tried running it as root so write access privilidges are ensured. /fonts/ttf/Vera.ttf is reported missing along with the error about not being able to save the configuration.
It seems that the changes I make using pssetup are saved even though it reports there was an error saving.
Do you have any idea how you managed to fix your problem Simon, it would be most helpful?