i have this prob

when i start up kde cant find sound card so i log out and log in again and it works


also


i cant run alsamixer

alsamixer: function snd_ctl_open failed for default: No such file or directory


can any one help

i have the same problem with alsamixer and i'm killing myself to make it work
if i get it fuction, i'll let you know - you do the same thing, ok?

ok

You might have a file called something like 'snddevices' which you need to run (as root) to make the sound device files.

Also check for anything called 'alsaconf' or similar, which may have the same effect.

i did ./snddevices and it seemed working well, then tried alsamixer, but still with the same error. rebooted, tried again...nothing
anyway, i've found 'alsa.conf' - what do i do with it?

i dont know

alsa.conf and alsaconf are not the same thing! I have a file alsaconf (in fact /usr/sbin/alsaconf) which I assume got run during installation and took care of, er, configuring ALSA. It's a big shell script, about 1000 lines.

Another possible cause of problems is having libraries and config files from old versions of ALSA hanging around. For example, if mandrake already uses ALSA for sound and then you compile a new version over the top of that, I can imagine there is a possibility of conflicts. Similarlly for RH if you try to install both from RPMs and source.

But if snddevices does not fix the problem, I'm clutching at straws.

do u think an older version of alsa would work?

in fact how do u uninstll alsa?

old alsa doesn't work - i wouldn't end up installing new one
ho DO you uninstall old alsa?!?
i had only alsa drivers, without utils (alsamixer, wich is the key to the whole thing), so i installed new everything

so u dont need 2 uninstall then

i install everything new WITHOUT deleting the old stuff...

If it was installed from an RPM package, then there is some option like rpm -e (???) which removes everything. Otherwise I don't know a simple way. Most libraries or config files are in /usr/lib, /etc and /usr/share, so anything called alsa-something in there would probably get most of it. But that's a bit hit-or-miss.

One problem is that the big distros generally have their own way of doing things, and going outside their package systems can lead to inconsistencies. Especially for something like ALSA, which is closely tied in with the kernel.

Going back to older versions doesn't sound like a good idea.

P.S. Another source of trouble is the script which starts ALSA (in Debian this is /etc/init.d/alsa). If you decide to clobber the distro's own ALSA installation then this script will maybe also have to be changed to reflect a new disposition of ALSA components.

well, i used *.tar.bz2 packages...

how about i reinstall mdk without sound card driver, get new alsa packages from www.alsa.project.org and install them on a fresh os? doesn't sound bad...?

I'm still not sure if MDK uses alsa by default. I've looked at their website but it looks like you have to register to get to anything interesting.

If you just tell the installer you have no soundcard I suppose you might then be clear to install the latest version from source. Worth a try if you feel like you have exhausted other possibilities maybe. Check dmesg to make sure the system is not trying to start its own version of ALSA.

Logging off for now, bye.