Hello again!

You people are to Linux what Allpar.com is to Chrysler! You've all been very helpful, and I'm back asking for help again!

I now have issues getting sound to work. I briefly got it working after my reinstall, but it quickly stopped again.

I have two sound cards, one of which is onboard (via82xx) and I have disabled it in BIOS (yet Linux still finds it) and I don't want to use it. The other one is a Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live! 5.1, based on the emu10001 chipset. I have compiled modular support for this card for my current kernel 2.6.22.5. I have run alsaconf as root, which detects the card. I tell it to use that card. It says it is preparing the card, and I hear it pop the speakers as it's activated.

I then go to the XFCE4 volume control or xmms, either one, and try to tell them to use that card, but the only option I have from which to choose in the card list is "default". When chosen, "default" gives me no mixer controls whatsoever in the XFCE4 volume app, and no sound whatsoever in xmms ALSA config. On that note, ALSA is modular to the kernel, and OSS (true) is completely disabled. OSS is emulated in ALSA.

ALSA is loaded. The SB Live! driver is loaded. My user "cj" is a member of the audio group. I have apropos devices in /dev. Since I have no mixers to control, I can't "simply uncheck 'mute'". It's almost as though the alsaconf script is not really setting up the device even though it says it is.

FWIW, I'm basically coming from a scratch base install -- none of the special configuration options were taken at install time... just a core system with additions as I go. First, I installed the latest "stable" kernel, then my MadWIFI drivers, then a graphical environment (XFCE and Gnome). From there I started installing packages (web browser, entertainment, a few comfort-necessities like ETerm and some XFCE touches) and then I realized I need sound. Like I said, I had it working, on this install, before. It's almost as though an update broke something... What do I need to check for in apt-get/synaptic to ensure I have all the stuphinz I need?

Can anyone tell me what I'm missing?



YOU ARE ROOT!
[Serenity][pts/0]
[root][/home/cj]# uname -r
2.6.22.5

YOU ARE ROOT!
[Serenity][pts/0]
[root][/home/cj]# lspci | grep audio
0000:00:0a.0 Multimedia audio controller: Creative Labs SB Live! EMU10k1 (rev 0a)
0000:00:11.5 Multimedia audio controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8233/A/8235/8237 AC97 Audio Controller (rev 60)

YOU ARE ROOT!
[Serenity][pts/0]
[root][/home/cj]# grep SND /usr/local/src/linux-2.6.22.5/.config | grep -v "is not set"
CONFIG_SND=m
CONFIG_SND_TIMER=m
CONFIG_SND_PCM=m
CONFIG_SND_HWDEP=m
CONFIG_SND_RAWMIDI=m
CONFIG_SND_SEQUENCER=m
CONFIG_SND_OSSEMUL=y
CONFIG_SND_MIXER_OSS=m
CONFIG_SND_PCM_OSS=m
CONFIG_SND_PCM_OSS_PLUGINS=y
CONFIG_SND_SEQUENCER_OSS=y
CONFIG_SND_RTCTIMER=m
CONFIG_SND_SEQ_RTCTIMER_DEFAULT=y
CONFIG_SND_SUPPORT_OLD_API=y
CONFIG_SND_VERBOSE_PROCFS=y
CONFIG_SND_MPU401_UART=m
CONFIG_SND_AC97_CODEC=m
CONFIG_SND_SERIAL_U16550=m
CONFIG_SND_MPU401=m
CONFIG_SND_CA0106=m
CONFIG_SND_EMU10K1=m
CONFIG_SND_EMU10K1X=m
CONFIG_SND_ENS1370=m
CONFIG_SND_ENS1371=m
CONFIG_SND_VIA82XX=m

YOU ARE ROOT!
[Serenity][pts/0]
[root][/home/cj]# lsmod | grep snd
snd_emu10k1 125664 0
snd_rawmidi 23232 1 snd_emu10k1
firmware_class 10112 1 snd_emu10k1
snd_ac97_codec 92324 1 snd_emu10k1
ac97_bus 2560 1 snd_ac97_codec
snd_pcm 72848 2 snd_emu10k1,snd_ac97_codec
snd_seq_device 8332 2 snd_emu10k1,snd_rawmidi
snd_timer 21768 2 snd_emu10k1,snd_pcm
snd_page_alloc 10248 2 snd_emu10k1,snd_pcm
snd_util_mem 4864 1 snd_emu10k1
snd_hwdep 9348 1 snd_emu10k1
snd 49380 7 snd_emu10k1,snd_rawmidi,snd_ac97_codec,snd_pcm,snd_seq_device,snd_timer,snd_hwdep

YOU ARE ROOT!
[Serenity][pts/0]
[root][/home/cj]# ls /dev/ -lah | grep 14,
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 14, 4 2007-08-28 19:23 audio
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 14, 20 2007-08-28 19:23 audio1
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 14, 36 2007-08-28 19:23 audio2
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 14, 52 2007-08-28 19:23 audio3
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 14, 7 2007-08-28 19:23 audioctl
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 14, 3 2007-08-28 19:23 dsp
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 14, 19 2007-08-28 19:23 dsp1
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 14, 35 2007-08-28 19:23 dsp2
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 14, 51 2007-08-28 19:23 dsp3
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 14, 2 2007-08-28 19:23 midi00
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 14, 18 2007-08-28 19:23 midi01
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 14, 34 2007-08-28 19:23 midi02
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 14, 50 2007-08-28 19:23 midi03
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 14, 0 2007-08-28 19:23 mixer
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 14, 16 2007-08-28 19:23 mixer1
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 14, 32 2007-08-28 19:23 mixer2
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 14, 48 2007-08-28 19:23 mixer3
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 14, 1 2007-08-28 19:23 sequencer
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 14, 6 2007-08-28 19:23 sndstat





Many thanks in advance!

