Audio cds won't play after upgrade to Ubuntu 8.04

dbg · 05-09-2008, 01:31 AM

This is what happens when I open rhythmbox from terminal as root.

dbg@dbg-desktop:~$ sudo rhythmbox
OIL: ERROR liboiltest.c 361: oil_test_check_impl(): illegal instruction in mmxCombineAddU

** (rhythmbox:13677): WARNING **: No property volume.disc.capacity on device with id /org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/volume_part_1_size_467251200

(rhythmbox:13677): Rhythmbox-WARNING **: Unable to grab media player keys: Could not get owner of name 'org.gnome.SettingsDaemon': no such name

Rhythmbox did open, but not being used to running things from the terminal I decided to stop. Maybe the error messages above contain enough information? Thanks.

gcy · 05-09-2008, 04:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dbg

Thanks again gcy for taking the time to help me out. As far as I can see, my vanilla install of Hardy sees my cdrom as: /dev/hdd, /dev/cdrom1, /dev/scd0, /dev/sr0 and it's also decribed as cdrom0 in /media. Surely something's awry? I don't know what the proper configuration should be. I do recall reading somewhere that under Linux, IDE cdroms are treated as SCSI devices, not sure why, and I might be mistaken.

The device info about the cdrom came from a terminal command cd-info or something like that, I googled how to do it and I can't for the life of me track the page down again. I checked and alsa-utils is installed, and I've also re-installed just to be on the safe side. I changed user to users in /etc/fstab, rebooted but the audio issue persists, so I've changed it back again for the moment.

I checked Hardy's GUI for Users and Groups. Should root be a member of Users? I am, and the other option under User Properties (unchecked) is root. Should the same apply to the other audio groups (pulse, haldaemon etc) as only my username is checked under all these, not root? Ref bug report re Users and Groups quoted somewhere above.

Anyway, work calls. Oh and I've tried a number of cds, all of which play on my standalone cd player, none in the cdrom. I'll try the play cd from terminal option later and post an update. Thanks!

.........................................................

Root is king of linux, and doesn't need to ask for any permissions!
Apropos user v users in fstab see notes on this in the "mount" manual page.

CD's did need SCSI support compiled in their kernels, but not any longer. The following are notes on this subject taken from the kernel configuration documentation:

"If you have a CD-ROM drive using the ATAPI protocol, say Y. ATAPI is
a newer protocol used by IDE CD-ROM and TAPE drives, similar to the
SCSI protocol. Most new CD-ROM drives use ATAPI, including the
NEC-260, Mitsumi FX400, Sony 55E, and just about all non-SCSI
double(2X) or better speed drives.

If you say Y here, the CD-ROM drive will be identified at boot time
along with other IDE devices, as "hdb" or "hdc", or something
similar (check the boot messages with dmesg). If this is your only
CD-ROM drive, you can say N to all other CD-ROM options, but be sure
to say Y or M to "ISO 9660 CD-ROM file system support".

Anyway, if your CD is mounting, and is readable, be grateful, and worry more about why your system won't play the audio!

dbg · 05-12-2008, 05:32 PM

Update
Another update broke the system's newfound ability to recognise audio discs. After reading the error message from "sudo rhythmbox" I removed my username from haldaemon, and it can recognise audio discs again! But same garbage when playing them. Strangely I still get the same error message in the terminal with "sudo rhythmbox" - Rhythmbox opens, but doesn't load tracks.

Like you gcy, I'm convinced it's an audio problem, most likely a Pulseaudio one judging from the number of posts I've read. My system is back to exactly the way I found it with a vanilla install (apart from fixing fonts and installing ubuntu-restricted-extras), so I'll continue to search for a fix while hoping for an update that sorts it out. Thanks for your help gcy, I've learnt a lot more about the 'nuts and bolts', even though a solution remains elusive.

DragonSlayer48DX · 05-18-2008, 06:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dbg

Update

I installed Amarok, looks great, configured it to scan cdrom for audio files. When I ask it to play audio cd, it says "cannot read audio cd". Today's updates fixed the system's ability to recognise audio discs, so it's back to just the actual audio file from cdrom issue. I've also noticed that when I double-click on the audio cd icon on the desktop, or select it from the places menu, the folder shows the disc's .wav files, all with a padlock icon. Maybe there's a remaining permissions issue?

Hi, dbg~

I haven't had all the problems that you've experienced, but then I've only tried Amarok with Kubuntu and the above quoted issue was identical, which is truly a mystery now that I found the solution.

In Amarok's Settings->Configure Amarok->Engine menu, the Default Device was listed as /dev/cdrom. However, it is actually /dev/cdrom1. Once I made that change, everything works just fine.

In Gnome, look in Places->Computer->Filesystem->dev for the logical device allocation of your playback cdrom and make sure it matches Amarok's settings. Hope this helps.

Cheers

dbg · 05-19-2008, 04:31 PM

Thanks dragonslayer48dx for the tip. I had uninstalled Amarok, but reinstalled, checked the settings and Amarok had installed with /dev/cdrom1 as the cd playback device, so I checked /dev and sure enough, it shows /cdrom1 too. But when I loaded a cd, it took about twenty minutes to load the tracks... They appeared on the playlist, I clicked play, the player selected the first track, no sound (not even the comforting screeches I have become used to), and after a few moments selected the next track and so on. So still no audio from cds. I think it must be a permissions problem, but how and where I have no idea!