Microphone Headset Squealing on Record
 

I have a Toshiba A105-S4254 laptop, running SLED 10.1. My sound works great, except I am having trouble with my microphone on this Logitech headset I bought. I can record but there is a horrible squealing through everything. I have tried muting the MIC and just leaving Capture on, and I have turned the sound on PCM, CD, and Capture all the way down both in Kmix and just to be sure also in alsamixer. I have turned the sound all the way down on the microphone also. Turning down the Capture volume does affect the volume of my voice in the recording, but the squealing is at a constant level.

I upgraded my ALSA stuff to .13 which is the latest stable release. Driving me crazy!!!!!!
Any thoughts are tremendously appreciated. Below is some hopefully relevant data.

2.6.16.21-0.8-smp

#lspci#
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) High Definition Audio Controller (rev 02)


alsa-driver-1.0.13
alsa-lib-1.0.13
alsa-utils-1.0.13

#lsmod#
snd_hda_intel 22936 1
snd_hda_codec 162432 1 snd_hda_intel
snd_pcm 78980 3 snd_pcm_oss,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec
snd_timer 25476 2 snd_seq,snd_pcm
snd 60428 11 snd_seq_dummy,snd_pcm_oss,snd_mixer_oss,snd_seq
,snd_seq_device,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec,snd_pcm,snd_timer
soundcore 13024 1 snd

#amixer#
Simple mixer control 'PCM',0
Capabilities: pvolume
Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
Limits: Playback 0 - 255
Mono:
Front Left: Playback 0 [0%] [-51.00dB]
Front Right: Playback 0 [0%] [-51.00dB]
Simple mixer control 'Front',0
Capabilities: pswitch
Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
Mono:
Front Left: Playback [on]
Front Right: Playback [on]
Simple mixer control 'Line',0
Capabilities: pvolume pswitch
Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
Limits: Playback 0 - 23
Mono:
Front Left: Playback 0 [0%] [-36.00dB] [off]
Front Right: Playback 0 [0%] [-36.00dB] [off]
Simple mixer control 'CD',0
Capabilities: pvolume pswitch
Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
Limits: Playback 0 - 23
Mono:
Front Left: Playback 0 [0%] [-36.00dB] [on]
Front Right: Playback 0 [0%] [-36.00dB] [on]
Simple mixer control 'Mic',0
Capabilities: pvolume pswitch
Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
Limits: Playback 0 - 23
Mono:
Front Left: Playback 0 [0%] [-36.00dB] [off]
Front Right: Playback 0 [0%] [-36.00dB] [off]
Simple mixer control 'Capture',0
Capabilities: cvolume cswitch
Capture channels: Front Left - Front Right
Limits: Capture 0 - 13
Front Left: Capture 0 [0%] [-6.00dB] [on]
Front Right: Capture 0 [0%] [-6.00dB] [on]
Simple mixer control 'Caller ID',0
Capabilities: pswitch pswitch-joined
Playback channels: Mono
Mono: Playback [on]
Simple mixer control 'Input Source',0
Capabilities: enum
Items: 'Mic' 'Line' 'CD'
Item0: 'Mic'
Simple mixer control 'Off-hook',0
Capabilities: pswitch pswitch-joined
Playback channels: Mono
Mono: Playback [on]

Could you post the output from "lspci -s 0:1b -vn" and "cat /proc/asound/card0/codec*"? This will help to pinpoint the level of support your system has in alsa-1.0.13.

Also, alsa-1.0.14rc2 is very stable, and has a lot of major additions to it. There is a lot of work going on at the moment, which is why 14 stable hasn't been released, but there are major changes since 13 (almost like jumping from 10 to 13, based on the changelogs).

Thanks for the superfast reply!!

I haven't seen these commands before, so I'm not sure how much of it is relevant. (aka - here is all of it!)


