LinuxQuestions.org - No sound with VIA VT8237 chipset

I am not sure if this is a hardware or software issue. I have a laptop (Gateway MX3228) that I have never been able to get sound working (except Windows XP). It appears that the kernel(2.6.18, Fedora 5) recognizes the soundcard and installs snd-via82xx and snd-via82xx-modem modules without complaint.

I have tried quite a few things since I bought the laptop in the Summer of 2006. I have tried several different distributions (Ubuntu, Knoppix, SUSE, ...) and currently I have Fedora 5 installed dual boot with XP. Lately I have stopped trying things and have worked on increasing my knowledge and investigating the problem. I have read "Linux Device Drivers - 3rd edition" and I intend to look into the kernel code. I am not sure it will do me much good until I can get a datasheet on the Southbridge and VIA hasn't responded to my request yet.

I am attaching the log file that was generated during sound card detection. I am also attaching the "lspci -xxx" files for both the south bridge and the "audio card".

I would really appreciate any help / direction anyone can provide. If anyone knows where I can locate a datasheet for the south bridge (VT8237 (rev.60)), I would appreciate that also.

"scsound.log"
------- System Config Soundcard --------
Fri Feb 2 09:12:56 CST 2007

------- lspci --------
00:00.0 Host bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. P4M800CE Host Bridge
00:00.1 Host bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. P4M800CE Host Bridge
00:00.2 Host bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. P4M800CE Host Bridge
00:00.3 Host bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. PT890 Host Bridge
00:00.4 Host bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. P4M800CE Host Bridge
00:00.7 Host bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. P4M800CE Host Bridge
00:01.0 PCI bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8237 PCI Bridge
00:0c.0 CardBus bridge: Texas Instruments Unknown device 8039
00:0c.2 Mass storage controller: Texas Instruments Unknown device 803b
00:0c.3 Class 0805: Texas Instruments Unknown device 803c
00:0e.0 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. Unknown device 8185 (rev 20)
00:0f.0 IDE interface: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82C586A/B/VT82C686/A/B/VT823x/A/C PIPC Bus Master IDE (rev 06)
00:10.0 USB Controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82xxxxx UHCI USB 1.1 Controller (rev 81)
00:10.1 USB Controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82xxxxx UHCI USB 1.1 Controller (rev 81)
00:10.2 USB Controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82xxxxx UHCI USB 1.1 Controller (rev 81)
00:10.3 USB Controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82xxxxx UHCI USB 1.1 Controller (rev 81)
00:10.4 USB Controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. USB 2.0 (rev 86)
00:11.0 ISA bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8237 ISA bridge [KT600/K8T800/K8T890 South]
00:11.5 Multimedia audio controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8233/A/8235/8237 AC97 Audio Controller (rev 60)
00:11.6 Communication controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. AC'97 Modem Controller (rev 80)
00:12.0 Ethernet controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT6102 [Rhine-II] (rev 78)
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. Unknown device 3344 (rev 01)

