Suse 9.3pro on Dell gx270 w SoundMAX

Stephen Hicks · 10-27-2005, 08:19 PM

I have seen many postings around this issue but none on my "target".

I have a DELL Optiplex GX270 running SUSE 9.3 professional. All seems to be working well except that I have no sound. I know the hardware works as I can use it under WinXP (dual-boot).

SUSE recognises the card as
82801ER/EB (ICH5/ICH5R) AC'97 Audio Controller.

Windows XP recognises the card as
SoundMAX Integrated Digital Auduio

I am trying to use ALSA to get sound but to no avail.
I have deleted the card in YaST and re-added it - no sound
I have tried to add a new card using the drivers provided for "Analog Devices" (maker of SoundMAX) - no sound.
I have re-installed SUSE 9.3 from scratch and made sure that I installed all the multimedia and ALSA stuff I could find - no sound
I have fully updated the OS - no sound

I have searched everywhere but have not found any answers.

Can anyone help me or give me some direction?

Cheers,
Stephen Hicks

Agentvenom · 10-28-2005, 02:48 AM

Just something to try....whenever I install basically ANY linux distro on my laptop, I have to go into Kmix, the "Switches" tab and flick the "External Amplifier" button. I banged my head against the wall for weeks before I found out that's all it was....

However, my computer is a laptop whereas you have a desktop, but it's definitely worth a look.

abisko00 · 10-28-2005, 02:53 AM

I am running SUSE 10.0 on a Dell GX270. Sound works fine (apart from a non-functional master-volume control) with the snd-intel8x0 driver.

Did you play with the mixer controls? The only effective mixer on my system is the PCM slider.

In 9.1, this article was very helpful in most cases (not sure if it still applies): http://portal.suse.com/sdb/en/2004/0...ndsilence.html

NetBlaster · 10-28-2005, 04:21 AM

i have the exact same comp, my sound is determined by the headphone volume, when you first install it is muted so just turn it up and unmute it. worked for me so it should for you

Stephen Hicks · 11-01-2005, 08:39 PM

Thanks for your replies and assistance.

The things that got it working were KMix and the headphone volume (somewhat logical when you think about it; the external speakers are were usually headphones

Thanks again for your help