To start off , I'm using Redhat 9 Kernel build 2.4.20-20.9. Now on to the good stuff. I downloaded the SB Live! drivers from opensource , tried to install them but never make it past the 'make' command. Just got tons of errors. Here are a few ;
/usr/src/linux-2.4.20-20.9/include/linux/module.h:187: invalid suffix on integer constant
/usr/src/linux-2.4.20-20.9/include/linux/module.h:187: parse error before numeric constant
/usr/src/linux-2.4.20-20.9/include/linux/module.h:187: `inter_module_put_R_ver_str' declared as function returning a function
/usr/src/linux-2.4.20-20.9/include/linux/module.h:187: warning: function declaration isn't a prototype
/usr/src/linux-2.4.20-20.9/include/linux/module.h:196: `try_inc_mod_count_R_ver_str' declared as function returning a function
/usr/src/linux-2.4.20-20.9/include/linux/module.h:196: warning: parameter names
(without types) in function declaration
make: *** [audio.o] Error 1
---
So then I tried out the Alsa driver, Everything went good and installed fine up until I tried to run 'make' in the alsa-lib folder. It seemed to be going just fine until the end. Here is the error ;
make[3]: *** No rule to make target `SI7018/sndoc-mixer.alisp', needed by `all-am'. Stop.
make[3]: Leaving directory `/usr/src/alsa/alsa-lib-0.9.7/src/conf/cards'
make[2]: *** [all-recursive] Error 1
make[2]: Leaving directory `/usr/src/alsa/alsa-lib-0.9.7/src/conf'
make[1]: *** [all-recursive] Error 1
make[1]: Leaving directory `/usr/src/alsa/alsa-lib-0.9.7/src'
make: *** [all-recursive] Error 1
Up until that point I had 0 errors and followed the instructions on the website step by step. Unless i'm missing something here. I get this for the alsa-util when I try to ./configure it. configure: error: No linkable libasound was found." and then it just stops. I've read all the read mes and whatever else files they gave and nothing is helping at all. I'm 100% lost and clueless up to this point. It would be nice to have some audio lol. Also in lspci , my soundcard is listed -> 02:0c.1 Input device controller: Creative Labs [SB Live! Value] Input device controller. Any help / suggestions / advice on this would be most helpful. I wasnt too sure what to include and stuff , but if you need anymore information abotut errors / sysconfig. Ill be happy to post,
Thanks in advance ,
Adam

...and there doesn't seem to be ANY solution.

(see my msg SB Live and RH Linux 9)

RH Linux is the first install of Linux that I have tried, and I was hoping it would go better than it has so far. When I checked the compatibility chart at RH, and I saw the SB Live sound card listed as compatible, I never dreamed that I would have this kind of trouble. Don't they test these things before they add stuff to their list (rhetorical).

I was thinking maybe I should try out the Alsa driver, but after reading your experience, I guess I'll save my time.

I wonder why soundcards seem to be such a problem to make work in Linux.... must be a real weak area of this OS.

You could try the prebuilt ALSA packages at

http://freshrpms.net

You will get a 'page closed' but there is a link to let you in at the bottom. Then go Docs->Installing ALSA for full instructions. I have seen success reported with these.

I had this same problem with Mandrake 9.1 , which is why i switched to Redhat (hoping it would solve the problem , guess I was wrong heh). It detects my soundcard , says it's supported on the hardware page and all that other good stuff. But it just wont install or compile the sources to install it. I hate to do it but I guess it's back to winblows until this gets figured out :|

I hear you. I wanted to work with Linux and especially the development tools. Unfortunately, I think this sound card problem is really just the tip of a very big iceberg.

Look at this forum.... and some other Linux forums, and you will see that a great many people are struggling with sound card problems. I smell a rat.... or at least a very big bug.

You know, if Red Hat would just tell you that their software does not support SB Live sound cards, I would have thought a lot better of them.

I was thinking of trying another Linux distro.... but after reading about a few of the others, I'm kind of thinking the same as you. Back to the Windows OS, and wait a few years for Linux to shake out all the bugs.

Energy -- I didn't comment on your compilation errors, as I thought you would be better off trying the pre-built RPM packages at freshrpms.net.

Compiling the opensound stuff from source looks like a write-off. But ALSA does not look so bad. By default ALSA compiles modules for a very large number of soundcards. If you add the flag '--with-sndcards=emu10k' when you run ./configure (better check that - './configure --help' should give you all options) then the compilation should never visit the file that gave the error.

Also you need to compile and install alsa-libs before alsa-utils, as the utilities need the libraries to compile.

I agree linux sound is pretty disorganised. But I've done dozens of different linux installations over the years and I have to admit most of the time some problem comes up with sound. But in my experience it is always possible to solve it (unless your hardware is seriously weird). Personally I think that's one of the things that makes linux more interesting than MSWin.

Ill give that a try maroonbaboon , see how it goes. Thanks for the suggestion

//Edit
I get this while trying to compile the libs...
make[3]: Entering directory `/usr/src/alsa/alsa-lib-0.9.7/src/conf/cards'
make[3]: *** No rule to make target `SI7018/sndoc-mixer.alisp', needed by `all-am'. Stop.
make[3]: Leaving directory `/usr/src/alsa/alsa-lib-0.9.7/src/conf/cards'
make[2]: *** [all-recursive] Error 1
make[2]: Leaving directory `/usr/src/alsa/alsa-lib-0.9.7/src/conf'
make[1]: *** [all-recursive] Error 1
make[1]: Leaving directory `/usr/src/alsa/alsa-lib-0.9.7/src'
make: *** [all-recursive] Error 1

When I compiled ALSA, I was logged in as su or root in the terminal. Every ALSA package is compiled in /tmp. I don't know where you compile ALSA, but you need to pick the directory that has permissions for you to write in. Since I compiled ALSA in root I don't have to worry about where I compile.

There are instructions how to compile ALSA packages for each sound card that they support. I suggest read the instructions.

Its not Redhat, Mandrake, Debian, Slackware, etc problem. Its about what options that each distribution include for the kernel to make it unverisal for a wide variety of systems.

Energy --

I guess alsa-lib compiles for all cards, so you can't skip that one. I just looked at a new copy of the alsa-lib-0.9.7 source and did the usual

% ./configure
% make

and all goes to plan. I don't think you have to switch to root until you do 'make install' (which I didn't want to do). You did run 'configure', right? With no error messages?

yeah , i ran ./configure with all the --with options , and i ran it under root (i do all my installs as either root or su) , installed the driver source with not a single error. but when i move to lib i get that error. i have no clue what's going on or even what the error message means lol. ill do step by step of what i did , running windows now so im rebooting into linux. will edit and let you know what's going on.

//edit
hah well , i cant even seem to boot up redhat at the moment. so im going to try a clean install and do alsa drivers FIRST instead of the opensource ones.

Has anyone gotten ALSA/RedHat/SB Live! working? I get no sound but no errors. (Except modprobe emu10k1, but do I need that if I'm running ALSA?)