[SOLVED]
How do i mark this as solved?

Okay, I've been working on this for five days now. Here's my problem, I need two kernel modules: uart401 and ad1848. I don't know how to get them or how to compile them, but I know that I need them.

I'm using a thinkpad 600E (old i know) and I'm trying to follow the procedure outlined here:

http://www.linuxquestions.org/linux/..._Thinkpad_600E

Now. I've posted this question in the forums for my distribution (antiX-M8) and they've tried to help me a bit but I keep getting responses about how I should use alsaconf.

I've tried the hell out of alsaconf and the errors I receive make it clear that I need the uart401 module (although i'm not entirely convinced i need the ad1848 module, i still need to get it to find out)

This is a very specific question, like i said, i need to know how to get the uart401 module and the ad1848 module. I'm very frustrated as my many hours of googling have yielded no useful results. i don't wanna hear "download such and such package and run alsaconf" i don't wanna hear "maybe you should try this or that" I want to hear what source packages i need to download, and what configure parameters i need to run at build time to create the uart401 and ad1848 modules. That's all i need to know in order to make any further progress.

I apologize for sounding a bit demandy, but like i said i've been working on this for five days (THIS time around), and it's driving me crazy, especially when the assumption is made that i should retry the basics that have not worked from day one.

A little more info. I've already got the snd_cs4232 module that i need to use in conjunction with the uart401 and ad1848 modules, i compiled it myself by downloading alsa-driver-1.0.19 source and configuring with the --with-cards=cs4232 parameter. So I'm not entirely helpless when it comes to building the modules i need. I just don't know what packages they're a part of, or what parameters i would need to run in order to use them. Maybe i could compile just the module from it's source code? In that case i would be pretty much completely helpless as i've never made a makefile or configure script.

Anyway, thanks in advance if you can help.

well with ubuntu those modules are in the kernel. this may sound bad but did you un-mute the volume which is default settings then you will here no sound or open a terminal and type alsamixer. but other wise unmute pulse volume control that is a start.
And that link was a 2004 and since then the modules is in the kernel already. Did you do all the updates since you installed ?

Thanks for tryin'. Not usin' ubuntu. As for the suggestion, I couldn't help but laugh, sorry, but most of the people I've talked to just don't seem to understand. This sound card is simultaneously notorious for not working with linux and highly undocumented (I've searched my ass off and found a couple of distro specific fixes that don't work for me)

The only fix i've found that i think will work is the one i need these modules for. I am using antix-M8 which is based on MEPIS 8.0... which is based on Debian Lenny 5.0. These modules are not available on my OS out of box. And alsamixer gives me the following error:
I have a whole host of other errors i've been getting during specific parts of the sound setup process that all relate to the damn modules i'm missing, but as I know what I need I don't want to post them to just confuse people.

Believe me, unmuting is not an option because the sound card is NOT working. I need to get it working first.

sorry I am at a loss to. because I looked up your devices and the modules where in the kernel. well I stopped trouble shooting any debian for about a year as month ago till I get smarter or debian get's more transparent. I will refrain from saying what distro to use. But if it was debian I think gos2 or hardy heron would be the way to go because they are supporting it till the year 2011

Here's what you gotta understand. This machine is a very old, very slow, Piece of crap. It works well for what i use it for, which is mostly schoolwork, and it's partly a toy, just to test stuff out.

Ubuntu? it works yeah, if i use the alternate install, but it's intolerably slow. DSL seemed like the way to go for a while there but i wanted an HDD install, which I did (as opposed to a frugal install). WAAAY too glitchy as an HDD install. It just could not boot consistently, and it was too picky about adding users, crashed too much. I still use DSL if i need to troubleshoot something, but I can't use it for my main system.

I've found the OS that runs on this machine in a way that makes it useful. antiX-M8 (anticapitalista and his crew did a badass job, i suggest you check it out if you have an older machine)

I'm sticking with this OS for this machine. I'm not looking for OS suggestions, I'm just looking for modules. It wouldn't matter if i used a different linux anyway, I'd still need to load these modules in order to get sound, and while they may come with some other OSes, I would have no desire to run sound on an OS that can barely open a web page without crashing my slow, old system.

Thanks anyway, but like i've been saying, i know what i'm looking for, i just need someone who can tell me how to find it.

I'll reiterate, uart401 module, and the ad1848 module. That's ALL I need!


[update] MWA HAW HAW HAW HAW HAW

I AM AS A GOD!

SUCCESS. I've been running into references of these modules being part of the alsa packages, but my noob ass couldn't figure out which one. Of course, it's the alsa-driver package, I ran it with ./configure --with-cards=all... and it's still installing after the "make install" command, but I see it built the modules i've been looking for. HAZAAAH. Days of frustrations could have been saved if i had just tried this sooner.

The sound works now. Turns out it was an extremely easy fix, so easy that my noob ass spent a week trying to figure it out due to a lack of instructions for stuff this easy. Thanks again drakeo, if anything i was wasting your time!