[SOLVED] No audio with Linux Mint 17.3

rad57 · 03-27-2017, 04:53 AM

I installed Linux Mint 17.3 about 10 months ago as a complete newcomer to Linux. I'm not sure if this is a hardware or software issue but I strongly suspect it's software as there *is* a beep at the start of boot-up before the motherboard screen appears. That's the only sound I hear from the computer. I didn't have audio right after it was installed and was just ready to leave for an extended trip and had no time to solve it then. I'm back now and need to resolve the issue.

I've looked for forums having threads with similar problems and almost all suggest solutions that are far above my competency level. There were two fixes that I could follow and have tried that didn't work (see below). The second may have even made matters worse. Before I tried it, when I clicked on the audio icon on the bottom bar of the browser in Firefox, went to the 'Output' tab under 'Sound Settings' and clicked on 'Test Sound', the button I clicked would highlight itself for 3-4 seconds and then turn off again (but there'd be no sound when I clicked on either the right or left 'Test' buttons). This leads me to believe that it was at least *trying* to test the sound. After I tried the second fix and tried the 'Test Sound' buttons again, the button clicked no longer even highlights when clicked (as I said, each would highlight when clicked before I tried Fix #2).

Anyway, here are the two fixes I tried that didn't work:

Fix #1 that didn't work:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/linuxmint/+bug/1604063

It suggests checking the settings that come up when 'alsamixer' is called up and disabling the auto mute. I tried this but it made no difference.

Fix #2 that didn't work:
https://itsfoss.com/fix-sound-ubuntu-1304-quick-tip/

This one suggests three alternate fixes involving force reloads of alsamixer and/or pulseaudio. As I said, none of these brought sound (I still get the beep at the motherboard screen but nothing after that) and after trying them the 'Test Sound' buttons no longer highlight when pushed (which they did before).

Also, I tried to find the audio driver in the control center. When I go into the Driver Manager that comes up when I click on the System Settings icon from the Menu button, all it tells me is that no proprietary drivers are in use (I assume that means that all drivers being used were those loaded with Linux but I'm not certain.).

I've found one forum with a thread that has several comments in which users deleted/renamed the ~/.config/pulse folder (or file) and rebooted so it'd be reloaded automatically and this worked for a number of them. I'm a bit leary of trying that without more detailed instructions (at the moment, I can't even find the file let alone rename/delete it).

If anyone can suggest things I can try (please remember I'm not very knowledgeable at this), I'd be grateful.

Thanks

Rickkkk · 03-27-2017, 08:46 AM

Hi rad57 - Welcome to LinuxQuestions :-)

My first suggestion would also have been the alsamixer mute disable - this happens alot. You said you tried this but it didn't improve things. While you were in there (alsamixer), did you take a look at the sound card information ? This can be good to know - also make sure, if alsa is detecting more than one sound card, that you look at them all and unmute as required.

Besides that, as couple of questions:\

- Are you comfortable enough in providing as much detail as possible concerning your hardware (type of computer, sound card ...) ?

- Has the sound functioned with another operating system (Windows, other linux distro) ?

Cheers,

rad57 · 03-27-2017, 01:25 PM

Thanks for starting me out here, Rickkk. (it looks like we have the same first name - and the same country).

OK, in alsamixer, the sound card is listed as 'HDA Intel PCH'. It only lists this under sound card.

Here's the info on my computer:

Motherboard:
Asus H170-Pro LG1151

Processor:
Intel Core-i5-6500

It doesn't have a separate sound card (just what's on the motherboard). I'd assumed it wouldn't need one that was separate. (Would that make a difference? I wouldn't think so but I don't know enough to say.) I have a set of old speakers (probably 15 years old) that I plugged into the sound jacks at the back to see if that solved it but it made no difference.

I doubt the RAM, hard drive and Wi-Fi card matter at all but it's got 16GB of RAM, a 240GB SSD drive and an ASUS PCE-N15 PCI-Express wirelaess card.

