Soundcard disappeared after no update, Dummy Output only

Odk · 03-19-2020, 12:51 PM

Hi guys,

this is my first question on this server, I know, that this kind of problem has been around many times and I'm sorry about it, but I tried every solution I found during the day and nothing helped. I'm a beginner with Ubuntu with only a few months of experience, what's making the situation for me even harder.

I didn't do any update or upgrade yesterday and everything worked fine, but today when I turned my laptop on I got no sound, just Dummy Output.

I went through countless pages on forums, tried almost everything, but no success (removing and reinstalling ALSA packages, installing further audio add-on packages, adding my user to groups and so on). I can't even run alsamixer (Mixer attach default error: No such file or directory).

I also tried commands from, for instance, this link: https://askubuntu.com/questions/1123...d-not-detected .
Again with no effect.

Here's more information about my situation:

lspci -nnk | grep -A2 Audio (returns nothing)

aplay -l (no soundcards found...)

pacmd list-cards (0 card(s) available.)

sudo fuser -v /dev/snd/* (returns nothing)

grep 'audio' /etc/group (audio:x:29

dk,pulse)

Only with lshw I can find in *-multimedia Multimedia audio controller (Intel Corporation) and lspci -v detects 00:1f.3 Multimedia audio controller: Intel Corporation Device 9dc8 (rev11)

*pavucontrol* detects only Dummy Output.

Here's the link to alsa-info for more detailed information:
http://alsa-project.org/db/?f=939c44...23d402dfbc4105

Thank you for any help or advice!

ferrari · 03-19-2020, 04:27 PM

Your alsa-info.sh output shows that no driver is loaded. That's what needs to be addressed.

Code:

!!Soundcards recognised by ALSA
!!-----------------------------

--- no soundcards ---


!!PCI Soundcards installed in the system
!!--------------------------------------

00:1f.3 Multimedia audio controller: Intel Corporation Device 9dc8 (rev 11)


!!Advanced information - PCI Vendor/Device/Subsystem ID's
!!-------------------------------------------------------

	Prefetchable memory behind bridge: 0000004000000000-0000004021ffffff
	Secondary status: 66MHz- FastB2B- ParErr- DEVSEL=fast >TAbort- <TAbort- <MAbort  <SERR- <PERR-
--
00:1f.3 0401: 8086:9dc8 (rev 11)
	Subsystem: 103c:8549
--
	Prefetchable memory behind bridge: 0000004000000000-0000004021ffffff
	Secondary status: 66MHz- FastB2B- ParErr- DEVSEL=fast >TAbort- <TAbort- <MAbort- <SERR- <PERR-
--
	Prefetchable memory behind bridge: 0000004000000000-0000004021ffffff
	Secondary status: 66MHz- FastB2B- ParErr- DEVSEL=fast >TAbort- <TAbort- <MAbort- <SERR- <PERR-


!!Modprobe options (Sound related)
!!--------------------------------

ferrari · 03-19-2020, 04:30 PM

Can you provide your distro/version details? Run these commands and report back with the output...

Code:

cat /etc/os-release

Code:

uname -r

ferrari · 03-19-2020, 04:44 PM

Further to the above info, let's take a look at your existing config (assuming *buntu dsitro)....

Code:

cat /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf

aus9 · 03-19-2020, 10:57 PM

Further to the above....we know you have an intel sound device....most onboard are.
its product id is 9dc8 and your CPU codename is Skylake

Secondly and maybe because of that chipset....you appear to have needed kernel modules that are firmware related
snd_sof and similar.

What happened when you uninstalled software and re-installed it...may have messed up some dependencies. It it not clear to me if you also ran....command = sudo apt autoremove.

We will be able to check what got removed by you showing snippets of your package removal log.
On Debian systems that is viewable with a text editor, but you may need a root powered text editor at
/var/log/apt/history.log

and depending on any log rotation policies ....other history logs that might be compressed.

If you can upload your history log to a file sharing site or
if you have only a small number of entries show the output in a quote box please.

In terms of sof firmware.....this is easier to see by looking at a date in your log....for working sound and showing a snippet of it....otherwise....assuming the working firmware is a few days old try this....but only if you think its relevant.

Code:

cat /var/log/messages.1 | grep firmware

Notice I added .1....on assumption "messages" might be todays timestamps. YMMV

what I am proposing is.....
we find out what you system needed to load firmware wise when you had sound a few days ago
we then check your system has those <firmware>.bin files

also doing a search of your product ID suggests this
vendor: 8086 ("Intel Corporation"), device: 9dc8 ("Cannon Point-LP High Definition Audio Controller")

Does that ring a bell?

Odk · 03-20-2020, 03:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ferrari

Further to the above info, let's take a look at your existing config (assuming *buntu dsitro)....

