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Thread: Sound problems

  1. #1
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    Sound problems

    I'm having a problem with my sound - namely that there is no sound.

    I've tried numerous things. When booting off the CD I have to use the alsa cheatcode. I have a hdd install now though, and I have no sound. I'm aware that this is a common problem, and that the solution is to run alsa-autoconfig. This hasn't worked for me though

    alsa-autoconfig runs seemingly fine. It does it's thing, and completes without any errors. But still no sound

    When I try running alsamixer I get the following error:

    "alsamixer: function snd_ctl_open failed for default: no such device"

    I get a similar error about this device 'default' when I go into the KDE Control Center and try and set my sound to ALSA in there.

    Why is it using 'default' (and failing), and how can I change this? So far I've had no luck trying to find a solution

  2. #2
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    Did you try going into the sound system settings and setting it to on and for hardware autodetect?

  3. #3
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    Yeah I did. Turned it on - nothing happens. It is on autodetect by default. I try changing it to alsa manually, but that doesn't work either

  4. #4
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    What about checking for drivers?

  5. #5
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    I'm new to this, and I could very easily be wrong, but I was under the impression that alsa is the sound driver.

    What does the 'alsa' cheatcode do when booting off the CD, that alsa-autoconfig doesn't? Whatever it is, I may not be doing it right.

  6. #6
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    dont worry im knew too. But since I never had a sound problem I never investigated this stuff. I dont know much about alsa, but I do know that some companies (like via for me) provide linux drivers.

  7. #7
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    Jez,

    Check the output of lsmod - I think you have a few "modules" that are for OSS still "lingering" - this is what my problem was... ALSA will not work unless ALL OSS modules are removed... here is an output of my "failed" lsmod -=-

    Code:
    cuddles@Morpheus:/proc$ lsmod
    Module                  Size  Used by
    snd_via82xx            25984  0
    snd_pcm                86144  1 snd_via82xx
    snd_timer              25344  1 snd_pcm
    snd_ac97_codec         59268  1 snd_via82xx
    snd_page_alloc         13060  2 snd_via82xx,snd_pcm
    gameport                8192  1 snd_via82xx
    snd_mpu401_uart        10496  1 snd_via82xx
    snd_rawmidi            23552  1 snd_mpu401_uart
    snd_seq_device         10756  1 snd_rawmidi
    snd                    49540  7=20
    snd_via82xx,snd_pcm,snd_timer,snd_ac97_codec,snd_mpu401_uart,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq_device
    via82cxxx_audio        27912  0
    uart401                13636  1 via82cxxx_audio
    sound                  80232  2 via82cxxx_audio,uart401
    soundcore              12000  3 snd,via82cxxx_audio,sound
    ac97_codec             19840  1 via82cxxx_audio
    cuddles@Morpheus:/proc$
    NOTE: all modules, EXCEPT for via82cxxx_audio, uart401, sound, and ac97_codec - these are still OSS modules...

    What I did, locate where the OSS modules are still being loaded - mine was in /etc/modutils/aliases - a line that was something like this alias via82cxxx_audio something - I placed a # in front of it, did a update-modules, re-did a lsmod, and POOF, no more OSS modules were in the output - and my ALSA was working...

    Here is the "real" output of my lsmod, after the above was done:
    Code:
    root@Morpheus:/etc/modutils# lsmod
    Module                  Size  Used by
    snd_seq_midi           10528  0
    snd_seq_oss            35840  0
    snd_seq_midi_event     10624  2 snd_seq_midi,snd_seq_oss
    snd_seq                54128  5 snd_seq_midi,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi_event
    snd_pcm_oss            51716  0
    snd_mixer_oss          19072  1 snd_pcm_oss
    snd_via82xx            25984  0
    snd_pcm                86144  2 snd_pcm_oss,snd_via82xx
    snd_timer              25344  2 snd_seq,snd_pcm
    snd_ac97_codec         59268  1 snd_via82xx
    snd_page_alloc         13060  2 snd_via82xx,snd_pcm
    gameport                8192  1 snd_via82xx
    snd_mpu401_uart        10496  1 snd_via82xx
    snd_rawmidi            23552  2 snd_seq_midi,snd_mpu401_uart
    snd_seq_device         10756  4 snd_seq_midi,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq,snd_rawmidi
    snd                    49540  13 snd_seq_midi,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi_event,snd_seq,snd_pcm_oss,snd_mixer_oss,snd_via82xx,snd_pcm,snd_timer,snd_ac97_codec,snd_mpu401_uart,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq_device
    soundcore              12000  1 snd
    root@Morpheus:/etc/modutils#
    Now, if I can just understand how to get my OSS-emulation working...

    I also had a problem (still) with alsamixer, I had to do a apt-get install of alsa again, in which case, apt-get died on trying to install alsa-base, as it has ALWAYS done for me, but a apt-get -f install resolved that...

    Jez -=- you also, might want to subscribe to the following "email" ALSA list...

    https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/alsa-user

    you can post questions, once subscribed, and you get almost twenty emails a day, on other people trying to get ALSA either working, or configured, to almost any sound card, or Linux distro... ( imaginable )

    A word of caution though... If you post to this email "group", don't mention "cheat-codes", they don't understand what you will be talking about, most of the people in this "group" are running distros that are "die-hard" compile-only Linux's, I am speaking from experience here, I did once, and the flood of emails about "what the heck is a cheat-code?" came as a response... If I post, I just say something like "Debian installed 'Sid" running kernel 2.6.6", or something like that... and the version of ALSA drivers I am running...