As far as function with any other operating systems go, I don't know. It's a new computer that I assembled myself just before loading Linux Mint 17.3 (I chose Mint 17.3 because it was the most recent 'dumbed-down version' at the time and I didn't think I was ready to go to only command line controls - I'm still not). I'd been tired of Windows for years and wanted to move to Linux and when my old computer (that was a bit low on RAM) was updated from Windows 7 to 10, it was the nightmare that finally pushed me to make the move (taking forever to load, hanging for extended periods, etc.). I decided to put together a bit faster computer from components (not screamin' hot though since I'm not a gamer). I wanted to never let Windows get anywhere near it if at all possible. As such, it's never been tried with any other operating system. In the last few days, I've been seriously considering going back to Windows at least with a dual boot (I'd have to buy Windows 10 - the original disk for Windows 7 has been lost somewhere in the 3 moves I've made since the old computer was purchased many years ago). I shudder at that thought but I may have little other choice (I hope not). I'd wondered if maybe I'd somehow made an error in hooking up the sound but since there's a beep right after the power button is pushed (before the motherboard screen comes up), I've been assuming that the sound works from a hardware perspective. Is that perhaps a bad assumption?

I don't know if that's enough hardware info yet but if you need more I'll provide it as best I can.

ardvark71 · 03-27-2017, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rad57

If anyone can suggest things I can try (please remember I'm not very knowledgeable at this), I'd be grateful.

Hello and welcome to the forum

In addition to the questions Rickkkk has asked, please go to this page and follow the instructions there. Then post the results (or a link to them) in your next reply. Also, please post a screenshot of the results of this command....

Code:

alsamixer

Thanks!

Regards...

Rickkkk · 03-27-2017, 02:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rad57

Thanks for starting me out here, Rickkk. (it looks like we have the same first name - and the same country). .... ... I've been assuming that the sound works from a hardware perspective. Is that perhaps a bad assumption? ..

Hey rad57 / Rick ...

I see aardvark71 has joined us - the more the merrier ! ... As to your assumptions concerning the "beep" ... I'm afraid you may indeed be wrong .. That little sound is often emitted directly from the motherboard through a small speaker inside the case ... If you have speakers plugged in, does the "beep" come through there ? If yes, your hardware is probably fine.

I wouldn't give up on linux just yet ;-) ... That said, there's nothing wrong with Windows, as such .. Whatever you prefer. Sound support in linux is usually quite seamless. Your hardware is fairly recent as well, so that's unlikely to be an issue. The chip is a fairly common Intel one, so can't see that being a roadblock either ....

So ...

- Did I understand from your initial post that you have pulseaudio installed ?

- Did you install and configure that yourself or did it come with Mint (sorry - not very familiar with Mint ...) ?

- If you have installed it yourself, any particular reason you require it (I tend to keep things as simple as possible ...)

- If you DO require it, have you gone into the Pulse Volume Control app (pavucontrol) to make sure your hardware and outputs are properly configured there as well ?

- If you don't require it, and the above suggestion yielded no improvement, you might try removing it and seeing if results change.

- Failing the above ... you might try booting your Mint live ISO installation medium (assuming that's how you installed it) and seeing if sound works in the live ISO environment. If it does, that further confirms that your hardware is OK.

Let's start with that before getting to anything more detailed concerning the sound card model and drivers ...

Cheers !

rad57 · 03-27-2017, 02:53 PM

Thanks for the further info, ardvark71.

Here's the link to the output from the link you provided about alsamixer:

http://www.alsa-project.org/db/?f=64...32545625b850f2

When I put in the alsamixer command, the terminal window goes to a text + bar graph listing of the sound settings. I looked for a way to provide a screenshot but the only possibility I see on my keyboard is the PrintScrn key. It doesn't do anything (my printer isn't even hooked up yet - the printer software I have for it works only for Windows or Mac and when I tried to install a downloaded driver for the printer for Linux, it stalled on me in the middle of the process. I haven't gone back to try it again yet. The audio problem is more troublesome at the moment).

I'll put below what I get when I copy and paste directly (from the terminal window to this reply) but it may not tell you much.

How do I get a screenshot of the terminal window?

