Installing Audigy LS in Sarge using kernel 2.6

michapma · 11-19-2005, 12:48 PM

Hi all,

Yes, the Audigy LS. Truly a problem child not a SB Live! and not an Audigy 2. The good news is that the Audigy LS has been supported in ALSA since 1.0.6. This was not the case last year (under 1.0.5) when I was trying in vain to configure it with my virgin Debian system.

I've tried to do my homework on this, and have read several threads on various forums and visited several sites. The approaches appear to vary greatly, but newer methods should make installation fairly painless.

Here are some of the important and/or useful resources I've dug up:

ALSA Resources
--------------------
Find audigyls
http://alsa.opensrc.org/index.php?ac...&find=audigyls

ca0106
http://alsa.opensrc.org/ca0106
("Important: Audigy LS cards do not work with the EMU10K1-driver!")
The module that supports the Audigy LS is snd-ca0106.

audigyls
http://alsa.opensrc.org/audigyls

For some reason, this page makes me cringe:
http://www.alsa-project.org/alsa-doc...?module=ca0106

LQ/Debian Audigy LS threads
-------------------------------------
Installing ALSA (Sept 26, 2005)

alsaconf not finding sound card (Sept 22, 2005)

Time to tackle my sound (my thread from last year)

I haven't found much in the Linux Hardware forum.

Here is some useful info on my system:

Code:

# uname -r
2.6.8-2-686

# lspci
0000:00:00.0 Host bridge: Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] SiS 645xx (rev 02)
0000:00:01.0 PCI bridge: Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] Virtual PCI-to-PCI bridge (AGP)
0000:00:02.0 ISA bridge: Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] SiS963 [MuTIOL Media IO] (rev 04)
0000:00:02.1 SMBus: Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS]: Unknown device 0016
0000:00:02.5 IDE interface: Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] 5513 [IDE]
0000:00:03.0 USB Controller: Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] USB 1.0 Controller (rev 0f)
0000:00:03.1 USB Controller: Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] USB 1.0 Controller (rev 0f)
0000:00:03.2 USB Controller: Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] USB 1.0 Controller (rev 0f)
0000:00:03.3 USB Controller: Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] USB 2.0 Controller
0000:00:0a.0 Multimedia audio controller: Creative Labs SB Audigy (rev 03)
0000:00:0a.1 Input device controller: Creative Labs SB Audigy MIDI/Game port (rev 03)
0000:00:0f.0 Ethernet controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4401 100Base-T (rev 01)
0000:01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc Radeon R350 [Radeon 9800 Pro]
0000:01:00.1 Display controller: ATI Technologies Inc Radeon R350 [Radeon 9800 Pro] (Secondary)

# lsmod
Module                  Size  Used by
[...snip...]
pcspkr                  3592  0
rtc                    12760  0
emu10k1_gp              3584  0
gameport                4704  1 emu10k1_gp
ehci_hcd               32004  0
shpchp                101900  0
pciehp                 99020  0
pci_hotplug            34640  2 shpchp,pciehp
sd_mod                 21728  2
[...snip...]
snd_emu10k1            98920  0
snd_rawmidi            25124  1 snd_emu10k1
snd_pcm_oss            55080  0
snd_mixer_oss          20096  1 snd_pcm_oss
snd_pcm                98728  2 snd_emu10k1,snd_pcm_oss
snd_timer              25732  1 snd_pcm
snd_seq_device          8200  2 snd_emu10k1,snd_rawmidi
snd_ac97_codec         69988  1 snd_emu10k1
snd_page_alloc         11752  2 snd_emu10k1,snd_pcm
snd_util_mem            4576  1 snd_emu10k1
snd_hwdep               9412  1 snd_emu10k1
snd                    57156  10 snd_emu10k1,snd_rawmidi,snd_pcm_oss,snd_mixer_oss,snd_pcm,snd_timer,snd_seq_device,snd_ac97_codec,snd_util_mem,snd_hwdep
soundcore              10336  1 snd
[...snip...]

# modinfo soundcore
filename:       /lib/modules/2.6.8-2-686/kernel/sound/soundcore.ko
description:    Core sound module
author:         Alan Cox
license:        GPL
alias:          char-major-14-*
vermagic:       2.6.8-2-686 preempt 686 gcc-3.3
depends:

Note that I took the liberty of removing some excess entries, because otherwise that lsmod list is annoyingly long. I can post it in its entirety if anyone thinks it necessary.

Onboard AC'97 sound is disabled in the BIOS. My mobo is actually based on the SiS 648 chipset, so it could be that the "host bridge" has not been correctly identified. It was at the time of installation, too, so I'm not sure why the snd_ac97_codec is installed.

Clearly the snd-emu10k1 module is what was deemed as necessary. This is no big surprise if I correctly infer from the lspci output that the card is not being correctly recognized as an Audigy LS. Note the output of lspci from the "alsaconf not finding sound card" thread:
0000:00:0d.0 Multimedia audio controller: Creative Labs SB Audigy LS

This seems to stand in contrast to what my lspci states.

