This is a niggling problem that I've had as long as I can remember with the install, other than that it's fine.

When I take my Mint off standby, at times I am presented with no sound, this occurs maybe 40% of the time. I do NOT lose sound when using the OS.

I can usually get it back if I type:

sudo alsa force-reload >>>>> but that doesn't work and I have to reboot.

In a terminal window if I use 'alsamixer' then chose the sound card I want from the 3 choices and toggle it back and forth from default ( the normal setting for me ) and HDA Intel and back to default sometimes that works too. But if all else fails and I want sound I have to reboot.

Can someone please offer me a solution to this problem?

Thanks,

"If"

Which kernel version are you using?

I would advise you to install a kernel version as recent as you are able to and retest the problem with that.

Note also that your version of Mint is still supported but outdated. You might resolve the problem with a more modern version of Mint itself.

Yes I know the version isn't the newest, I have thought of trying a Live CD of version 18.... not sure if it will play nice with my hardware.

Here is the kernel version : 3.13.0-24-generic .......... got it with the uname -r

I guess that's an older one, maybe I best try a newer one or update the whole thing, I hate to fool with it as aside from the sound business it works great! I am assuming if I go to a newer version of Mint I will loose all the programs and changes I have made to the current one?

Thank you!

"If"

Let's just concentrate on the kernel first. Yes, that's an old one. In the Update Manager, select View->Linux kernels. Then make a note of the latest kernel version available in each kernel range and list them here so we can decide which is best to try first.

Wow that list is HUGE.... I don't see a way to display in the terminal only on the update page...sorry

the list starts at

3013.0-100

going down the list I see mine....

313.0.24(3.13.9) then down more...

3.13.0-54 (3.13.11-ckt20)
3.13.0-98
3.16.0-25
3.16.077
3.19.0-20
3.19.0-80
4.20-18
4.40-91

I must apologize there are so many that I couldn’t begin to type them all and feel a bit inadequate not being able to capture the list of available ones.
If I can somehow show the list in the terminal please let me know. A group of them has the 'ckt' suffix I don't know what that is either.

thanks again!

"If"

Thanks If.

Don't worry, I didn't expect you to type them all, just the most recent in each range e.g. the most recent in the 4.4 range is 4.4.0-91.

OK, before you install that kernel, you should know that if that kernel doesn't work for some reason, the kernel you have at the moment is not removed and you can revert to your original kernel if things go awry. You would do that through the Grub menu. So, just to check, do you see the Grub menu when you first boot your machine? It looks like this (random example taken from the web): http://www.linuxbsdos.com/wp-content...UB-600x450.png

Hydrurga,

That example of Grub is just what I see on boot up, mine has W7 as the last choice.

Am I trying the 4.4.0-91 ?

If this fails and it won't boot, I never had to use the Grub menu for anything, so I am flying blind.

Before I take the leap into the abyss how DO I use the Grub menu to save my bacon if it fails?

I may not be here for the rest of today but am anxious to try and maybe fine a solution to the 'no sound' troubles.

Thanks,

"If"

Yes, do try installing 4.4.0-91 through the Update Manager (click on the kernel version then Install). Then reboot.

If things go awry when booting into the new kernel, reboot and select the previous version 3.13.0-24-generic on the Grub list (if it isn't there in the list then it will be listed under "Advanced options").

Hi hydrurga,

Well the change to the new kernel was successful, it booted with no trouble! Now I guess the acid test will be to keep using the system and see what effect the change had on my intermittent loss of audio

Right now it seems fine, so I'll say "thank you" for now and get on to doing my weekly backup. If things go off the rails I'll let you know.

Best wishes,

"If"

Was on standby for 2 hours or so, went back to work, and sound was absent again..this was the first time I got to try it too

Now things aren't acting the way they normally do, I must go back to the old kernel... is that the 2nd choice in the Grub menu or the 1st one? Not working out the way we'd hoped.The second one looks like it says 'recover' after it but when I use that it will boot to the old kernel but the next boot its back to the new one.

Thanks,

"If"

How do I get the old kernel to be used every time I boot up?