------- lsmod --------
Module Size Used by
nfs 244929 1
lockd 62153 2 nfs
fscache 18017 1 nfs
nfs_acl 3905 1 nfs
r8180 109252 0
ieee80211_rtl 65668 1 r8180
ieee80211_crypt_ccmp_rtl 8448 0
ieee80211_crypt_tkip_rtl 11136 0
ieee80211_crypt_wep_rtl 5888 0
ieee80211_crypt_rtl 6788 4 ieee80211_rtl,ieee80211_crypt_ccmp_rtl,ieee80211_crypt_tkip_rtl,ieee80211_crypt_wep_rtl
autofs4 21573 1
hidp 16193 2
rfcomm 37849 0
l2cap 23873 10 hidp,rfcomm
bluetooth 50085 5 hidp,rfcomm,l2cap
sunrpc 153597 4 nfs,lockd,nfs_acl
ip_conntrack_netbios_ns 3393 0
ipt_REJECT 5697 1
xt_state 2625 2
ip_conntrack 52085 2 ip_conntrack_netbios_ns,xt_state
nfnetlink 7513 1 ip_conntrack
xt_tcpudp 3521 4
iptable_filter 3393 1
ip_tables 13065 1 iptable_filter
x_tables 14405 4 ipt_REJECT,xt_state,xt_tcpudp,ip_tables
vfat 12609 0
fat 51677 1 vfat
dm_mirror 29073 0
dm_mod 57433 1 dm_mirror
video 17221 0
sbs 16257 0
i2c_ec 5569 1 sbs
container 4801 0
button 7249 0
battery 10565 0
asus_acpi 16857 0
ac 5701 0
ipv6 245985 14
lp 13065 0
parport_pc 27493 0
parport 37001 2 lp,parport_pc
snd_via82xx 28824 2
joydev 9857 0
gameport 16073 1 snd_via82xx
snd_ac97_codec 91424 1 snd_via82xx
snd_ac97_bus 2944 1 snd_ac97_codec
snd_seq_dummy 4293 0
ehci_hcd 31693 0
snd_seq_oss 32705 0
snd_seq_midi_event 8001 1 snd_seq_oss
uhci_hcd 23885 0
snd_seq 51633 5 snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi_event
snd_pcm_oss 42849 0
snd_mixer_oss 16833 1 snd_pcm_oss
snd_pcm 76485 3 snd_via82xx,snd_ac97_codec,snd_pcm_oss
snd_mpu401_uart 9281 1 snd_via82xx
snd_timer 23237 2 snd_seq,snd_pcm
snd_rawmidi 24897 1 snd_mpu401_uart
sdhci 18777 0
ide_cd 38625 2
i2c_viapro 8917 0
snd_seq_device 8781 4 snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq,snd_rawmidi
snd 52933 15 snd_via82xx,snd_ac97_codec,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq,snd_pcm_oss,snd_mixer_oss,snd_pcm,snd_mpu401_uart,snd _timer,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq_device
serio_raw 7493 0
mmc_core 26561 1 sdhci
snd_page_alloc 10569 2 snd_via82xx,snd_pcm
via_rhine 25933 0
i2c_core 21697 2 i2c_ec,i2c_viapro
soundcore 10145 1 snd
cdrom 34913 1 ide_cd
pcspkr 3521 0
mii 5825 1 via_rhine
ext3 129993 1
jbd 58473 1 ext3

------- /etc/modprobe.conf --------
alias eth0 via-rhine
alias wlan0 r8180
alias snd-card-0 snd-via82xx
options snd-card-0 index=0
options snd-via82xx index=0
remove snd-via82xx { /usr/sbin/alsactl store 0 >/dev/null 2>&1 || : ; }; /sbin/modprobe -r --ignore-remove snd-via82xx

------- /etc/asound.conf --------
#Generated by system-config-soundcard, do not edit by hand
#SWCONF
#DEV 0
defaults.pcm.card 0
defaults.pcm.device 0
defaults.ctl.card 0

------- aplay -l --------
**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: V8237 [VIA 8237], device 0: VIA 8237 [VIA 8237]
Subdevices: 4/4
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
Subdevice #1: subdevice #1
Subdevice #2: subdevice #2
Subdevice #3: subdevice #3
card 0: V8237 [VIA 8237], device 1: VIA 8237 [VIA 8237]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0

