Problem with sound
 

Hello. I have problem with sound. I have sound, but I hear a lot of background noises. I dont know if that is problem with drivers or just configure something. I am new to linux. Can you help me?

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I have debian lenny with gnome.

Hi,

Welcome to LQ!

A little more information would help diagnose the problem. :)

Hardware, Distribution, kernel and application(s) that you are experiencing the problem with.

The first thing you could try would be to open a terminal as root then run 'alsamixer' to check or set settings. Then run 'alsactl store' after exiting the mixer with a 'Esc'.
Test your sound again.

Then check your moduules with 'lsmod'.
You could try and run 'alsaconf' again then redo the above mixer setups.

Some noise can be attributed to the power supply filtering being poor.

I suggest that you try the next two links;

Hi and welcome.

onebucks suggestions are great, especially:

I'm having some (different) sound issues, and during my googling have run across some other reports of background noise and hum. From what I've seen this is usually due to onebucks reason and/or insufficient grounding. Make sure your computer and associated peripherals are well grounded (preferably to the same ground source). Also, if possible, make sure your residence is connected to a 'pure earth' ground (a metal rod driven 3-4 feet into the ground outside and connected to the ground terminals of your breaker- or fuse-box with fairly heavy (#10 AWG) wire works great). Hope this helps!

Hi,
Good points about the grounding but I think it will be due to poor switching design and filtering for a after market PSU. Some of the low end China imports don't have good filtering. Partially due to low grade capacitors along with poor design. Add to the mix poor load match and you will be pushing the PSU therefore noise will be introduced into the system.

If the switching PSU is designed properly then the grounding will facilitate better system grounding which is more for safety then noise. With good filter designs then nominal noise will be introduced by the switching.

Sure some noise can be introduced through ground into the system via a ground loop or even a open ground to the frame. Or even radiated noise from some form of transmitter. U.S Electrical systems use a single phase L1, L2 and a neutral from the transformer off the distribution grid. In order to get the 110VAC from the 220VAC we use L1 to neutral or L2 to neutral within our breaker box for internal distribution for a balanced load. We do provide a 'Earth ground' via a ground rod to the breaker box. But internal the system ground is bonded to the neutral. Again you must look at the ordinance,local code or the NEC.

I'm not sure about your locale so the ground resistance will be different. Most ground rods in the Midwest are driven 6-8 feet into the ground. Most shops have the 6, 8 and 10 foot clad rods that can be used dependent on the installations geological ground resistance for the site.

The 10AWG is sufficient but make sure it is solid gauge wire (this to may depend on code). Be sure to use the proper strap technique for wire to rod. This wire should connect to the ground buss terminal within the box. Depending on your ordinance if they utilize the NEC then strapping/bonding within the breaker box maybe required for the residential installations. Commercial installations have different requirements but basically some of the above relates.

If you need a noise filter you can get power strips with filters, not just MOV for surge but clean designed Pi filters. Even better would to get a good UPS for your computer system. APC has some good consumer grade units at a fair price. Be sure to size to your system needs if you want a full backup capability along with good filtering.

I haven't even addressed the sound system design or speaker matching. I'll leave that for another post. :)

HTH!

Try using alsamixer and make sure none of the outputs are maxed, alsa has a known problem with maxing channels for sound. =( Still wish OSS4 was working better.

Hello
I have debian lenny

When I type lspci I see:

00:00.0 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation MCP78S [GeForce 8200] Memory Controller (rev a2)
00:01.0 ISA bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP78S [GeForce 8200] LPC Bridge (rev a2)
00:01.1 SMBus: nVidia Corporation MCP78S [GeForce 8200] SMBus (rev a1)
00:01.2 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation MCP78S [GeForce 8200] Memory Controller (rev a1)
00:01.3 Co-processor: nVidia Corporation MCP78S [GeForce 8200] Co-Processor (rev a2)
00:01.4 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation MCP78S [GeForce 8200] Memory Controller (rev a1)
00:02.0 USB Controller: nVidia Corporation MCP78S [GeForce 8200] OHCI USB 1.1 Controller (rev a1)
00:02.1 USB Controller: nVidia Corporation MCP78S [GeForce 8200] EHCI USB 2.0 Controller (rev a1)
00:04.0 USB Controller: nVidia Corporation MCP78S [GeForce 8200] OHCI USB 1.1 Controller (rev a1)
00:04.1 USB Controller: nVidia Corporation MCP78S [GeForce 8200] EHCI USB 2.0 Controller (rev a1)
00:06.0 IDE interface: nVidia Corporation MCP78S [GeForce 8200] IDE (rev a1)
00:07.0 Audio device: nVidia Corporation Device 0774 (rev a1)
00:08.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP78S [GeForce 8200] PCI Bridge (rev a1)
00:09.0 IDE interface: nVidia Corporation Device 0ad0 (rev a2)
00:0a.0 Ethernet controller: nVidia Corporation MCP78S [GeForce 8200] Ethernet (rev a2)
00:0b.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP78S [GeForce 8200] PCI Express Bridge (rev a1)
00:10.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP78S [GeForce 8200] PCI Express Bridge (rev a1)
00:12.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP78S [GeForce 8200] PCI Express Bridge (rev a1)
00:13.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation Device 077a (rev a1)
00:14.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation Device 077a (rev a1)
00:18.0 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] HyperTransport Technology Configuration
00:18.1 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] Address Map
00:18.2 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] DRAM Controller
00:18.3 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] Miscellaneous Control
02:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation GeForce 8200 (rev a2)
03:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation GeForce 8400 GS (rev a1)

When I listen mp3 music, I have not ptoblem with sound. The problem is when I use skype to talk.

Hi,

Thanks for the information. :) This is a whole different problem. What device(s) are you using for 'Skype'? What program are you using. Please provide other details that are hidden from us since we can't look over your shoulder?

BTW, whenever you post long lists or data you should use the vbcode tags code (#) or Quote (balloon to the left of #) at the top of your reply window.