Interesting Linux sound problem

circuit_PT · 08-16-2005, 01:28 PM

I just installed linux in my laptop, i have most things running fine but the sound systems doesn't work'. I installed Fedora Core 3. The problem is the following:

- Under Gnome the mixer application always has the volume in mute, if i change it, it automatically goes down to mute again
- if i try to set the preferences it shows nothing under the channels to control
- The most interesting thing is the following, i search around for information about the sound card in the system and i came across /proc/asound. In there i find a link to card0 named Modem, and "cat /proc/asound/cards" gives the following:

0 [Modem ]: ICH-MODEM - SiS SI7013 Modem
SiS SI7013 Modem at 0x1400, irq 10

lspci -v shows (among other things):
....

00:02.6 Modem: Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] AC'97 Modem Controller (rev a0) (prog-if 00 [Generic])
Subsystem: Wistron Corp.: Unknown device 1061
Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 173, IRQ 10
I/O ports at 1400 [size=256]
I/O ports at 1080 [size=128]
Capabilities: [48] Power Management version 2

00:02.7 Multimedia audio controller: Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] Sound Controller (rev a0)
Subsystem: Wistron Corp.: Unknown device 2000
Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 173, IRQ 10
I/O ports at 1c00 [size=256]
I/O ports at 1800 [size=128]
Capabilities: [48] Power Management version 2

....

i don't really understand how the sound system works in linux, but apparently it is trying to use the modem as if it was a sound card right?

anyone knows how to solve this?

thanks....

Tuttle · 08-16-2005, 01:54 PM

Have a look here

edit: You probably need to add your modem's sound module (lsmod for that) in /etc/hotplug/blacklist

circuit_PT · 08-16-2005, 08:17 PM

i looked at that post but i don't think it's the same problem.. but i tried what is said in that post and it didn't solved, apparently my problem isn't with the alsa driver intel8x0 because that is the driver that should be used with my sound card, the problem is that it is trying to use the wrong board. The driver intel8x0 is trying to access my sound card at irq 10 base address 0x1400, and my sound card is at irq 10 base address 0x1c00
if there is some kind of way to specify what address it uses it could solve the problem, but i've checked the parameters for that module and it doesn't seem to be such argument in the list of parameters...

if anyone nows how to solve this ... i would love to hear the solution, i've search everywhere, and nothing.. i've even tried "nm snd-intel8x0.ko" to try and find all the parameters... but i haven't gone very far...

i'm giving up

who needs sound anyway... penguins don't even talk...

Tuttle · 08-17-2005, 05:27 AM

lol, penguins can't fly either but pigs might

Could you post the output of "lsmod" please.
I'm off to work now so I can't answer 'till later.

circuit_PT · 08-17-2005, 12:07 PM

ok my lsmod gives:

Module Size Used by
autofs4 24005 0
i2c_dev 10433 0
i2c_core 22081 1 i2c_dev
ds 16965 4
ipt_state 1857 1
ip_conntrack 40693 1 ipt_state
iptable_filter 2753 1
ip_tables 16193 2 ipt_state,iptable_filter
button 6481 0
battery 8517 0
ac 4805 0
nvidia 3709964 14
md5 4033 1
ipv6 232577 10
ohci1394 35033 0
ieee1394 302869 1 ohci1394
yenta_socket 18753 1
pcmcia_core 59913 2 ds,yenta_socket
ohci_hcd 22225 0
ehci_hcd 31557 0
snd_intel8x0m 18185 2
snd_intel8x0 34829 0
snd_ac97_codec 64401 2 snd_intel8x0m,snd_intel8x0
snd_pcm 97993 2 snd_intel8x0m,snd_intel8x0
snd_timer 29765 1 snd_pcm
snd_page_alloc 9673 3 snd_intel8x0m,snd_intel8x0,snd_pcm
gameport 4801 1 snd_intel8x0
snd_mpu401_uart 8769 1 snd_intel8x0
snd_rawmidi 26725 1 snd_mpu401_uart
snd_seq_device 8137 1 snd_rawmidi
snd 54053 12 snd_intel8x0m,snd_intel8x0,snd_ac97_codec,snd_pcm,snd_timer,snd_mpu401_uart,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq_devi ce
soundcore 9889 1 snd
ndiswrapper 142316 0
sis900 18629 0
floppy 58609 0
dm_snapshot 17029 0
dm_zero 2369 0
dm_mirror 23341 2
ext3 116809 2
jbd 74969 1 ext3
dm_mod 54741 6 dm_snapshot,dm_zero,dm_mirror

thanks for everything...