------- amixer --------
Simple mixer control 'Master',0
Capabilities: pvolume pswitch pswitch-joined
Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
Limits: Playback 0 - 63
Mono:
Front Left: Playback 37 [59%] [on]
Front Right: Playback 37 [59%] [on]
Simple mixer control 'Master Mono',0
Capabilities: pvolume pvolume-joined pswitch pswitch-joined
Playback channels: Mono
Limits: Playback 0 - 31
Mono: Playback 27 [87%] [on]
Simple mixer control 'Headphone',0
Capabilities: pvolume pswitch pswitch-joined
Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
Limits: Playback 0 - 63
Mono:
Front Left: Playback 37 [59%] [on]
Front Right: Playback 37 [59%] [on]
Simple mixer control '3D Control - Switch',0
Capabilities: pswitch pswitch-joined
Playback channels: Mono
Mono: Playback [on]
Simple mixer control 'PCM',0
Capabilities: pvolume pswitch pswitch-joined
Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
Limits: Playback 0 - 31
Mono:
Front Left: Playback 18 [58%] [on]
Front Right: Playback 18 [58%] [on]
Simple mixer control 'PCM Out Path & Mute',0
Capabilities: enum
Items: 'pre 3D' 'post 3D'
Item0: 'post 3D'
Simple mixer control 'Line',0
Capabilities: pvolume pswitch pswitch-joined cswitch cswitch-exclusive
Capture exclusive group: 0
Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
Capture channels: Front Left - Front Right
Limits: Playback 0 - 31
Front Left: Playback 21 [68%] [on] Capture [off]
Front Right: Playback 21 [68%] [on] Capture [off]
Simple mixer control 'CD',0
Capabilities: pvolume pswitch pswitch-joined cswitch cswitch-exclusive
Capture exclusive group: 0
Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
Capture channels: Front Left - Front Right
Limits: Playback 0 - 31
Front Left: Playback 18 [58%] [on] Capture [on]
Front Right: Playback 18 [58%] [on] Capture [on]
Simple mixer control 'Mic',0
Capabilities: pvolume pswitch pswitch-joined cswitch cswitch-exclusive
Capture exclusive group: 0
Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
Capture channels: Front Left - Front Right
Limits: Playback 0 - 31
Front Left: Playback 0 [0%] [off] Capture [off]
Front Right: Playback 0 [0%] [off] Capture [off]
Simple mixer control 'Mic Boost (+20dB)',0
Capabilities: pswitch pswitch-joined
Playback channels: Mono
Mono: Playback [off]
Simple mixer control 'Mic Select',0
Capabilities: enum
Items: 'Mic1' 'Mic2'
Item0: 'Mic1'
Simple mixer control 'Video',0
Capabilities: cswitch cswitch-exclusive
Capture exclusive group: 0
Capture channels: Front Left - Front Right
Front Left: Capture [off]
Front Right: Capture [off]
Simple mixer control 'Phone',0
Capabilities: pvolume pvolume-joined pswitch pswitch-joined cswitch cswitch-exclusive
Capture exclusive group: 0
Playback channels: Mono
Capture channels: Front Left - Front Right
Limits: Playback 0 - 31
Mono: Playback 0 [0%] [off]
Front Left: Capture [off]
Front Right: Capture [off]
Simple mixer control 'IEC958',0
Capabilities: pswitch pswitch-joined
Playback channels: Mono
Mono: Playback [off]
Simple mixer control 'IEC958 Output',0
Capabilities: pswitch pswitch-joined
Playback channels: Mono
Mono: Playback [off]
Simple mixer control 'IEC958 Playback AC97-SPSA',0
Capabilities: volume volume-joined
Playback channels: Mono
Capture channels: Mono
Limits: 0 - 3
Mono: 3 [100%]
Simple mixer control 'PC Speaker',0
Capabilities: pvolume pvolume-joined pswitch pswitch-joined
Playback channels: Mono
Limits: Playback 0 - 15
Mono: Playback 15 [100%] [on]
Simple mixer control 'Aux',0
Capabilities: pvolume pswitch pswitch-joined cswitch cswitch-exclusive
Capture exclusive group: 0
Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
Capture channels: Front Left - Front Right
Limits: Playback 0 - 31
Front Left: Playback 22 [71%] [on] Capture [off]
Front Right: Playback 22 [71%] [on] Capture [off]
Simple mixer control 'Capture',0
Capabilities: cvolume cswitch cswitch-joined
Capture channels: Front Left - Front Right
Limits: Capture 0 - 15
Front Left: Capture 7 [47%] [on]
Front Right: Capture 7 [47%] [on]
Simple mixer control 'Mix',0
Capabilities: cswitch cswitch-exclusive
Capture exclusive group: 0
Capture channels: Front Left - Front Right
Front Left: Capture [off]
Front Right: Capture [off]
Simple mixer control 'Mix Mono',0
Capabilities: cswitch cswitch-exclusive
Capture exclusive group: 0
Capture channels: Front Left - Front Right
Front Left: Capture [off]
Front Right: Capture [off]
Simple mixer control 'External Amplifier',0
Capabilities: pswitch pswitch-joined
Playback channels: Mono
Mono: Playback [on]
Simple mixer control 'Input Source Select',0
Capabilities: enum
Items: 'Input1' 'Input2'
Item0: 'Input1'
Simple mixer control 'Input Source Select',1
Capabilities: enum
Items: 'Input1' 'Input2'
Item0: 'Input1'
Simple mixer control 'VIA DXS',0
Capabilities: pvolume
Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
Limits: Playback 0 - 31
Mono:
Front Left: Playback 31 [100%]
Front Right: Playback 31 [100%]
Simple mixer control 'VIA DXS',1
Capabilities: pvolume
Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
Limits: Playback 0 - 31
Mono:
Front Left: Playback 31 [100%]
Front Right: Playback 31 [100%]
Simple mixer control 'VIA DXS',2
Capabilities: pvolume
Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
Limits: Playback 0 - 31
Mono:
Front Left: Playback 31 [100%]
Front Right: Playback 31 [100%]
Simple mixer control 'VIA DXS',3
Capabilities: pvolume
Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
Limits: Playback 0 - 31
Mono:
Front Left: Playback 31 [100%]
Front Right: Playback 31 [100%]