#lspci -s 0:1b -vn#
00:1b.0 Class 0403: 8086:27d8 (rev 02)
Subsystem: 1179:ff10
Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 66
Memory at f0b40000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16K]
Capabilities: [50] Power Management version 2
Capabilities: [60] Message Signalled Interrupts: 64bit+ Queue=0/0 Enable+
Capabilities: [70] Express Unknown type IRQ 0



#cat /proc/asound/card0/codec*#
Codec: Realtek ALC861
Address: 0
Vendor Id: 0x10ec0861
Subsystem Id: 0x11791205
Revision Id: 0x100300
Default PCM: rates 0x140, bits 0x0e, types 0x1
Default Amp-In caps: N/A
Default Amp-Out caps: ofs=0x00, nsteps=0x00, stepsize=0x00, mute=1
Node 0x03 [Audio Output] wcaps 0x405: Stereo Amp-Out
Amp-Out caps: N/A
Amp-Out vals: [0x00 0x00]
Power: 0x0
Node 0x04 [Audio Output] wcaps 0x405: Stereo Amp-Out
Amp-Out caps: N/A
Amp-Out vals: [0x80 0x80]
Power: 0x0
Node 0x05 [Audio Output] wcaps 0x405: Stereo Amp-Out
Amp-Out caps: N/A
Amp-Out vals: [0x80 0x80]
Power: 0x0
Node 0x06 [Audio Output] wcaps 0x405: Stereo Amp-Out
Amp-Out caps: N/A
Amp-Out vals: [0x80 0x80]
Power: 0x0
Node 0x07 [Audio Output] wcaps 0x605: Stereo Digital Amp-Out
Amp-Out caps: N/A
Amp-Out vals: [0x00 0x00]
Power: 0x0
Node 0x08 [Audio Input] wcaps 0x10051b: Stereo Amp-In
Amp-In caps: ofs=0x02, nsteps=0x0d, stepsize=0x0b, mute=1
Amp-In vals: [0x00 0x00] [0x00 0x00] [0x00 0x00] [0x00 0x00] [0x00 0x00] [0x0
0 0x00]
PCM: rates 0x140, bits 0x02, types 0x1
Power: 0x0
Connection: 6
0x0d* 0x0c 0x0f 0x10 0x11 0x15
Node 0x09 [Vendor Defined Widget] wcaps 0xf00000: Mono
Node 0x0a [Vendor Defined Widget] wcaps 0xf00000: Mono
Node 0x0b [Pin Complex] wcaps 0x400581: Stereo
Pincap 0x081f: OUT HP Detect
Pin Default 0x01014110: [Jack] Line Out at Ext Rear
Conn = 1/8, Color = Green
Pin-ctls: 0x40: OUT
Power: 0x0
Connection: 1
0x16
Node 0x0c [Pin Complex] wcaps 0x400581: Stereo
Pincap 0x0837: IN OUT Detect
Pin Default 0x9983012e: [Fixed] Line In at Int ATAPI
Conn = ATAPI, Color = Unknown
Pin-ctls: 0x20: IN
Power: 0x0
Connection: 1
0x19
Node 0x0d [Pin Complex] wcaps 0x400581: Stereo
Pincap 0x08337: IN OUT Detect
Pin Default 0x01a19920: [Jack] Mic at Ext Rear
Conn = 1/8, Color = Pink
Pin-ctls: 0x24: IN
Power: 0x0
Connection: 1
0x18
Node 0x0e [Pin Complex] wcaps 0x400581: Stereo
Pincap 0x0817: OUT Detect
Pin Default 0x411111f0: [N/A] Speaker at Ext Rear
Conn = 1/8, Color = Black
Pin-ctls: 0x40: OUT
Power: 0x0
Connection: 1
0x19
Node 0x0f [Pin Complex] wcaps 0x400581: Stereo
Pincap 0x0833f: IN OUT HP Detect
Pin Default 0x411111f0: [N/A] Speaker at Ext Rear
Conn = 1/8, Color = Black
Pin-ctls: 0x40: OUT
Power: 0x0
Connection: 1
0x1a
Node 0x10 [Pin Complex] wcaps 0x400581: Stereo
Pincap 0x0833f: IN OUT HP Detect
Pin Default 0x411111f0: [N/A] Speaker at Ext Rear
Conn = 1/8, Color = Black
Pin-ctls: 0x20: IN
Power: 0x0
Connection: 1
0x1b
Node 0x11 [Pin Complex] wcaps 0x400001: Stereo
Pincap 0x0863: IN
Pin Default 0x99330121: [Fixed] CD at Int ATAPI