CJ

You can look up which soundcards are activated through Maybe you have to link the soundcard to the corresponding driver. Add this line to /etc/modprobe.d/alsa and restart alsa.

Thanks.

Reran alsaconf to make sure it "saw" the card, and it did. Said it was setting it up, just like every time before... no joy.


YOU ARE ROOT!
[Serenity][pts/0]
[root][/home/cj]# aplay -l
aplay: device_list:222: no soundcards found...

YOU ARE ROOT!
[Serenity][pts/0]
[root][/home/cj]# cat /etc/modprobe.d/sound
alias snd-card-0 snd-emu10k1
options snd-emu10k1 index=0



The /etc/modprobe.d/sound file already existed and had the line you mentioned -- do I still need specifically an /etc/modprobe.d/alsa? Also, how do I "restart alsa"; maybe that's my problem -- maybe it's not started. I didn't realize it was a service. In Debian, I don't have service commands, I have /etc/init.d/whatever-the-name-is, and in my /etc/init.d/ the only thing alsa-related I have is "alsa-utils", which when run just spews out a bunch of "help"-page-like information:


YOU ARE ROOT!
[Serenity][pts/0]
[root][/home/cj]# /etc/init.d/alsa-utils start 0
Setting up ALSA card 0...warning: 'alsactl restore 0' failed with error message 'alsactl: load_state:1341: Cannot find soundcard '0'...'...Invalid card number.
Usage: amixer <options> [command]
Available options:

...then several pages worth of basically repeated information, and none of it useful -- almost like a script that was written to include in a loop the use of a tool that does not yet exist on the system. Maybe I need to apt-get install some more stuff.

You don't have to create /etc/modprobe.d/alsa when you have /etc/modprobe.d/sound ... it don't care to wich file you write it

And /etc/init.d/alsa-utils should be the right sound-start-script, the problem is that he can't find your soundcard. Are you sure the soundcard is not broken and connected correctly to the mainboard(only a suggestion)? Maybe you should try to install a later version of alsa.

I got to thinking that maybe I'm missing some piece of Alsa. I opened Synaptic, did a search for Alsa, and added a couple more packages to my installed list with no benefit. I will consider compiling from source if I have to -- seems to be what the HOWTOs suggest most. Maybe if I can find the time to do more research, but at the moment, I'm lucky to get an hour a night to do LQ and Allpar, e-mail, and troubleshoot this thing


That said... I'm sure the soundcard is installed well because I *did* get mp3s to play in XMMS using ALSA, but I will double-check here shortly. I have had the hardware out in an attempt to fit a better mainboard in this case (no joy) but I'm pretty sure all is seated well. I know it's not a guarantee, but lspci shows it like it always had, too. I'll double check everything like I should have done first.

By the sounds of it, everything SHOULD work AFA software goes. That leaves hardware.

Will let you know.

Still no joy. I pulled the card out, but it was firmly seated to begin with. I might try another slot, but I'm certain this is the slot it was in when it worked before the OS reload.


YOU ARE ROOT!
[Serenity][pts/0]
[root][/home/cj]# alsaconf
Building card database...


Running update-modules...
Loading driver...
Setting default volumes...
amixer: Mixer attach default error: No such device


===============================================================================

Now ALSA is ready to use.
For adjustment of volumes, use your favorite mixer.

Have a lot of fun!



YOU ARE ROOT!
[Serenity][pts/0]
[root][/home/cj]#

(Right after "Building card database" is when the ncurses stuff starts, where I select my card, etc. After selection it disappears and the next thing to appear is "Running update-modules...")
It looks to me like maybe it's the mixer app that has the problem. Maybe the script has a bug in it. Maybe another mixe... but see, if it was the mixer /app/ having a problem, I'd still be able to see the card in my GUI mixer and in XMMS. So I think the card is simply not getting configured at all.

I'll try some more before compiling from source. Maybe do some upgrades, see what else I can find on ALSA, etc.

apt-get install alsa-base


Done. Sound. My XFCE mixer isn't working properly, but may just need a restart of the GUI. I have sound, though, even though it's also loading the onboard sound which (a) is disabled in BIOS and (b) blacklisted in the modprobe.conf or modules.conf or whatever that file is (tired tonight). Only reason I even included it in kernel module configuration at compile time was that I don't know if I'll ever want the card activated at some later time.

Anywhoo... Now playing: Colin Hay - Overkill