Code:

cat /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf

Thanks for your answer.
Here're the commands you proposed:

cat /etc/os-release

Code:

NAME="Ubuntu"
VERSION="18.04.4 LTS (Bionic Beaver)"
ID=ubuntu
ID_LIKE=debian
PRETTY_NAME="Ubuntu 18.04.4 LTS"
VERSION_ID="18.04"
HOME_URL="https://www.ubuntu.com/"
SUPPORT_URL="https://help.ubuntu.com/"
BUG_REPORT_URL="https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/"
PRIVACY_POLICY_URL="https://www.ubuntu.com/legal/terms-and-policies/privacy-policy"
VERSION_CODENAME=bionic
UBUNTU_CODENAME=bionic

uname -r

Code:

5.3.0-42-generic

cat /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf

Code:

# autoloader aliases
install sound-slot-0 /sbin/modprobe snd-card-0
install sound-slot-1 /sbin/modprobe snd-card-1
install sound-slot-2 /sbin/modprobe snd-card-2
install sound-slot-3 /sbin/modprobe snd-card-3
install sound-slot-4 /sbin/modprobe snd-card-4
install sound-slot-5 /sbin/modprobe snd-card-5
install sound-slot-6 /sbin/modprobe snd-card-6
install sound-slot-7 /sbin/modprobe snd-card-7

# Cause optional modules to be loaded above generic modules
install snd /sbin/modprobe --ignore-install snd $CMDLINE_OPTS && { /sbin/modprobe --quiet --use-blacklist snd-ioctl32 ; /sbin/modprobe --quiet --use-blacklist snd-seq ; }
#
# Workaround at bug #499695 (reverted in Ubuntu see LP #319505)
install snd-pcm /sbin/modprobe --ignore-install snd-pcm $CMDLINE_OPTS && { /sbin/modprobe --quiet --use-blacklist snd-pcm-oss ; : ; }
install snd-mixer /sbin/modprobe --ignore-install snd-mixer $CMDLINE_OPTS && { /sbin/modprobe --quiet --use-blacklist snd-mixer-oss ; : ; }
install snd-seq /sbin/modprobe --ignore-install snd-seq $CMDLINE_OPTS && { /sbin/modprobe --quiet --use-blacklist snd-seq-midi ; /sbin/modprobe --quiet --use-blacklist snd-seq-oss ; : ; }
#
install snd-rawmidi /sbin/modprobe --ignore-install snd-rawmidi $CMDLINE_OPTS && { /sbin/modprobe --quiet --use-blacklist snd-seq-midi ; : ; }
# Cause optional modules to be loaded above sound card driver modules
install snd-emu10k1 /sbin/modprobe --ignore-install snd-emu10k1 $CMDLINE_OPTS && { /sbin/modprobe --quiet --use-blacklist snd-emu10k1-synth ; }
install snd-via82xx /sbin/modprobe --ignore-install snd-via82xx $CMDLINE_OPTS && { /sbin/modprobe --quiet --use-blacklist snd-seq ; }

# Load saa7134-alsa instead of saa7134 (which gets dragged in by it anyway)
install saa7134 /sbin/modprobe --ignore-install saa7134 $CMDLINE_OPTS && { /sbin/modprobe --quiet --use-blacklist saa7134-alsa ; : ; }
# Prevent abnormal drivers from grabbing index 0
options bt87x index=-2
options cx88_alsa index=-2
options saa7134-alsa index=-2
options snd-atiixp-modem index=-2
options snd-intel8x0m index=-2
options snd-via82xx-modem index=-2
options snd-usb-audio index=-2
options snd-usb-caiaq index=-2
options snd-usb-ua101 index=-2
options snd-usb-us122l index=-2
options snd-usb-usx2y index=-2
# Ubuntu #62691, enable MPU for snd-cmipci
options snd-cmipci mpu_port=0x330 fm_port=0x388
# Keep snd-pcsp from being loaded as first soundcard
options snd-pcsp index=-2
# Keep snd-usb-audio from beeing loaded as first soundcard
options snd-usb-audio index=-2

Odk · 03-20-2020, 04:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aus9

Further to the above....we know you have an intel sound device....most onboard are.
its product id is 9dc8 and your CPU codename is Skylake

Secondly and maybe because of that chipset....you appear to have needed kernel modules that are firmware related
snd_sof and similar.

What happened when you uninstalled software and re-installed it...may have messed up some dependencies. It it not clear to me if you also ran....command = sudo apt autoremove.

We will be able to check what got removed by you showing snippets of your package removal log.
On Debian systems that is viewable with a text editor, but you may need a root powered text editor at
/var/log/apt/history.log

and depending on any log rotation policies ....other history logs that might be compressed.

If you can upload your history log to a file sharing site or
if you have only a small number of entries show the output in a quote box please.

In terms of sof firmware.....this is easier to see by looking at a date in your log....for working sound and showing a snippet of it....otherwise....assuming the working firmware is a few days old try this....but only if you think its relevant.