Conn = ATAPI, Color = Unknown
Pin-ctls: 0x00:
Node 0x12 [Pin Complex] wcaps 0x400301: Stereo Digital
Pincap 0x0810: OUT
Pin Default 0x411111f0: [N/A] Speaker at Ext Rear
Conn = 1/8, Color = Black
Pin-ctls: 0x40: OUT
Connection: 1
0x07
Node 0x13 [Vendor Defined Widget] wcaps 0xf00000: Mono
Node 0x14 [Audio Mixer] wcaps 0x20010b: Stereo Amp-In
Amp-In caps: ofs=0x00, nsteps=0x00, stepsize=0x00, mute=1
Amp-In vals: [0x00 0x00] [0x00 0x00]
Connection: 2
0x0d 0x10
Node 0x15 [Audio Mixer] wcaps 0x20050f: Stereo Amp-In Amp-Out
Amp-In caps: ofs=0x0c, nsteps=0x17, stepsize=0x0b, mute=1
Amp-In vals: [0x00 0x00] [0x80 0x80] [0x80 0x80]
Amp-Out caps: ofs=0x0c, nsteps=0x0c, stepsize=0x0b, mute=1
Amp-Out vals: [0x0c 0x0c]
Power: 0x0
Connection: 3
0x11 0x14 0x1c
Node 0x16 [Audio Mixer] wcaps 0x20010b: Stereo Amp-In
Amp-In caps: ofs=0x00, nsteps=0x00, stepsize=0x00, mute=1
Amp-In vals: [0x00 0x00] [0x00 0x00]
Connection: 2
0x03 0x15
Node 0x17 [Audio Mixer] wcaps 0x20010b: Stereo Amp-In
Amp-In caps: ofs=0x00, nsteps=0x00, stepsize=0x00, mute=1
Amp-In vals: [0x00 0x00] [0x00 0x00]
Connection: 2
0x04 0x15
Node 0x18 [Audio Mixer] wcaps 0x20010b: Stereo Amp-In
Amp-In caps: ofs=0x00, nsteps=0x00, stepsize=0x00, mute=1
Amp-In vals: [0x00 0x00] [0x00 0x00]
Connection: 2
0x05 0x15
Node 0x19 [Audio Mixer] wcaps 0x20010b: Stereo Amp-In
Amp-In caps: ofs=0x00, nsteps=0x00, stepsize=0x00, mute=1
Amp-In vals: [0x00 0x00] [0x00 0x00]
Connection: 2
0x06 0x15
Node 0x1a [Audio Mixer] wcaps 0x20010b: Stereo Amp-In
Amp-In caps: ofs=0x00, nsteps=0x00, stepsize=0x00, mute=1
Amp-In vals: [0x80 0x80] [0x80 0x80] [0x00 0x00] [0x00 0x00]
Connection: 4
0x04 0x06 0x15 0x03
Node 0x1b [Audio Mixer] wcaps 0x20010b: Stereo Amp-In
Amp-In caps: ofs=0x00, nsteps=0x00, stepsize=0x00, mute=1
Amp-In vals: [0x80 0x80] [0x80 0x80] [0x00 0x00] [0x00 0x00]
Connection: 4
0x04 0x06 0x15 0x03
Node 0x1c [Audio Mixer] wcaps 0x20010b: Stereo Amp-In
Amp-In caps: ofs=0x00, nsteps=0x00, stepsize=0x00, mute=1
Amp-In vals: [0x00 0x00] [0x00 0x00]
Connection: 2
0x0c 0x0f
Node 0x1d [Vendor Defined Widget] wcaps 0xf00000: Mono
Node 0x1e [Vendor Defined Widget] wcaps 0xf00000: Mono
Node 0x1f [Pin Complex] wcaps 0x400581: Stereo
Pincap 0x0817: OUT Detect
Pin Default 0x411111f0: [N/A] Speaker at Ext Rear
Conn = 1/8, Color = Black
Pin-ctls: 0x40: OUT
Power: 0x0
Connection: 1
0x18
Node 0x20 [Pin Complex] wcaps 0x400581: Stereo
Pincap 0x0817: OUT Detect
Pin Default 0x411111f0: [N/A] Speaker at Ext Rear
Conn = 1/8, Color = Black
Pin-ctls: 0x40: OUT
Power: 0x0
Connection: 1
0x17
Node 0x21 [Vendor Defined Widget] wcaps 0xf00000: Mono
Node 0x22 [Vendor Defined Widget] wcaps 0xf00000: Mono
Node 0x23 [Beep Generator Widget] wcaps 0x70000c: Mono Amp-Out
Amp-Out caps: ofs=0x0f, nsteps=0x0f, stepsize=0x0b, mute=1
Amp-Out vals: [0x8f]
Codec: Generic 11c1 Si3054
Address: 1
Vendor Id: 0x11c13026
Subsystem Id: 0x11790001
Revision Id: 0x100700

