Anybody else having problems getting it to start at all? I get the DOSBOX window and logo, then it goes fullscreen, I get a blinking dos cursor, then a standard crash dialog "DOSBOX DOS emulator has encountered an error" etc.
Oddly, this one time I managed to get the Sierra logo before it crashed, but usually I don't.

Gah!
It shipped set to overlay, which was the first thing I looked for (to make sure it wasn't 'surface'), and which I've used successfully in the past. Then I quit thinking about that setting. I fiddled with fullscreen, resolution settings, scaler settings, and looked through the sound and memory settings to see if anything looked unusual, and none of that helped.
But I've changed video card manufacturers since the last time I used overlay (I usually use opengl). I bet that's it. I'll write back once I get a chance to try it.
(It's handy having the author of the emulator hanging around for support :) Thanks!)
EDIT: Went back to my old standby, opengl, and everything's peachy! Thanks.

What utility?
Edit:Found it :)

forget it.

Just downloaded and installed GK1, and upon starting I too get the sierra logo, no sound and an immediate crash. I've tried all the video mode settings and none do anything (save for not even getting to the Sierra logo). I have a radeon HD5450 video card at the moment if that helps. Thanks!

This sounds similar to mine. I do get sound. If I click fast enough as if I'm skipping something I can get to the menu, but then it crashes when I make a selection.

Edit: Problem solved by changing to ddraw.
1) In your GOG.com\Gabriel Knight directory, find dosboxGK.conf.
2) Open it with notepad or some other text editor.
3) Find output=overlay. Change to output=ddraw
4) Save and close.

I don't know if that'll help with your sound issue or not.

Editing the config file manually seems to have fixed half the problem. It actually opens now, but I have no music or sound (but the voices work). Any tips on what to fiddle with to try to correct this problem? Thanks again.