This is a new problem since I upgraded to what is now 10.2 (2.4 kernel)

Have tried several non-official Slackware progs (eg the commandline dcd, which I'd like to use); most "play" the cdrom, but silently. Amarok recognizes the tracks, but thinks they're all 00.00 long.

I *can* get playback with kscd, but only if I first fiddle and save options (eg switch from alsa to arts and back again). To get actual sound I have to select direct digital playback, but this option causes an access error on startup which is solved only as I describe above. Without direct digital playback, kscd starts ok, but "plays" without sound.

Its not a permissions problem as root user has identical problems; the device is /dev/hdd with brw-r--r-- permissions. Using links to it such as /dev/dvd or /dev/cdrom makes no difference, except that altering these after an startup error is reported by kscd also makes things ok.

To use programs like dcd etc, it looks like the problem is how to get non- direct digital playback with actual sound - pretty sure this was fine before I upgraded to current/10.2.

Any ideas?

Random guess - is that little cable connecting the CD drive to your sound card connected properly? -- J.W.

Your random guess doesn't fit the symptoms. The little wire won't be disturbed by a software upgrade and as I explained, I do get sound when I mess about in kscd.

Its tedious to have to do this everytime I play a cd, also annoying that something broke in the upgrade

another random guess: is the cdrom muted in the mixer?

doh!

yes it was a mixer setting

thanks