------- /proc/asound/version --------
Advanced Linux Sound Architecture Driver Version 1.0.12rc1 (Thu Jun 22 13:55:50 2006 UTC).

------- rpm -q alsa-lib --------
alsa-lib-1.0.11-4.rc2

------- rpm -q alsa-utils --------
alsa-utils-1.0.11-4.rc2

------- /proc/asound/modules --------
0 snd_via82xx

------- /proc/asound/pcm --------
00-01: VIA 8237 : VIA 8237 : playback 1 : capture 1
00-00: VIA 8237 : VIA 8237 : playback 4 : capture 1

------- system-config-soundcard --------

/usr/share/system-config-soundcard/soundcard.py:273: DeprecationWarning: use gtk.ComboBox
self.primarySubDeviceOptionMenu = gtk.OptionMenu()
/usr/share/system-config-soundcard/soundcard.py:308: GtkDeprecationWarning: gtk.timeout_add is deprecated, use gobject.timeout_add instead
self.timer = gtk.timeout_add (100, self.checkStatus, self)
/usr/share/system-config-soundcard/soundcard.py:548: GtkDeprecationWarning: gtk.TRUE is deprecated, use True instead
gtk.main()
Playing WAVE '/usr/share/system-config-soundcard/sound-sample.wav' : Signed 16 bit Little Endian, Rate 44100 Hz, Stereo
Aborted by signal Terminated...
Playing WAVE '/usr/share/system-config-soundcard/sound-sample.wav' : Signed 16 bit Little Endian, Rate 44100 Hz, Stereo
Aborted by signal Terminated...
Read config:
card 0
device 0
HW 0
----------- Kudzu -------------
Desc: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8233/A/8235/8237 AC97 Audio Controller
Driver: snd-via82xx
Device: None

----------- **** -------------

lspci -xxx -s 0:11.5 > AudioController

00:11.5 Multimedia audio controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8233/A/8235/8237 AC97 Audio Controller (rev 60)
00: 06 11 59 30 01 00 10 02 60 00 01 04 00 00 00 00
10: 01 10 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
20: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 7b 10 16 02
30: 00 00 00 00 c0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 07 03 00 00
40: 05 cc 00 00 40 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
50: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
60: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
70: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
80: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
90: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
a0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
b0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
c0: 01 00 02 06 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
d0: 01 00 02 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
e0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
f0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00

lspci -xxx -s 0:11.0 > SouthBridge

00:11.0 ISA bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8237 ISA bridge [KT600/K8T800/K8T890 South]
00: 06 11 27 32 87 00 10 02 00 00 01 06 00 00 80 00
10: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
20: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 7b 10 16 02
30: 00 00 00 00 c0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
40: 44 ff f0 00 00 00 10 00 0c 20 00 00 04 00 00 08
50: 08 98 09 00 00 00 00 00 42 9c 00 0b 00 f5 00 00
60: 00 00 00 00 00 00 01 04 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
70: 7b 10 16 02 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 20 00 00 00
80: 20 84 5a 00 da 40 00 00 01 40 00 00 04 18 00 00
90: 00 66 e8 00 a0 c0 03 00 00 10 00 00 00 00 00 00
a0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
b0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
c0: 01 00 02 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
d0: 01 41 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
e0: 00 00 00 00 08 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
f0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 0b 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00