Laptop speakers intermittently going out

For some reason, my laptop speakers seem to be going out at random interval upon startup.  When it works everything is peachy keen, but when it doesn't all noises become muffled into a subtle static or silence.

Does anyone know how I can diagnose/fix this?

I hate it when questions go completely unanswered =/

Have you tried connecting some external speakers? If another pair of speakers works fine, then the problem is with the actual speakers, but if they do the same thing, it's most likely an internal problem, probably the sound card.