Need help making sound card work!

jlp1976 · 09-24-2005, 01:34 PM

Hello,
I need some help making my sound card work with Linux (debian, Sarge).

I read the Linux HOWTO (http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/Sound-HOWTO/x320.html) but I am still unable to make the card work.
My sound card is an on mother-board type of card. Intel 810 +Ac97 Audio version 1.01.

Apparently the drivers are in my kernel .

jlp1976@home1deb:/lib/modules/2.4.27-2-386/kernel/drivers/sound$ ls -l
total 1380
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 18884 2005-05-16 08:38 ac97_codec.o
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 5696 2005-05-16 08:38 ac97.o
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1508 2005-05-16 08:38 ac97_plugin_ad1980.o
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 16888 2005-05-16 08:38 ac97_plugin_wm97xx.o
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 29916 2005-05-16 08:38 i810_audio.o
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 8512 2005-05-16 08:38 soundcore.o
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 77341 2005-05-16 08:38 sound.o

jlp1976@home1deb:~$ ls -l /dev/dsp
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 14, 3 2005-02-26 06:39 /dev/dsp

Below is a portion of the output from "dmseg"

Intel 810 + AC97 Audio, version 1.01, 16:51:32 May 16 2005
PCI: Setting latency timer of device 00:1f.5 to 64
i810: Intel ICH5 found at IO 0xee80 and 0xe800, MEM 0xfebff800 and 0xfebff400, IRQ 17
i810: Intel ICH5 mmio at 0xd0971800 and 0xd0973400
i810_audio: Primary codec has ID 0
i810_audio: Audio Controller supports 6 channels.
i810_audio: Defaulting to base 2 channel mode.
i810_audio: Resetting connection 0
i810_audio: Connection 0 with codec id 0
ac97_codec: AC97 Audio codec, id: ADS117 (Unknown)
i810_audio: AC'97 codec 0 supports AMAP, total channels = 6

The last thing in the how to is to test the set up

% cat endoftheworld >/dev/dsp
% cat crash.au >/dev/audio

I used an mp3 file. but it didn't work From what I read in the HOWTO, I should be all set. But I still get no sound whatsoever???
Can anybody help me.

Much thanks

Simon Bridge · 09-25-2005, 06:05 AM

Oh dear - that HOWTO is a very hands-on, nuts and bolts method.

Does your debian not have a soundcard configuration utility?

Anyway -
You check what your soundcard registers as by doing lspci

i.e.

Code:

# /sbin/lspci -vv
00:02.7 Multimedia audio controller: Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] Sound Controller (rev a0)
        Subsystem: Giga-byte Technology: Unknown device a002
        Control: I/O+ Mem- BusMaster+ SpecCycle- MemWINV- VGASnoop- ParErr- Stepping- SERR- FastB2B-
        Status: Cap+ 66Mhz- UDF- FastB2B+ ParErr- DEVSEL=medium >TAbort- <TAbort- <MAbort- >SERR- <PERR-
        Latency: 32 (13000ns min, 2750ns max)
        Interrupt: pin C routed to IRQ 5
        Region 0: I/O ports at d800 [size=256]
        Region 1: I/O ports at dc00 [size=128]
        Capabilities: [48] Power Management version 2
                Flags: PMEClk- DSI- D1+ D2+ AuxCurrent=55mA PME(D0-,D1-,D2-,D3hot+,D3cold+)
                Status: D0 PME-Enable- DSel=0 DScale=0 PME-

And you can check the loaded drvers with lsmod.

Code:

$ /sbin/lsmod | grep snd
[root@indigo-prime simon]# /sbin/lsmod | grep snd
snd_intel8x0           34945  0
snd_ac97_codec         76217  1 snd_intel8x0
snd_seq_dummy           3781  0
snd_seq_oss            37569  0
snd_seq_midi_event      9409  1 snd_seq_oss
snd_seq                62801  5 snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi_event
snd_seq_device          9037  3 snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq
snd_pcm_oss            51569  0
snd_mixer_oss          18113  1 snd_pcm_oss
snd_pcm               100553  3 snd_intel8x0,snd_ac97_codec,snd_pcm_oss
snd_timer              33733  2 snd_seq,snd_pcm
snd                    57669  9 snd_intel8x0,snd_ac97_codec,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq,snd_seq_device,snd_pcm_oss,snd_mixer_oss,snd_pcm,snd_timer
soundcore              11169  1 snd
snd_page_alloc          9925  2 snd_intel8x0,snd_pcm

... these are all alsa drivers of course.

To test it - use a .wav file and a player. Unless you know for a fact that your player has support for mp3.

If you have alsa, you can use alsamixer and other tools to set up your soundcard.