or you can use the rpm from mandrake

it says it's already installed. Now i really don't know what is wrong with my sound...........

try:

% rpm --rebuilddb&

... wait for a bit ...

% rpm -ivh --force kernel-source-2.4.x-xxmdk.i586.rpm

In fact, have a look in /usr/src/linux.

If there's lots of stuff there, the source files are installed. In that case, forget what RPM says - it usually gets it wrong anyway.

Download only the most recent rpm or alsa-driver. Get the driver from here . The one called 'stable release' driver version '0.5.12a' will do it.

Download it to /usr/src, then:

% bunzip2 alsa-driver-0.5.12a.tar.bz2
% tar -xvf alsa-driverxxxx.tar
% cd alsa-driverxxxx
% ./configure
% make
%make install

reboot.

First you need to confirm that the source files are installed. No source files in /usr/src/linux, no installation.

Then you need to download and unpack the driver, and open the README or INSTALL file with your favourite text editor.

This will give you instructions on how to install the driver. Pay close attention to this file - it may be that the instructions above are incorrect.

Let us know

Bert

Hi,

I've succeesfully installed kernel source and successfully compiled alsa driver. When i go make install it comes up with all this 'nothing to be done for 'all'' or something like that and leaving directories and entering directoires.

What should i do now?

thnx for all the help so far Bert.

Hi,

I've succeesfully installed kernel source and successfully compiled alsa driver. When i go make install it comes up with all this 'nothing to be done for 'all'' or something like that and leaving directories and entering directoires.

What should i do now?

thnx for all the help so far Bert.

What does the file INSTALL (or README) say? I could go in and find out myself, but I'm trying to show you how to fish.

Do you only have to make the file?

You can always reinstall the sound driver by moving into the untarred directory and:

% make clean

-- lots of rm -f messages --

% make
% make install

If the INSTALL file says no make install is needed, you might be up and running already. Raise the sound levels with the sound mixer which comes with Mandrake 8.1.

There is a tool in RH7.0 to run the driver at boot time called ntsyv. Don't know if it's included in Mandrake 8.1, but if it isn't, there should be something else. Make sure the driver is loading at boot time.

Also have a look at your system logs:

(as root)
% more /var/log/messages

or

% dmesg

and see if you can find anything relating to the sound. Usually if it's inserting the driver at boot time, the mixer will set the PCM and master volume levels at boot time. Don't forget to raise the default sound level through the BIOS if that's possible.

Nearly there

Bert

I told you that because i treid to run 'amixer' and it still says that the drive's not detected.

To remove files, did you mean moving into the 'tarred' directory? Untarred director will only be a .tar file there will it?

Anyway i'll try what you said tomorrow, and post here if i made any progress

thnx....:..

Hi,

Just a little more info for you. I am using mandrake and i went into the Mandrake Control Center. Under 'system' and 'services', i saw alsa and alsa-sound not running. When i click start on alsa, it pops up a box saying it's not running. When i click start to start alsa-sound, nothing happened? Any ideas?

I'll post any further progess asap.

thnx

Check the following:

% dmesg

See if you can find anything to do with sound.

Also, check how to enable insertion into the kernel at boot time. There should be a program to do this, on RH7.0 it's

% ntsyv

But it could be something else on Mandrake. That's probably why it's not running when you look in the Control Panel.

When you start alsa, nothing should happen of course, only when you try playing a .WAV file or such. Sometimes, just before it kicks in, you can hear two clicks probably as the driver checks the audio codec is functioning. If you hear these two clicks, you're in there like swimwear!

Bert

Good God!!! All this to get a simple sound card to work???

are you logging in as a user or as root?

a user account might not have the permissions necessary to access the right files.
that was my problem for the longest time.

Is that an offer to write a driver for nutshell's simple soundcard ?

Laptop hardware is a different ballgame to conventional whitebox stuff for which a new distribution will generally autodetect and install the appropriate drivers. So please step aside as we're bleeding the edge here ...

Bert

Tried loggin in using root, no success...

You can't log in as root ?

nonono

i meant the even if i log in as root, i still cannot play any sound....

thnx