Here are my Debian sources:

Code:

# more /etc/apt/sources.list
#deb file:///cdrom/ sarge main

deb cdrom:[Debian GNU/Linux 3.1 r0a _Sarge_ - Official i386 Binary-1 (20050607)]/ unstable contrib main

deb ftp://debian.ethz.ch/debian/ stable main
deb-src ftp://debian.ethz.ch/debian/ stable main

deb http://security.debian.org/ stable/updates main contrib

I've installed (at least) alsa-base, alsa-utils, and alsa-oss:

Code:

# apt-cache showpkg alsa-base
Package: alsa-base
Versions:
1.0.8-7(/var/lib/apt/lists/Debian%20GNU_Linux%203.1%20r0a%20%5fSarge%5f%20-%20Official%20i386%20Binary-1%20(20050607)_dists_unstable_main_binary-i386_Packages)(/var/lib/apt/lists/debian.ethz.ch_debian_dists_stable_main_binary-i386_Packages)(/var/lib/dpkg/status)

Reverse Depends:
  alsa-modules-2.4.27-2-k7-smp,alsa-base 1.0.8
  alsa-modules-2.4.27-2-k7,alsa-base 1.0.8
  alsa-modules-2.4.27-2-k6,alsa-base 1.0.8
  alsa-modules-2.4.27-2-686-smp,alsa-base 1.0.8
  alsa-modules-2.4.27-2-686,alsa-base 1.0.8
  alsa-modules-2.4.27-2-586tsc,alsa-base 1.0.8
  alsa-modules-2.4.27-2-386,alsa-base 1.0.8
  hotplug,alsa-base 1.0.4-2
  libpt-plugins-alsa,alsa-base
  gkrellmss,alsa-base 0.9.7
  alsa-utils,alsa-base 1.0.8-4
Dependencies:
1.0.8-7 - lsof (2 4.64) modutils (18 2.3.5-1) module-init-tools (0 (null)) debconf (0 (null)) debianutils (2 1.6) alsa-utils (2 1.0.8-2) apmd (2 3.0.2-1) discover (18 2.0.7-1) discover1 (18 1.7.3) hotplug (0 (null)) udev (0 (null)) libasound2 (0 (null)) alsa-oss (0 (null)) alsa-base-0.4 (0 (null)) alsa-modules (0 (null)) modutils (5 2.3.20-1) alsaconf (3 0.4.3b-4) lsof-2.2 (3 4.64) discover1 (3 1.7.3) discover (3 2.0.7-1) alsa-modules (0 (null)) alsa-base-0.4 (0 (null))
Provides:
1.0.8-7 - alsa
Reverse Provides:

# apt-cache showpkg alsa-utils
Package: alsa-utils
Versions:
1.0.8-4(/var/lib/apt/lists/Debian%20GNU_Linux%203.1%20r0a%20%5fSarge%5f%20-%20Official%20i386%20Binary-1%20(20050607)_dists_unstable_main_binary-i386_Packages)(/var/lib/apt/lists/debian.ethz.ch_debian_dists_stable_main_binary-i386_Packages)(/var/lib/dpkg/status)

Reverse Depends:
  kvdr,alsa-utils
  gworkspace-apps-wrappers,alsa-utils
  pciutils,alsa-utils 1.0.5-3
  libardour0,alsa-utils
  alsa-base,alsa-utils 1.0.8-2
Dependencies:
1.0.8-4 - libasound2 (4 1.0.8) libc6 (2 2.3.2.ds1-4) libncurses5 (2 5.4-1) dialog (16 (null)) whiptail (0 (null)) modutils (18 2.3.5-1) module-init-tools (0 (null)) pciutils (2 1:2.1.11-4) alsa-base (2 1.0.8-4) alsautils (3 0.5) alsa-utils-0.5 (0 (null)) alsaconf (0 (null)) alsa-base-0.4 (0 (null)) alsaconf-0.4 (0 (null)) alsautils (0 (null)) alsaconf (0 (null))
Provides:
1.0.8-4 - alsaconf alsautils audio-mixer
Reverse Provides:

# apt-cache showpkg alsa-oss
Package: alsa-oss
Versions:
1.0.8-1(/var/lib/apt/lists/Debian%20GNU_Linux%203.1%20r0a%20%5fSarge%5f%20-%20Official%20i386%20Binary-1%20(20050607)_dists_unstable_main_binary-i386_Packages)(/var/lib/apt/lists/debian.ethz.ch_debian_dists_stable_main_binary-i386_Packages)(/var/lib/dpkg/status)

Reverse Depends:
  alsa-base,alsa-oss
Dependencies:
1.0.8-1 - libasound2 (4 1.0.5) libc6 (2 2.3.2.ds1-4)
Provides:
1.0.8-1 -
Reverse Provides:

Since the installed version is well past 1.0.6 (when the Audigy LS support was first added), I should think the ALSA library would correctly install the snd-ca0106 driver. As mentioned above though, if the hardware is indeed not being properly recognized, then perhaps that explains why ALSA is trying to run with the emu10k1.