Code:

cat /var/log/messages.1 | grep firmware

Notice I added .1....on assumption "messages" might be todays timestamps. YMMV

what I am proposing is.....
we find out what you system needed to load firmware wise when you had sound a few days ago
we then check your system has those <firmware>.bin files

also doing a search of your product ID suggests this
vendor: 8086 ("Intel Corporation"), device: 9dc8 ("Cannon Point-LP High Definition Audio Controller")

Does that ring a bell?

Hi, thanks for your answer.

To start from the beginning, yes, I did sudo apt autoremove, too as it was recommended in one of the possible solutions I found online. Hope I didn't mess it up completely...

I'm attaching the history.log for you. I'm sorry, in advance, for yesterday's mess inside, but I was just trying various recommendations over and over again during the day.

If I use cat /var/log/messages.1 | grep firmware, I get the error message: No such file or directory.
So I tried ls to see the contents of the log folder and there're no message files:

Code:

/var/log$ ls
alternatives.log       auth.log.2.gz  fontconfig.log     syslog
alternatives.log.1     auth.log.3.gz  gdm3               syslog.1
alternatives.log.2.gz  auth.log.4.gz  gpu-manager.log    syslog.2.gz
apport.log             boot.log       hp                 syslog.3.gz
apport.log.1           bootstrap.log  installer          syslog.4.gz
apport.log.2.gz        btmp           journal            syslog.5.gz
apport.log.3.gz        btmp.1         kern.log           syslog.6.gz
apport.log.4.gz        cups           kern.log.1         syslog.7.gz
apport.log.5.gz        dist-upgrade   kern.log.2.gz      tallylog
apport.log.6.gz        dpkg.log       kern.log.3.gz      unattended-upgrades
apt                    dpkg.log.1     kern.log.4.gz      wtmp
auth.log               dpkg.log.2.gz  lastlog            wtmp.1
auth.log.1             faillog        speech-dispatcher

If I can try something else to help to find a solution, let me know.

ferrari · 03-20-2020, 04:42 AM

I note a similar fedora thread (same audio chipset) where it was found that the "sof-audio-pci" audio driver was not loading.

The kernel messaging issues can be got using

Code:

sudo dmesg | grep audio

The author of that thread claimed that adding the following kernel parameter

Code:

snd_hda_intel.dmic_detect=0

to the grub boot configuration helped with this particular issue. If you need guidance on doing that, refer to this guide

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Kernel/KernelBootParameters

Let's see if that helps.

Odk · 03-20-2020, 05:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ferrari

I note a similar fedora thread (same audio chipset) where it was found that the "sof-audio-pci" audio driver was not loading.

The kernel messaging issues can be got using

Code:

sudo dmesg | grep audio

The author of that thread claimed that adding the following kernel parameter

Code:

snd_hda_intel.dmic_detect=0

to the grub boot configuration helped with this particular issue. If you need guidance on doing that, refer to this guide

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Kernel/KernelBootParameters

Let's see if that helps.

It seems that it really helps, everything's fine right after rebooting.
Thanks a lot for your help and recommendation!

ferrari · 03-20-2020, 06:23 AM

Glad to have been of help here.

aus9 · 03-20-2020, 06:48 AM

great to hear.

actually I just make my own inferences on your history log.

before the 19th most were prompted thru the applet updates
on the 19th you had a kernel update
then you manually did a
"apt-get upgrade" without a "apt update" and so I have my Ubuntu recommendation ....do not do that next time please

ref
https://askubuntu.com/questions/1946...t-dist-upgrade

Quote:

snip dist-upgrade in addition to performing the function of upgrade,
also intelligently handles changing dependencies with new versions
of packages

so either stay with the applet or....don't use the tool and do it manually this way

Code:

sduo apt update && sudo apt dist-upgrade

#######

then I noticed you manually added a player. timestamp 19th 11am ...I have no recommendation there, giggles but
when you read your own log....you will see mention of phonon

and your very next command was
apt-get remove --purge alsa-base pulseaudio pavucontrol

and I would better that phonon interfered with your sound.....its another front end....a bit like pulseaudio but not as widely useful as pulseaudio.

Now when you look at your log at apt get upgrade you will notice linux-firmware was updated.
but I was unable to see any more relevant hits for firmware.

so I was wrong on alsa firmware. So good job by ferrari

But I would still like to ponder your log and see if you agree there is merit in changing your procedures.

ar-naseef · 03-21-2020, 12:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ferrari

Further to the above info, let's take a look at your existing config (assuming *buntu dsitro)....

Code:

cat /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf

I am facing the same issue in my Thinkpad x1 carbon 7th gen.

Mine is - Kernel driver in use: snd_soc_skl

Outputs for

Code:

cat /etc/os-release

and

Code:

uname -r

are exactly the same as Odk

but the outputs for

Code:

cat /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf

is

Code:

cat: /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf: No such file or directory

Thanks.

ferrari · 03-21-2020, 03:21 PM

@ar-naseef: Keep your replies to your support thread. Things can get confusing if trying to discuss in multiple places.