I don't seem to be able to get any sound whatsoever on my Mandrake 10. When i originally installed the os a few months back i did have sound using the same hardware as i do now (except for the modem changing from USB to LAN), but now i can't get any sound.

I have an nVidia integrated soundcard on a FN45 shuttle motherboard and in MCC under 'Soundcard' i see 'nForce2 APU' and 'nForce2 Audio Codec Interface'. I've tried it with both the intel and nvaudio drivers on the list and neither work.

When i try and play music files it says 'This is an audio only file, and there is no audio output availible.'

Any ideas what i should tweak in order to get sound to make a re-appearance, so to speak?

when i tried using the nvaudio modules, my system died a death, same for the oss modules. running snd_i8x0 module in alsa, it works like a charm. make sure you're running Alsa happily, and you have /dev/dsp entries on your system

Hiya,

I'm using nVidia SoundStorm, a Integrated Soundcard from Abit NF7S (nForce2 motherboard). I'm getting no sounds from medias(mp3s,wmv,etc...). But i do hear system error prompts sounds thou.

Could you please elaborate on your advice for me slightly because i'm very new to linux and i'm not fully familiar with how it all works. So if you could provide an "idiots version" of the above tip i would greatly appreciate it.

Also, my Mandrake 10 linux box is quite unstable at times and can lock up and freeze completely at random. I have been told that this may be due to KDE sound or something like that. So if you could tell me how to disable that and fix my sound at the same time i should be sorted.

Any help is much appreciated, cheers.

Just checked MCC and looked at Services, and the ALSA sound driver says it's "Stopped" even thought it's set to start on boot. When i click "Start" it doens't do anything. I'm guessing i need to start this and make sure it always starts and stays on during and after boot, in order to get sound.

Rule #1: ALWAYS check if the problem is with your hardware.
-check if sound works on antoher OS , if you are multibooting!
-if not multibooting, check if the output is plugged in where it should be!

Here's the scoop:

- Run the sound-debug script:
echo "My Sound Debug"
echo "*** Detected soundcards ***"
lspcidrake -v | fgrep AUDIO
echo "*** Available sound-slots ***"
grep sound-slot /etc/modules.conf
echo "*** Sound module list ***"
lsmod | fgrep snd
echo "*** Check sound configuration ***"
chkconfig --list sound
echo "*** Check alsa configuration ***"
chkconfig --list alsa
#echo "*** Mixer volumes (check for mute) ***"
#aumix -q #this part commented because
#amixer #mdk10 doesn't have aumix
echo "*** dsp users (only one allowed) ***"
fuser -v /dev/dsp
- If all is ok all you nee to do is to run the unmute script:
amixer set PCM 22 unmute
amixer set PC\ Speaker 22 unmute
amixer set Master 22 unmute
amixer set Master\ Mono 22 unmute
amixer set Headphone 22 unmute
amixer set Phone 22 unmute
amixer set Aux 22 unmute
amixer set Video 22 unmute
amixer set CD 22 unmute
amixer set Input\ Gain 22 unmute
amixer set Line 22 unmute
amixer set MIC 22 unmute
NOTE: you can paste these two scripts directly into bash or create files named 'snd-debug' and 'audunmute' paste the commands into them, set them executable, and run them. (This is better because you might need to run these scripts again) More detail in post #9.
- If this doesn't work:
- Install the snd-config and see if it can find your precise sound card type
- If you're using the wrong sound driver:
- check for the available snd drivers in /usr/src/linux/drivers/sound
(urpmi kernel) if the kernel source doesn't exist
- check modules.conf for the audio driver in use change it if needed
- If all these don't help you might try installing a new OSS

HTH

Steve

Sorry Wyk3d but you're gonna have to put that in laymans terms for me because i can't make much sense of it from that.

have u checked out nvidias website they have linux drivers for lan and soundcards for their mobos which will save u compiling modules in linux

Ok ok .. sorry about not thinking before i post. (won't let it happen again)

One thing i tend to do is roughing it out and choosing the harder less built-in methods of solving a problem (the original linux way). But you probably just want the problem fixed. One thing that mandrake and windows have in common is that many problems can be fixed by reinstall them. Doing a quick upgrade style reinstall of mandrake (WITHOUT FORMATTING) just might solve your problem since it worked in the beginning. If this doesn't solve your problem or you don't like reinstalling, like myself, then read on.

The commands listed in my previous post that make up the two scripts should be pasted into seperate files (in a console:e.g 'vi sound-debug', press 'I' then rightclick-paste,exit by pressing esc and then typing ':exit') and then it should be made executable with 'chmod +x sound-debug'. Once executed with './sound-debug' it will print out a lot of useful information that can be used to troubleshoot your audio issues. The second script is set up in the same way and when './audunmute' is run it corrects and unmutes the sound volumes. This is useful sometimes but probably not for mdk10.

It would definitely help if you posted the result of the sound-debug script.
In the last line there should be a file not found or something if you don't have /dev/dsp.

I'm not sure how to manally overload the oss with alsa but it can be done from mcc and from XMMS or Totem player configuration.

In the part after the scripts i gave a quick checklist for what to do if the sound card isn't detected properly, but ofcourse this probably isn't the problem in your case. Mdk 10 is too new not to recognize something, it probably needs a bit of configuring.

Hope this helps..

Ok i still have no sound whatsoever on my Mandrake 10 linux. The ALSA driver doesn't appear to be starting on boot, but even after going into MCC and restarting this manually i still get no sound. However, before i restart ALSA it says there is no audio device installed when i open a song mp3, but after i restart ALSA it plays and the little equaliser thingy makes colours and patterns as though it were playing, but i can't hear it. So it's a sensible guess to assume it's muted somehow.

I have tried the './audunmute' command as suggested by Wyk3d but it wouldn't accept the command. Maybe i missed something out or typed it in the wrong format, but it didn't do anything.

Anyone got any ideas or further (as simple as possible) advice?

Oh please i can't be that misunderstandable (

You have to create the audunmute script yourself !!!!
It's thoroughly described in my last post.
And here it is again:
- create the script file NAME IT 'audunmute' !!!!
- enter the commands listed in my first post for audunmute
- set it to executable
- run it --> it will unmute things and set volumes

The problem is that in mandrake 10 you don't have the neat aumix tool,
so the best way i know of is using this script for unmuteing.

Oh and one more thing: I had the same problems and I edited /etc/rc.d/init.d/sound. It wouldn't hurt if you'd post the contents of that file because even if unmuteing works you might need to do it every time linux boots. In mandrake 9.1 atleast there is an error in that file that prevents the previous settings for the sound being loaded.

I won't quit until you have your sound fixed

Steve

Steve dude you rule, and i'm gonna go try some of this stuff you said about right now. If i can do it

And don't worry it's not your help that's at fault, it's my linux command knowledge, it's damn near zero but i'm trying to learn!

BBS

Ok i opened a console, logged in as root, typed vi audunmute and pressed 'i' and then pasted the stuff you provided into it. I then pressed ESC as you said but cannot type exit as it will not work. It simply ignore the EX, takes the i as insert and i end up with a T at the end of my code.

Still confused.

try pressing ESC and the ':exit' with ':'

Steve

Steve dude you're a genius, your audunmute script has done the job. Top man, thanks a lot

Now i hate to do this to you, but there is one more sound problem. The ALSA driver does not start on boot, despite the fact the "Start on boot" box is checked in MCC. So i have to manually go into MCC and click START to get it going again. Got any little tricks to force this to start on boot properly ?