Hi guys,
Im sorry if this sounds stupid...I am...when it comes to linux :-(

I have recently installed Suse 9.1, up until now I have been an Ms user, from dos 3 upwards, so as you can imagain, linux is kinda different. BUT, I want to stick with it.
i have read tutorials and managed to get my Nvidia card working, Quake 3 and Enemy territory installed and the system is running great.
i can play MP3s and videos but when I run wither of these 2 games, i have no sound.
I have seen various posts about disbaling things, but as a newbie I dont know where to look for the things mentioned. I saw in another post, someone posted this info

------- sound initialization -------
/dev/dsp: No such file or directory
Could not open /dev/dsp
--------------------------

thta is the error i get.
Can someone help, or at least point me to a step-by-step.
i am trying guys and I want to become a competen Linux user.

Thanks for any help all.

regards from the UK.

ps
in the sticky at the top it says to paste this...hope its needed
/sbin/lspci
0000:00:00.0 Host bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8377 [KT400 AGP] Host Bridge
0000:00:01.0 PCI bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8235 PCI Bridge
0000:00:0a.0 Multimedia audio controller: Creative Labs SB Live! EMU10k1 (rev 07)
0000:00:0a.1 Input device controller: Creative Labs SB Live! MIDI/Game Port (rev 07)
0000:00:0f.0 RAID bus controller: Promise Technology, Inc. PDC20276 IDE (rev 01)
0000:00:10.0 USB Controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. USB (rev 80)
0000:00:10.1 USB Controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. USB (rev 80)
0000:00:10.2 USB Controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. USB (rev 80)
0000:00:10.3 USB Controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. USB 2.0 (rev 82)
0000:00:11.0 ISA bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8235 ISA Bridge
0000:00:11.1 IDE interface: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82C586A/B/VT82C686/A/B/VT8233/A/C/VT8235 PIPC Bus Master IDE (rev 06)
0000:00:13.0 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL-8139/8139C/8139C+ (rev 10)
0000:01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation NV20 [GeForce3 Ti 200] (rev a3)


and my kernel is
2.6.4-52-default

Thanks again

I suspect that your sound server is tying up the dsp device.

For your general information, there are two ways a program can be programmed to produce sound output: by writing directly to /dev/dsp (soundcard), or by passing data to a sound server which mixes multiple streams of sound and then sends it's output to the dsp device.

if you're in KDE, go to a shell and type "artsshell suspend" to release the soundcard and give your games access to the dsp.

i'm not sure how to turn it back on (i found it on google) but i'm sure an "artsshell --help" will give you a rundown.

if you use esd, you should use the command "esdctl off|on" to get the same effect.

I know for the esd daemon there is a wrapper that will capture data aimed at /dev/dsp so that other programs can continue to output sound, but I'm not sure about arts... I would imagine that there exists such a wrapper.

Hope this helps you... good luck with your linux gaming!

Hi, thanks for your reply. i am using KDE, i typed in the command you suggested and it returned

sound server was already suspended

Is that strange because i hadnt ran this command before.
My mp3s still play and general sound is there ie error tones, but still no in-game sound :-(

I am determined to be a linux gamer, even if i only play these 2 :-) but at the minuite i am pulling my hair out

Any more ideas guys?

Oh yeah, one thing I was wondering, I am using Suse 9.1....is this problem common to other distros..is it worth me trying another?

thanks

With that kernel you should be running ALSA drivers right?
try running

#alsaconf

to reconfigure your sound settings. When finished type

#alsactl store

Hi, me again

I tried that #alsaconf...im guessing i type that in a terminal window right?
It didnt do anyhting, it just led me to another prompt?

I'm really not getting this....am i being really dumb or is this sort of thing common..ive seen a few posts about this problem and a few solutions, but none seem to be working.

Thanks for any help guys, i fi ever become an average user i will help everyone i know, but at the moment im stuck with Web browsing and listening to my music....i want my games waaaaaa!

Cheers

have you fixed it?!