    I hope this helps,
    Ms. Cuddles

  8. #8
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    People keep posting outputs from lsmod here, and I'm puzzled why mine is at least three times the length of everybody elses. I guess somehow I've managed to end up with a lot of stuff getting loaded that I probably don't want/need.

    Anyway, I tried commenting out the line:

    alias via82cxxx via82cxxx_audio

    But it doesn't seem to have made any difference.

    Just now I booted from the CD (where sound works) to see if I could figure out what was done differently when booting off the CD, that might have been missed out on my hdd install. I couldn't really find anything, but then again I'm not very experienced here... But one thing I did notice is that when running off the CD, in 'Sound System', the sound system appears to be off... Yet it works... Is this unusual?

    Hmm anyway, I'm still getting all these errors as if everything is trying to use a sound device called 'default', which obviously is non-existant. Why is everything using this 'default' device, and how can I make things use the proper sound device?

  9. #9
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    Jez,

    As with a lot of things in Linux, if you work in a text readable file, that appears to be something related to what the system uses, you must also allert the system that you have changed something...

    As in the case of changing something in LILO - as in the lilo.conf file, you must allert LILO that you changed something to it, thus, you run lilo from a root konsole...

    As in the case of changing any modules, which in turn is "compacted" into one text read-only file, called modules.conf, you must allert the system that something has changed, so, you enter update-modules in a root konsole...

    You changed the aliases file, but never notified the system that something was changed, and that it should update its files for loading...

    One last thing, the output I supplied from lsmod, was editted to only "stuff" related to OSS and ALSA, mine is much longer than that...

    Complete output of lsmod:
    Code:
    cuddles@Morpheus:~$ lsmod
    Module                  Size  Used by
    ppp_deflate             8960  1
    zlib_deflate           24984  1 ppp_deflate
    bsd_comp                9728  0
    ppp_async              14080  1
    ppp_generic            29964  7 ppp_deflate,bsd_comp,ppp_async
    slhc                   10752  1 ppp_generic
    videodev               11776  0
    md5                     8064  1
    ipv6                  248736  8
    nvidia               2078568  12
    lp                     13768  0
    ipt_state               6272  36
    ipt_REJECT              9728  4
    ipt_limit               6784  6
    ipt_LOG                10496  6
    ip_conntrack_ftp       75540  0
    ip_conntrack_irc       75156  0
    ip_conntrack           35588  3 ipt_state,ip_conntrack_ftp,ip_conntrack_irc
    iptable_filter          6784  1
    ip_tables              20240  5 ipt_state,ipt_REJECT,ipt_limit,ipt_LOG,iptable_filter
    snd_via82xx            25984  0
    snd_pcm                86144  1 snd_via82xx
    snd_timer              25344  1 snd_pcm
    snd_ac97_codec         59268  1 snd_via82xx
    snd_page_alloc         13060  2 snd_via82xx,snd_pcm
    gameport                8192  1 snd_via82xx
    snd_mpu401_uart        10496  1 snd_via82xx
    snd_rawmidi            23552  1 snd_mpu401_uart
    snd_seq_device         10756  1 snd_rawmidi
    snd                    49540  7 snd_via82xx,snd_pcm,snd_timer,snd_ac97_codec,snd_mpu401_uart,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq_device
    soundcore              12000  1 snd
    pci_hotplug            33724  0
    via_agp                 9856  1
    agpgart                31564  2 via_agp
    tsdev                   9984  0
    evdev                  11520  0
    autofs                 19456  1
    parport_pc             38176  1
    parport                38848  2 lp,parport_pc
    8250                   34448  3
    serial_core            22912  1 8250
    rtc                    15432  0
    ohci1394               33792  0
    ieee1394              305296  1 ohci1394
    usb_storage            66816  1
    ohci_hcd               20864  0
    uhci_hcd               31112  0
    usbcore                94420  5 usb_storage,ohci_hcd,uhci_hcd
    ide_cd                 40576  0
    ide_scsi               17540  2
    ext3                  108648  2
    jbd                    67488  1 ext3
    cuddles@Morpheus:~$
    When posting, it may not be necessary to completely post the whole output of something, but rather, only what pertains to the issue... Case in point, if you were having problems finding out what device name your CD-ROM was, you wouldn't post the COMPLETE output of dmesg, considering that the portion that tells which device name a hard drive, or CD-ROM, is, is pretty much near the top, and a lot of other "system" junk, most of which, would not be needed for diagnosis, is not needed, but just "noise" and waste, if it was posted...

    So, try update-modules, then look in /etc/modules.conf, and I will bet that the comment line you made in the /etc/modutils/aliases file, it is not commented right now, but after the command above, it will be... Then, try your ALSA again... if it still yells, you might need to apt-get install alsa-utils again... take note that doing a apt-get install alsa-utils, MAY, want to install the alsa-base as well - in my case it did, and the alsa-base refused to install, so, I had to do a apt-get -f install to get it in completely - then my alsa worked...

    Hope this helps,
    Ms. Cuddles

  10. #10
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    Sorry - I didn't mention it, but I actually did run update-modules after making the changes.

    I also ran alsa-autoconfig again, and had another play around with the sound options in Sound System.

    I've done everything you've suggested except apt-get. Or rather, I tried it but it says there is no such package. I'm guessing that means it can't find it locally. Should I have a copy locally somewhere? I have no internet access though (can't get my wifi card working in Linux), so that's a bit of a problem :/

    I'm going to boot off the CD and try again to find out what it does differently.

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