Hi,
Please can someone help me. I bought mandrake 8.2 about a month ago. Everything is good and i'm getting to grips quite well. This is my first step into the linux world so if i'm asking a simple question please humour me.
I have the C-Media 8738 sound card (its on-board sound, part of the IWill kk-266plus-R mb). Now I can get 2 speakers but I cant get 6 channels (5.1 speakers). They are all plugged in and ive checked volumes (though there are not any volumes for the rear-speakers). I guess its just a change in a configuration file, i would have thought that the driver is up to date so that shouldn't be a problem.

Can someone please help me!

Many thanks

s0

Actually its a kernel re-compile, or at least a module recompile of Alsa, if that's what you are using, or OSS if you're using the kernel gear. I've got a cmpci card too and never really got reliable sound from my four speaker rig, but damn was it loud for a $20 card.

Cheers,

Finegan

I have exactly the same problem, im not too much of a newbie. can you give me the details on the whole kernel recompile and all the necesary steps in getting my sound to work!?!?!?!?!?

First take a look over at the Linux Documentation Project and check out the kernel compiling how-to. You might want to just download a fresh new kernel, I'm assuming the distro you are using is not using 2.4.19 (most recent ones released on 2.4.18). Its easier to just keep two seperate kernel module directories.

Assuming you use "make menuconfig" the options you are looking for are:

Sound --->[*] Support CMI8738 based audio cards
[ ] Inverse S/PDIF in for CMI8738[*] Enable S/PDIF loop for CMI8738
(4) Number of speakers 2, 4, 5, 6

Like I mentioned before, I never got very good play out of 4, but I didn't fiddle with mixer settings much and I'm short on speakers around the house, didn't care much, so its been 4 kernels since I last played with it.

Luck,

Finegan