Tuttle · 08-17-2005, 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by circuit_PT
ok my lsmod gives:

[code]

Module Size Used by
autofs4 24005 0
i2c_dev 10433 0
i2c_core 22081 1 i2c_dev
ds 16965 4
ipt_state 1857 1
ip_conntrack 40693 1 ipt_state
iptable_filter 2753 1
ip_tables 16193 2 ipt_state,iptable_filter
button 6481 0
battery 8517 0
ac 4805 0
nvidia 3709964 14
md5 4033 1
ipv6 232577 10
ohci1394 35033 0
ieee1394 302869 1 ohci1394
yenta_socket 18753 1
pcmcia_core 59913 2 ds,yenta_socket
ohci_hcd 22225 0
ehci_hcd 31557 0
snd_intel8x0m 18185 2
snd_intel8x0 34829 0
snd_ac97_codec 64401 2 snd_intel8x0m,snd_intel8x0
snd_pcm 97993 2 snd_intel8x0m,snd_intel8x0
snd_timer 29765 1 snd_pcm
snd_page_alloc 9673 3 snd_intel8x0m,snd_intel8x0,snd_pcm
gameport 4801 1 snd_intel8x0
snd_mpu401_uart 8769 1 snd_intel8x0
snd_rawmidi 26725 1 snd_mpu401_uart
snd_seq_device 8137 1 snd_rawmidi
snd 54053 12 snd_intel8x0m,snd_intel8x0,snd_ac97_codec,snd_pcm,snd_timer,snd_mpu401_uart,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq_devi ce
soundcore 9889 1 snd
ndiswrapper 142316 0
sis900 18629 0
floppy 58609 0
dm_snapshot 17029 0
dm_zero 2369 0
dm_mirror 23341 2
ext3 116809 2
jbd 74969 1 ext3
dm_mod 54741 6 dm_snapshot,dm_zero,dm_mirror

thanks for everything...

You need to blacklist snd_intel8x0m in /etc/hotplug/blacklist. That's you modem's sound device.

circuit_PT · 08-17-2005, 10:06 PM

ok maybe penguins talk and pigs fly....

now i believe it

the problem wasn't that, i blacklisted that driver but it didn't resolved, but it took me to the solution... after blacklisting that driver i tried to insert the module manually and it gave the following error:
AC'97 0 does not respond - RESET

after a little of google i came to a thread where someone complained that after kernel 2.6.7 his soundcard with that used the driver snd-intel8x0 stop working, what he did was quite simple.. he went to the source code and downgraded the ac97_codec.c.
So i decided to try it, I downloaded the latest linux kernel (this wasn't needed but has i was going to recompile anyway i decided to upgrade), then i tried to apply a patch that this guy left on his post, here follows:

Code:

--- linux-2.6.8-rc4-mm1/sound/pci/ac97/ac97_codec.c.orig
2004-08-11 20:07:12.359531728 +0200
+++ linux-2.6.8-rc4-mm1/sound/pci/ac97/ac97_codec.c 2004-08-11
20:07:24.743649056 +0200
@@ -1891,14 +1891,8 @@
bus->ops->wait(ac97);
else {
udelay(50);
- if (ac97->scaps & AC97_SCAP_SKIP_AUDIO)
- err = ac97_reset_wait(ac97, HZ/2, 1);
- else {
- err = ac97_reset_wait(ac97, HZ/2, 0);
- if (err < 0)
- err = ac97_reset_wait(ac97, 0, 1);
- }
- if (err < 0) {
+ if (ac97_reset_wait(ac97, HZ/2, 0) < 0 &&
+ ac97_reset_wait(ac97, HZ/2, 1) < 0) {
snd_printk(KERN_WARNING "AC'97 %d does not
respond - RESET\n", ac97->num);
/* proceed anyway - it's often non-critical */
}

but for some reason the patch just didn't felt like applying to my kernel, so i did: vim /usr/src/linux/sound/pci/ac97/ac97_codec.c and applied the patch manually

it's rather easy cause it's rather small... you just have to locate the part of the code where bus->ops->wait(ac97); appears and then start comparing from that point forward to what is written in the patch. After the changes were made to this file i saved it, recompiled the kernel (and more important than that if you aren't upgrading your kernel, i recompiled the modules with make modules), then i did make modules_install, i did all those things you do when you install a new kernel.. mkinitrd... etc.... i rebooted... inserted the module with modprobe snd-intel8x0 and it was working fine!!! after this i removed from /etc/hotplug/blacklist snd-intel8x0m, rebooted just to make shure and it still works, now it detects my sound card and my modem... its perfect... don't forget one thing... after all this all channels are muted so you have to unmute them either in alsamixer or in the graphical mixer in gnome or in whatever you use...

ok.. now i'm happy and sleepy...

thanks for you help anyway..

just for the record:
penguins do talk i'm shure of it now... .....has for the pigs....

Tuttle · 08-18-2005, 07:57 AM

lol nice one. You went to alot of trouble for this, I just hope the penguins keep talking or it was all in vain!

circuit_PT · 08-21-2005, 11:03 AM

yeap... penguins still talk today

Yalla-One · 10-04-2005, 02:21 AM

Hi circuit_PT,

I have the same problem as you did, but do not yet feel comfortable hacking away in my kernel code. Instead I was wondering - did you report the bug and your fix to the linux kernel maintenance people, and if so - have you heard any feedback?

After browsing multiple kernel changelogs I find no reference to these problems, even though my problem occured after going from 2.6.8 to 2.6.12 a while back, which gives

AC'97 1 does not respond - RESET
AC'97 1 access is not valid [0xffffffff], removing mixer.

My google searches have given a lot of grief, but no results until I found your post here, which as I said I'm a bit scared to try...

-Y1

circuit_PT · 10-04-2005, 03:12 AM

No, i haven't reported any of this to anyone. Has i found the solution somewhere in the web i though that someone might have already done that, and i don't even know how to report such a thing to them

If you wan't and know how to do it, you could point them to this thread and they will see the problem I guess..