Running alsaconf provides me with the wrong choice:

Quote:

Following card(s) are found on your system. Choose a soundcard to configure:
emu10k1 Creative Labs SB Audigy (rev 03)
legacy Probe legacy ISA (non-PnP) chips

Here's something interesting. In one of the threads it was asked whether there was anything in /dev/snd; it should apparently be full of files. On my system, however:

Code:

# ls -l /dev/snd
ls: /dev/snd: No such file or directory

I recall on my previous installation (before my hdd crashed), that that directory was full. No idea why it doesn't exist now.

There are a lot more things mentioned and advised in other threads, but I'm just getting a bit confused by all of it. I don't want to try installing from source or some other "involved" procedure if there are more basic problems, e.g., the card not being recognized properly. Beyond collecting all the relevant informaiton I know how, I'm afraid I'm at a bit of a loss where to really start.

"When I was younger, so much younger than today, I never needed anybody's help in any way... help me if you can I'm feelin' down, and I do appreciate you bein' 'round"

michapma · 11-19-2005, 02:49 PM

Update: I am now officially confused about what differences there are between the ALSA package and the ALSA driver version.

According to http://alsa.opensrc.org/audigyls
"Audigy LS. Model:SB0312. Supported in alsa-driver 1.0.6a and above."

As shown in my previous post, I'm using the ALSA 1.0.8 packages that are present in Sarge stable. However, is that the same as the ALSA "driver version"??

Code:

$ more /proc/asound/version
Advanced Linux Sound Architecture Driver Version 1.0.4 (Mon May 17 14:31:44 2004 UTC).
Compiled on May 19 2005 for kernel 2.6.8-2-686.

This doesn't really shed any light on the subject:
ftp://ftp.alsa-project.org/pub/driver/

michapma · 11-22-2005, 03:59 PM

Bump.

I tried removing the alsa-base, alsa-utils and alsa-oss packages, and then installing 1.0.9 from source. At least it knew about the snd-ca0106 module, and loaded it, but when I ran alsamixer it gave an error message. There were some hiccups in the install, and I tried executing the configure and makes in order again, but still the same problem.

Then I deleted the source files and (not knowing how to possibly undo whatever all those scripts set loose) decided to add testing to my sources.lst and go get alsa-base, -utils and -oss again from there. It somehow knew to load the snd-ca0106 module, but also had an emu10k1 in there somewhere (not the main one though). Unfortunately, when I ran alsaconf it told me no known/supported PCI cards were detected, would I like to search for an ISA PnP card? No, thanks.

I could really use some help here, maybe I should also try on the Hardware forum.

michapma · 11-27-2005, 10:29 AM

Bump.

I'm going to keep bumping this every so often in the hopes that it will be seen by somebody who may have an idea, since sound is one of the biggest things I'm missing in my installation. I won't give up and just enable ac97 in the BIOS.

Funny thing is, both Ubuntu Live 5.10 and Knoppix 4.0 loaded the emu10k1 (I think Knoppix used OSS??), and it was working. I know that snd-ca0106 is the right driver though.

What's puzzling me is that in the various threads I've read, my soundcard (the Audigy LS) seems to be invariably listed by lspci with the actual words Audigy LS in there somewhere. This is in contrast to the output of my lspci, which as cited above is "Multimedia audio controller: Creative Labs SB Audigy (rev 03)". It could well be that actual hardware detection is my main problem. I think that if this thread isn't answered soon, I'll make a separate thread in Hardware about detection.

michapma · 11-30-2005, 11:11 AM

Bump bump bump.

I really am still hoping someone with some knowledge might be able to give me some insight on this. Still haven't taken the time to post about the hardware detection question on the Hardware forum though.

And an update: I managed to apt-pin the distro back down to only sarge over the weekend, so no testing packages will sneak in.

cuiq · 11-30-2005, 11:40 AM

You can stop bumping, and your not going to like this, but this card is not going to work well at all. I have this exact card and I could never get it to work right in any distro.

My suggestion to you is get another card, if that is not an option then use your onboard card until you can get another card.

Peace V

michapma · 12-02-2005, 06:38 AM

I see. Considering that I have found places in the Net where others have posted success with this card, and both Ubuntu 5.10 Live and Knoppix seem to be able to get decent sound out of it, not to mention that ALSA does have a driver just for this card, I think I'll choose to postpone accepting your suggestion. I'm a bit surprised that Ubuntu 5.10 didn't get your card to work, since the Live version used mine.

Meanwhile, I'll stop bumping this thread since it seems that noone here can help. Maybe I'll have to look for another forum to address the card issue. It's just icing on the cake anyway.

But thanks.

Xirtrips · 09-30-2006, 01:07 PM

i've got kind of the same problem but with Audigy SE recognised als Audigy LS

Did you manage to make it work somehow?

my card also works under kubuntu live cd ....