I've just installed Red Hat Linux 9, I had to disable PnP OS in my BIOS for it to find and configure my soundcard. I'm running KDE 3.1, and the hardware browser shows my SoundBlaster 128 PCI card as:

5880 AudioPCI

Manufacturer: Ensonic
Driver: es1371

When I run soundcard detection it comes back with the same, EXCEPT when I play a test sound, it asks me if I heard the test sound, and I indicate 'No', then get the following message:

Automatic detection of the sound card did not work. Audio will not be available on the system. Please click OK to continue.

What can I do to fix this? I've searched all over the net, and found a fix for SUSE, tried it, but it doesn't work. Also, I found nothing in the Red Hat Knowledge Base. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in Advance

I was able to finally configure the SB128 PCI by running /usr/sbin/setup. I'm still running KDE 3.1 My system sounds and CD's play just fine. The only problem now is that I am unable to open, load, or play any audio files, (.wav, .ogg, .mp3). Yes I do have all the plugins and the players are correctly configured. Why can't I play any audio files? Better yet, how can I fix this?

Cheers!

Red Hat 9 uses ALSA sound drivers, and it's possible there are no ALSA drivers for your sound card. Check the ALSA web page and see if your type of sound card is supported.

It is very much worthwhile to 'roll your own' sound modules even if the RedHat installer program is successful. There are so many more features enabled when you set it up according to the instructions on the ALSA homepage.

Maybe you should recompile the kernel before attempting to compile the ALSA drivers. I read somewhere that the ALSA drivers won't be created correctly if you are using a pre-made kernel.

You might also see support for your sound card in the OSS drivers, if there is no support for your card with ALSA drivers. In this case you might still have to recompile the kernel to get it to work.

Sorry to give you the bad news. I know it looks like a lot of work for just the sound. You will learn a lot in the proccess though.


Harry

Yeah, the mp3 support has been removed from Red Hat 9 because of legal vulnerabilities. You can always download another Linux mp3 player though.

Sorry to bring up yet another suggestion. You may have two sound cards in your computer. The good one (SoundBlaster)and a little cheapie card that is built onto the mainboard. It might be a good idea to disable the on-board soundcard with the bios, or maybe a jumper setting on the board, if possible.

Alright, actually what I have is an on-board sound card. I've just completed the installation. The sound card doesnt work at all. What should I do, find driver for it or something else?