The information from those two commands that is immediately relevant is the codec id from "cat /proc/asound/card0/codec*" (depending on the system, this could be anything from 0-7, so codec* is the easiest way to get what I need), and the PCI Subsystem ID from "lspci -s 0:1b -vn".

By looking at the alsa driver code for hda-intel, I take the codec ID (Codec: Realtek ALC861), look in patch_realtek.c under the alc861_cfg_tbl to see if your system (Subsystem: 1179:ff10) is listed, and it is in my repository. Next, I looked to see when it was added to the driver (1/8/2007 by me - isn't that special) and to see if it is in the latest test release (1.0.14rc2 released 1/15/2007).

So, based on all that info, I suggest you download alsa-driver-1.0.14rc2.tar.bz2 from alsa-project.org, or alternatively, if you want to maintain a clean rpm based system, you can download a source rpm from my ftp site. The rpm can be rebuilt in Suse (I use Mandriva, so I can't provide you a binary, sorry) using rpmbuild --rebuild alsa-driver-1.0.14rc2-1.src.rpm. You will need to basic build tools to build a kernel, installing the kernel-source packages usually will install these as well.

Will try
 

Thanks for the advice and the extra knowledge! Sorry for my delay, I am a CS major and have a test coming in the morning so I've been hitting the books. (Don't even ask me about Euclid's Algorithm or RSA encryption!!!!!)

I will try the lastest build of alsa this weekend and see if it improves things. My company is going to an asterisk/softphone solution for all the techs and I really don't want to switch to Windows on my laptop just to talk on the phone with my new Ubergeek headset. That would be a tragedy on so many different levels.

I'll let you know how it turns out. Thanks again.

I'm majoring in Information Technology, so I feel your pain. Just wish I could have gone to a college that offered similar classes, instead of the shtuff I'm learning. Closest think to a programming class is Visual Basic (yuk).

1.0.14rc2 alsa driver - No Change
 

Spring Break started today, and I tried installing the alsa driver 1.0.14rc2. Unfortunately there seems to be little change. I can hear my voice, but just barely, and there is still a high-pitched whine during the recording. Any other thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Try alsa-driver-1.0.14rc3. There was an addition of mic boost patches recently.

Will do. I have been unable to get to alsa-project.org today. The rc2 file I found somewhere else. Do you know how long they've been down - or if maybe the problem is just on my side?

Sound too low to hear
 

I installed 1.0.14rc3 drivers, lib, and plugins. Now my sound is so low I can barely hear it. This is the same through onboard speakers and through headphones. Kmix now shows only PCM under Output. Any thoughts on this?

Do not use kmix. Use only alsamixer. For more control, use alsamixer -V all.

You will have to specify the model option while loading snd-hda-intel. The list of models is in [alsa-driver source directory]/alsa-kernel/Documentation/ALSA-Configuration.txt. Search for snd-hda-intel.

Could you run http://bulletproof.servebeer.com/als...s/alsa-info.shand post the link that it generates?

There may also be other issues involved here that have been fixed since alsa-driver-1.0.14rc3 was released. development has been very fast recently (since 13 was released actually). I know of at least a dozen patches I have added since 14rc3 was released (none affecting your system, though). Other patches might. I'll look for the link to the daily snapshots if I don't see anything significant in the output from the above script.

http://pastebin.ca/418878
 

http://pastebin.ca/418878

Here is the link that you asked for. I hope it's helpful.

Electro - thanks for the tip! I have used alsamixer and Kmix both but with the same results. There were some options available before I updated to 14rc3 that are not there any longer in both. I have used alsaconf as well as yast to try and configure my sound. How do I specify the model to use as you have suggested?

In either /etc/modules.conf or /etc/modprobe.conf add the following line.

options snd-hda-intel model=[model name]

Another way is while using modprobe to load the module include the desire or many other options that the module has. Below is an example.

modprobe snd-hda-intel model=[model name]

Audio squealing is caused by a delay that amplifiers create during making the sound louder or increasing the amplitude of sound. When the microphone is too sensitive, it can pick up the output from the speakers. When two delays combine together, the amplifier starts to oscillate. This oscillating signal produces the squealing that you are hearing now. There are circuits that change the delay of the microphone to minimize the effects of oscillating. The simplest way is to lower the speaker volume or the sensitivity of the microphone. A directional microphone should be used to minimize this problem. Condenser microphones are omni-directional. Use dynamic microphones for the best response and to minimize squealing. Dynamic microphones need a special attachment to connect to the microphone input of the sound card. I suggest a dynamic microphone made with rare earth magnet so they can be lightweight and be more robust during traveling.