Here's the copy/paste from the alsamixer terminal window:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ──────── AlsaMixer v1.0.27.2 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ────────┐
│ Card: HDA Intel PCH F1: Help │
│ Chip: Intel Skylake HDMI F2: System information │
│ View: F3:[Playback] F4: Capture F5: All F6: Select sound card │
│ Item: Master [dB gain: 0.00] Esc: Exit │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ ┌──┐ ┌──┐ ┌──┐ ┌──┐ ┌──┐ ┌──┐ ┌──┐ ┌──┐ ┌──┐ ┌──┐ ┌──┐ ┌──┐ ┌──┐ │
│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │▒▒│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│ ├──┤ ├──┤ └──┘ ├──┤ ├──┤ └──┘ ├──┤ ├──┤ ├──┤ ├──┤ └──┘ ┌──┐ ┌──┐ ┌──┐ Disabled 2ch ├──┤ └──┘ │
│ │OO│ │OO│ │OO│ │MM│ │OO│ │OO│ │OO│ │MM│ │OO│ │OO│ │OO│ │MM│ │
│ └──┘ └──┘ └──┘ └──┘ └──┘ └──┘ └──┘ └──┘ └──┘ └──┘ └──┘ └──┘ │
│ 100 100<>100 100<>100 100<>100 0<>0 0<>0 100<>100 100 100 0<>0 0<>0 0<>0 0<>0 │
│< Master > Headphone PCM Front Front Mic Front Mic Bo Surround Center LFE Line Line Boost S/PDIF S/PDIF Defau S/PDIF 16 Auto-Mute Mo Channel Mode Rear Mic Rear Mic Boo │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─────────────────────────────────────┘

ardvark71 · 03-27-2017, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rad57

Thanks for the further info, ardvark71.

You're welcome

Quote:

Originally Posted by rad57

How do I get a screenshot of the terminal window?

It might be easier to use a program for this. Please open a terminal and run this command...

Code:

sudo apt-get install gnome-screenshot

If that doesn't work, you can also install it using the Synaptic package manager. Once installed, please use it to post the screenshot of "alsamixer" mentioned above.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rad57

I'll put below what I get when I copy and paste directly (from the terminal window to this reply) but it may not tell you much.

Yes, seeing the actual screenshot would be much more helpful.

Regards...

rad57 · 03-27-2017, 03:30 PM

Rickkkk

The beep is coming from the motherboard, not the speakers so unfortunately that doesn't eliminate the hardware possibility.

- I just tried the pavucontrol command and it tells me it's not installed. Here's the output copied and pasted from the terminal window when pavucontrol is entered:

The program 'pavucontrol' is currently not installed. You can install it by typing:
sudo apt-get install pavucontrol

- Moving on to the Mint live installation, I downloaded the Mint iso file from a university site. I tried to do a live installation on my old computer (that was running Windows 10) from a different site first just to try it out before giving up on Windows but I couldn't even get it to load properly so went to the university site instead to get the Linux Mint installation software. If I recall, it didn't give the option of doing a live trial install first. I have the DVD here from which I loaded Mint and I don't see any that refer to a live installation.

If you can suggest a site from which I can get a live install file to test the hardware, I'll try that.

I'll be away from my computer for a few hours but I'll check back late this evening.

Thanks to both of you.

Rickkkk · 03-27-2017, 03:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ardvark71

... Yes, seeing the actual screenshot would be much more helpful.

Regards...

Agreed - see if you can get us a screen cap. That said, there does still seem to be something muted there ... See the channel with the "MM" ... What is that one ?

Also, after un-muting the main channel and anything else that looks pertinent (ex. PCM, Speaker, ...), make sure you actually raise the volume slider by using the arrow keys ...

Cheers,

Rickkkk · 03-27-2017, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rad57

Rickkkk

The beep is coming from the motherboard, not the speakers so unfortunately that doesn't eliminate the hardware possibility.

... OK we'll see if there is anything else to check first before going there ...

Quote:

... I just tried the pavucontrol command and it tells me it's not installed.

... OK fine - don't install it for now.

Quote:

... If you can suggest a site from which I can get a live install file to test the hardware, I'll try that.

... The DVD you have is probably already the live ISO ... When you boot it, you should get a live Mint desktop. Before clicking the CD image "Install Linux Mint", try it out (just use it ..) and see if the sound works. If you really somehow ended up with something other than the live ISO, you can download it here:

https://www.linuxmint.com/download.php

Cheers !

rad57 · 03-27-2017, 07:05 PM

I've got a couple of minutes earlier than I'd expected. I found a copy of the screenshot from alsamixer that must have been taken when I tried it earlier today. I've tried to attach it to this post and it shows up on the 'Manage Attachments' list when I click the attachment icon so I think it's attached. If you can't open it, let me know and I'll see if I can find some other way to send it (it's been copied to a file on my computer so it's at least accessible).

