How I got Realtek ALC880 to work with ALSA

dpant · 05-25-2006, 01:59 PM

Hi all.
This is no rocket science, this is linux. Two days trying to make the sound work on a laptop is way too much.
I've read lots of forums and suggestions and articles and faqs etc etc etc and lots of ppl are in the same frustrating situation. of course, there is no STRAIGHT-FORWARD answer; hundreds of distros, endless headaches, bliah!

Anyway, this is how it goes. Read on if you have similar configuration:
- laptop with intel on-board soundcard
- fedora 5

and you face the same problem:
fedora 5 recognizes your card but you get no sound (when you test with system-config-soundcard).

1. There is nothing wrong with your card. if system-config-soundcard reports:

Vendor: Intel
Model: Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) ...
Module: snd-hda-intel

and there is a PCM device, eg:
PCM device: ALC880 Analog

then you need not download any drivers, recompile the whole damn kernel or anything.

2. If you are on gnome, forget it. switch to kde.

3. Run system-config-soundcard and have it play the sound *repeatedly*

3. open KMix. See all those 5.1 or 6.1. or 7.1 output channels? alsa my ass. anyway, just TURN ON THE *Side* channel.

4. voila!

The Front,Surround,Center and all other crap channels have no meaning on a laptop. ALSA is too *advanced* to have a meaning at all. It should have been *Front* with two speakers and not the initially muted *Side* but hey, this is linux, right?

that's all folks.
dp
(i am a winxp user and i'll stay so cause now linux requires what windows were so much laughed at: RESTARTS!)

nukeu666 · 06-26-2006, 02:57 AM

i dunno how you did it, i keep getting a alsa_get_mixer invalid argument
im using debian and alsa 1.0.10rc3 didnt work
besides, the linux drivers you get online for the card are just alsa 1.0.9

otchie1 · 07-31-2006, 06:35 AM

so what you're saying is you forgot to turn it up? lololololol

hanout · 11-17-2007, 03:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dpant

Hi all.
This is no rocket science, this is linux. Two days trying to make the sound work on a laptop is way too much.
I've read lots of forums and suggestions and articles and faqs etc etc etc and lots of ppl are in the same frustrating situation. of course, there is no STRAIGHT-FORWARD answer; hundreds of distros, endless headaches, bliah!

Anyway, this is how it goes. Read on if you have similar configuration:
- laptop with intel on-board soundcard
- fedora 5

and you face the same problem:
fedora 5 recognizes your card but you get no sound (when you test with system-config-soundcard).

1. There is nothing wrong with your card. if system-config-soundcard reports:

Vendor: Intel
Model: Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) ...
Module: snd-hda-intel

and there is a PCM device, eg:
PCM device: ALC880 Analog

then you need not download any drivers, recompile the whole damn kernel or anything.

2. If you are on gnome, forget it. switch to kde.

3. Run system-config-soundcard and have it play the sound *repeatedly*

3. open KMix. See all those 5.1 or 6.1. or 7.1 output channels? alsa my ass. anyway, just TURN ON THE *Side* channel.

4. voila!

The Front,Surround,Center and all other crap channels have no meaning on a laptop. ALSA is too *advanced* to have a meaning at all. It should have been *Front* with two speakers and not the initially muted *Side* but hey, this is linux, right?

that's all folks.
dp
(i am a winxp user and i'll stay so cause now linux requires what windows were so much laughed at: RESTARTS!)

Hey Im a newbie too maybe even less experienced...as in dead beginner, so I have this problem also with ubuntu 7.10, what is Kde and does 7.10 have it? because Gnome isnt responding to any of these commands you've suggested. thanks

dpant · 11-19-2007, 01:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hanout

Hey Im a newbie too maybe even less experienced...as in dead beginner, so I have this problem also with ubuntu 7.10, what is Kde and does 7.10 have it? because Gnome isnt responding to any of these commands you've suggested. thanks

KDE is an alternative GUI. Google for it. The official site is: http://www.kde.org/

Yes, ubuntu supports both Gnome and KDE.

Cheers

PS: I no longer user ubuntu or any linux distro.

hanout · 11-20-2007, 02:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dpant

KDE is an alternative GUI. Google for it. The official site is: http://www.kde.org/

Yes, ubuntu supports both Gnome and KDE.

Cheers

PS: I no longer user ubuntu or any linux distro.

Oh really? what happened??