Sorry for not getting back earlier. There is no reason for you to use the model= parameter that Electro recommends (sorry Electro). Your system is in the driver as of alsa-driver-1.0.14rc2, which means it will (or should) auto detect your system out of the box. There are otehr issues that may be involved, though. One issue that is particular of Toshiba notebooks is that acpi is broken on most models that I have seen. Try rebooting with acpi=off on the kernel command line. If this fixes it, then there is a fix available (I just don't have the link off hand).

No Joy
 

I tried acpi=off as a boot parameter but still have the sound issue. Do you think it would be worth trying the model option that Electro suggested? I'm thinking of rolling back to the release that worked but I still don't have a mic. Any thoughts?

Before you try anything else, could you rebuild the driver with "./configure --with-cards=hda-intel --with-debug=detect" ?

After building this version of driver with "make; make install", load it and then see what "dmesg | fgrep ALSA" says.

The command "make ; make install" is incorrect and it may produce inconsistent results. It is best to use the command "make && make install". The ; continues on to the next set of commands with out stopping at an error. The && does not continue on to the next set of commands when an error occurs. The && is definitely should be used when debugging code.

Try including the model option and see if it makes it any better. It will not hurt anything.

dmesg | fgrep ALSA
 

Here is the output.

ALSA /usr/src/alsa/alsa-driver-1.0.14rc2/pci/hda/../../alsa-kernel/pci/hda/hda_i ntel.c:696: codec_mask = 0x3
ALSA /usr/src/alsa/alsa-driver-1.0.14rc2/pci/hda/hda_codec.c:1764: hda_codec: mo del 'toshiba' is selected for config 1179:ff10 (Toshiba)
ALSA /usr/src/alsa/alsa-driver-1.0.14rc2/pci/hda/../../alsa-kernel/pci/hda/hda_i ntel.c:1158: azx_pcm_prepare: bufsize=0x10000, fragsize=0x1000, format=0x11
ALSA /usr/src/alsa/alsa-driver-1.0.14rc2/pci/hda/hda_codec.c:627: hda_codec_setu p_stream: NID=0x3, stream=0x5, channel=0, format=0x11
ALSA /usr/src/alsa/alsa-driver-1.0.14rc2/pci/hda/hda_codec.c:627: hda_codec_setu p_stream: NID=0x6, stream=0x5, channel=0, format=0x11
ALSA /usr/src/alsa/alsa-driver-1.0.14rc2/pci/hda/hda_codec.c:627: hda_codec_setu p_stream: NID=0x5, stream=0x5, channel=0, format=0x11
ALSA /usr/src/alsa/alsa-driver-1.0.14rc2/pci/hda/hda_codec.c:627: hda_codec_setu p_stream: NID=0x4, stream=0x5, channel=0, format=0x11
ALSA /usr/src/alsa/alsa-driver-1.0.14rc2/pci/hda/hda_codec.c:627: hda_codec_setu p_stream: NID=0x3, stream=0x0, channel=0, format=0x0
ALSA /usr/src/alsa/alsa-driver-1.0.14rc2/pci/hda/hda_codec.c:627: hda_codec_setu p_stream: NID=0x6, stream=0x0, channel=0, format=0x0
ALSA /usr/src/alsa/alsa-driver-1.0.14rc2/pci/hda/hda_codec.c:627: hda_codec_setu p_stream: NID=0x5, stream=0x0, channel=0, format=0x0
ALSA /usr/src/alsa/alsa-driver-1.0.14rc2/pci/hda/hda_codec.c:627: hda_codec_setu p_stream: NID=0x4, stream=0x0, channel=0, format=0x0

Volume is back after update
 

I let SuSE do some automatic updates - I did glance through them and didn't see anything related to sound - and after a reboot my volume is back to normal. I haven't tried the MIC yet but will let you know as soon as I do. Do you know of a way to look at update history?

Nevermind
 

nevermind the auto update didn't fix it. i shut down and when it came back up the sound was quiet again. I reinstalled alsa 14rc and had the same result - the sound was great on the first reboot but back to quiet after that.