I'll try the live installation when I've got a bit more time later on.

ardvark71 · 03-27-2017, 10:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rad57

- I just tried the pavucontrol command and it tells me it's not installed. Here's the output copied and pasted from the terminal window when pavucontrol is entered:

The program 'pavucontrol' is currently not installed. You can install it by typing:
sudo apt-get install pavucontrol

Hi...

This would be a utility worth installing. You do have PulseAudio installed on your system from what I see in your report.

Code:

!Sound Servers on this system
!!----------------------------

Pulseaudio:
      Installed - Yes (/usr/bin/pulseaudio)
      Running - Yes

Regards...

ardvark71 · 03-27-2017, 10:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rad57

Here's the link to the output from the link you provided about alsamixer:

http://www.alsa-project.org/db/?f=64...32545625b850f2

Hi...

Thank you posting the readout. Because you're using Mint 17.3, I'm going to make an initial guess from what I see here that the version of ALSA in your copy of Mint is not recent enough to support your sound device. The OP in that thread has the same sound device as you. Mint 17.3 is based off of Ubuntu 14.04. I would give Mint 18.1 a try, perhaps that will resolve the issue. If you want to try getting the sound to work in your current version, try the suggestions in post #6. However, I don't guarantee that will work. Another item of note is that for some reason the ALSA library version is missing in your report...

Code:

!!ALSA Version
!!------------

Driver version:     k3.19.0-32-generic
Library version:    
Utilities version:  1.0.27.2

Regards...

rad57 · 03-28-2017, 10:14 AM

OK, I tried the Linux Mint 18.1 live install and the audio works. When I opened the 'Sound Settings' box from the audio icon in 18.1 I noticed that 'Analog Output' was selected by default. In 17.3, the digital output had been selected by default. I couldn't remember if I'd ever tried changing it before so I rebooted in 17.3 and switched from digital to analog output and it worked. Prior to this I hadn't noticed that S/PDIF was the digital output (I'm new to this) but I had noticed that in Alsamixer (in 17.3) each of S/PDIF, S/PDIF Default PCM, S/PDIF 16 were all set to 0 and the up/down arrow keys wouldn't move them. The output level indicators on all of the other settings move when the arrow keys are pressed but not the digital output indicators - they're stuck at 0.

Understandably, I have no idea why digital output just doesn't work in my computer (in Mint 17.3 at least - I haven't yet tried it in 18.1) but it appears that for me at least this is a workable solution because analog output works in both 17.3 and 18.1. If there are no instances in which digital output is necessary then this is solved. Thanks *very* much to both of you. I don't know if it was as difficult for you when you were new to this to work things out but it's very difficult for me.

Although the audio now works in 17.3, I'm considering loading 18.1 anyway because I'm assuming it'll be supported longer. This is a separate question (should I post it as a new thread?) but in case there are other problems with 18.1 that show up as I use it, can I partition my drive and set it up to do a dual boot with 17.3 and 18.1 (as can be done for a dual boot with Linux and Windows)? From this thread here, it sounds like it can be done (although this talks about using live distros so it may be different):

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...ve-4175576900/

In any event thanks again very much for the help!

Rickkkk · 03-28-2017, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rad57

... Thanks *very* much to both of you. I don't know if it was as difficult for you when you were new to this to work things out but it's very difficult for me.

Although the audio now works in 17.3, I'm considering loading 18.1 anyway because I'm assuming it'll be supported longer. This is a separate question (should I post it as a new thread?) but in case there are other problems with 18.1 that show up as I use it, can I partition my drive and set it up to do a dual boot with 17.3 and 18.1 (as can be done for a dual boot with Linux and Windows)? From this thread here, it sounds like it can be done (although this talks about using live distros so it may be different):

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...ve-4175576900/

In any event thanks again very much for the help!

... Super news - glad we were able to be of assistance. It's difficult for anyone the first time around ...

Don't worry about the digital output - this is more for cases where you will be connecting to another device through a digital connection (ex. HDMI, through spdif to a en external sound interface ... etc. ...). For speakers, you need analog.

The answer to your last question is "yes" - you can install another linux distro in a separate partition - I've done that several times.

Cheers -