no sound in slackware 9.1

basically i have no sound in Slackware 9.1.
when i run alsaconf it gives an error of no supported PnP or PCI cards.
It is an onboard sound card in an albatron kx600pro motherboard.

from # lsmod
Module Size Used by Not tainted
soundcore 3332 0 (autoclean)
3c59x 26832 1
uhci 24496 0 (unused)
ehci-hcd 16872 0 (unused)
usbcore 58400 1 [uhci ehci-hcd]
pcmcia_core 40032 0
ide-scsi 9424 0

and # /sbin/lspci -v

00:11.5 Multimedia audio controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8233/A/8235/8237 AC97 Audio Controller (rev 60)
Subsystem: Unknown device 17f2:1404
Flags: medium devsel, IRQ 10
I/O ports at c000 [size=256]
Capabilities: [c0] Power Management version 2


if that is any help. i have tried changing the permissions in /etc/fstab of the cdrom to user,
and also i have unmuted the channels in alsamixer.

if anyone could help that would be greatly appreciated.
-John

I would try updating your alsa

Run these commands as root:

chmod a+rwx /dev/mixer
chmod a+rwx /dev/dsp

ok, i have run those chmod commands, and now alsamixer isn't going:
alsamixer: function snd_ctl_open failed for default: No such device
what am i supposed to do after that? xmms still complains about no output device.
should i reboot first before anything happens?
-thanks

oh, and JROCK i have done a swarret --upgrade , i dont know if that would have updated alsamixer or not, or even if that is causing a problem? I have another sound card somewhere, should i try using that instead of the onboard sound? even tho the onboard works fine in other os's

can't anyone help me

I had the same problem when i first installed Slack. All i did to fix it was to compile the 2.6.2 with Alsa support and it worked fine for me.

how did you do that? do you have a link or anything that will show me how to do that with ALSA support?

look here I Kernel Help


Go to kernel.org to download the kernel and then follow the instructiuons.

what kernel verion are u using?
if its a 2.6.XX then try running alsaconf on a 2.4.XX kernel

i am using 2.4 kernel, but i tried a 2.6 kernel, installed it and the sound module i need... but now in that kernel i can't startx for some reason, which honestly cant be bothered with if there is a way to get the 2.4 kernel sound running.

why dont u check for ur soundcard in the soundcard matrix at
http://alsa-project.org/alsa-doc/

there are also instructions on what lines are to be placed in /etc/modules.conf or /etc/modprobe.conf (according as kernel 2.4 or 2.6) for a particular sound card.

try placing this in /etc/modules.conf (for 2.4 kernels) or /etc/modprobe.conf (for 2.6 kernels):

# ALSA portion
alias char-major-116 snd
alias snd-card-0 snd-via82xx
# module options should go here

# OSS/Free portion
alias char-major-14 soundcore
alias sound-slot-0 snd-card-0

# card #1
alias sound-service-0-0 snd-mixer-oss
alias sound-service-0-1 snd-seq-oss
alias sound-service-0-3 snd-pcm-oss
alias sound-service-0-8 snd-seq-oss
alias sound-service-0-12 snd-pcm-oss


note: i ripped the above section straight from alsa docs.

i tried that and it didnt seem to work unfortunately

what errors are u getting exactly???

did u try loading the modules manuall i.e. modprobe snd-via82xx or something like that ?