Sound goes out for no apparent reason
 

My sound keeps going out for no apparent reason and I have to open up sound to get it working again. All I do is slide the the thingy to 100% then back to a more reasonable volume. Soon after it goes out again and I have to do it over and over. It is really annoying me and I want a permanent fix. This has been happening since last week.

Also, I have already added Pulse audio to startup applications, as someone else claimed that this worked for them. It did not work for me. It's still in startup apps, but the sound is still dropping off for no apparent reason. I have no idea why this problem cropped up all of a sudden. Sound was perfect before.

I'd appreciate any suggestions for correcting this issue.

FYI, I have alsa driver.

I would test with a Live CD of something--your Mint CD, if you still have it, should be okay.

Give it a good long test to make sure that the problem has plenty of time to recur. If it happens under the Live CD, it might be some kind of hardware problem.

What make/model of computer is involved? If it's a desktop, try opening the case and reseating the sound card, if it has a separate sound card. Also, laptop or desktop, clean out all the vents. Dust is a conductor and can cause shorts.

Thank you for responding!

I recently cleaned my computer case and everything is still looking dust and debris free (I have a case with a side window), the sound is built into the motherboard, but I haven't tried a live disk yet. Will try the live disk after I've gotten some work done. I use a desktop. The same OS is also on my laptop, but never had a sound issue with it. I almost never use the laptop anymore since rebuilding my desktop. I have not updated software on the laptop in three or four months now. Last time I used it was a few days ago to transfer files to a flash drive.

Also, I should mention that I upgraded my motherboard and processor a couple months ago and I am suspicious that the motherboard (Intel) may be the problem. I have used the same speakers for over three years and never had a problem with them. The speaker brand is Hercules, if that helps. With my old mobo, when I plugged in earphones I could hear sound from both the speakers and the earphones, but with this new one I only hear sound from the earphones. I'm not sure that this matters, but thought I should mention it.

Will let you know how the live disk test goes.

Update ... more puzzzled now than ever
 

I tried the live disk version of Linux Mint 13 Maya and no problem. I used it for about 2 hours. I did all the things I do on my actual system, I even used my earphones for a while and went back to the speakers and nothing happened. The sound remained up. I used the browser to watch videos, I used the gnome player to watch videos but nothing happened to the sound. I even did both at the same time while playing a video game with sound. All three sounds were consistent and clear.

I don't know what to think now. Can't be the motherboard or even the speakers if it works fine with a live disk, can it?

I agree, if it worked fine with the Live CD and you made sure to give it plenty of time to fail, it does seem to indicate some sort of software issue.

I'm not knowledgeable enough about the workings of the audio system to have a clue as to what, but, in troubleshooting, every potential source of trouble ruled out is one step closer to the solution (also, if it's hardware, no amount of tinkering with software will bring anything other than frustration).

I guess it's possible that your new motherboard might be a little too new for Mint v. 10, but, frankly, I think that's really far-fetched, since it work at all.

Good luck, wish I could help more. I will keep an eye on the thread--maybe both of us will learn something.

Thanks! I hope I get to the bottom of it soon. But at least I can be pretty sure it is not the motherboard or my speakers.