There is no 'advanced options' choice in Grub, there is one called' Previous Linux Versions' that's where I found the old kernel 3.13.0-24 hiding out. If I choose it it boots using that kernel but then on reboot it's back to showing the 4.4.0-91 and programs don't behave normally using that one. When using version 4.4.0 I can see the previous kernel listed in software updater, there is no option to install that one. Plus it has warnings attached to it "The system can be made to crash or run programs as administrator"
There is a version 3.13.0-39 that has NO warnings with it....


http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/usn-2204-1/ http://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename...=CVE-2014-0196

Is it possible to remove the 4.4 version and go back to the original one and then try the 3.13.0-39 (that has no concerns listed?)

Please understand I have NO experience fooling with kernels so I am in scary territory here!


Thanks,

"If"

Boot up off the original kernel (through Previous Linux Versions) and then remove the new kernel that you don't want through the Update Manager.

hydrurga,

Wish I'd have known that a few days back. Why didn't the selection of the older version not stay as the default? Using the Previous Version choice worked until I'd reboot then I'd have to select it again.

FWIW I ended up using a backup of Mint that I made with Acronis. It only took a few minutes to make that change and I was up and running again with the old original kernel.

Do kernels get patched if there is a security problem or do they simply get replaced? the one I am using apparently has some issues that's why I ask.

But I got a lot of usable information in the process so it surely wasn't a waste of time by any stretch of the imagination. How you can remember all the terminal commands is a mystery to me, but I'm sure glad someone does, or I'd be up the river!

Best wishes and thanks again,

"If"

Sorry I wasn't able to get back to you earlier - I'm on the road at the moment (hence the terseness of my replies! )

Anyway, if you choose an earlier version of the kernel in the Grub setup menu then it chooses that kernel for that boot only, reverting to the default kernel for subsequent boots.

Nice one regarding Acronis - that saved you a lot of time (I make regular system images for the same reason).

Yes, kernels get patched for security issues if they're still supported. A reasonable explanation of the Ubuntu kernel numbering can be found at https://askubuntu.com/questions/6378...e-version-mean

I have a terrible memory, If. I tend to use GUI solutions where I can and, if not, I have a file where I keep a list of useful commands that I've used in the past and may need again. Some others I only remember because I've used them so often.

hydrurga,

I must apologize for the way I replied to you it wasn't meant to be snarky, I was just thinking out loud " wish I'd known...etc. Not very nice wasn't intended that way.

Yes Acronis has been a wonderful savior for me on many occasions. Why didn't I simply use it when we were trying to get the old kernel to stay put you ask? Well I was too lame to remember I had just made a backup image 2 weeks prior. Normally I back up the whole drive every Saturday. But the last time I tried to use an image it not only hosed W7 but it got Mint too! So I was gun-shy you could say. I thought " well the kernel is messed up already I don't think I can hurt it much by trying it!" It worked fine like it always does, why it took me off the rails weeks back I have no idea. I did explore the settings in Acronis and for some reason the 'custom' set up I use had a number of the parameters changed to something other than what I normally use. How they got that way is still a mystery, I have a problem with W7 where it gets a "TDR" error and the screen goes blank for 2 secs then recovers. I know I am not in a W7 forum so I won't elaborate. It's possible though unlikely that error changed Acronis, I don't know.

I realize that all you guys devote your time to help blokes like me who don't know jack, and you do it for no reason other than to be helpful. Don't think for one minute I don't appreciate it, I most certainly do! You have nothing to apologize for you are fortunate to have a job. I have been disabled since 1994 and haven't worked a day since my last injury, now I am 70 years old and chances of any gainful employment are slim to none. But I am thankful for what I have not what I don't, there are plenty who are far worse off than I.

I hate to muck things up like I did with the kernel, but I am a troubleshooter and just like things to be right. So I wanted to see if the kernel change would help the sound loss, it didn't sadly enough. It does puzzle me that when I type 'alsamixer' and look at the choices of sound cards, the one in use is called 'default' the next one is HD audio and I forget the third one. It's true that my mobo has an HD Audio / SupremeFX X-fi sound card in it's own PCI slot. I'd think that would be the default one.

As far as having a cheat sheet for commands that's a good idea, the hell of it is that you end up with a whole list of things you don't use after you've used them once. Still it makes sense. I have a head full of DOS commands and Windows going back to v3.0 LOL. Now I have Win 7, LuBuntu, Mint, and 2 Android cell phones to deal with. It gets worse rather than better.<sigh>

Welcome back and be safe when you are on the road.

Regards,

"If"

PS: using the live DVD for Mint 17.3 if it's not going to play nice with my hardware will it be obvious or must I install it to find out it won't work?