[SOLVED] Alsa has stopped detecting the sound card

xj25vm · 05-22-2016, 02:25 PM

Lenovo E130 laptop
Slackware 64bit -current
Kernel 4.4.6

After the last reboot, all of a sudden it seems ALSA can't detect the sound hardware any more. If my understanding is correct, ALSA is still talking to the sound card, although we have now moved to Pulseaudio, right? The sound has worked for another 2-3 reboots, after upgrading the machine to -current about 2 weeks ago, so I will assume it isn't related to the upgrade.

Code:

# lsmod | grep snd
snd                    68877  1 thinkpad_acpi
soundcore               6876  1 snd

Code:

# aplay -l
**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
aplay: device_list:289: snd_ctl_pcm_next_device

Am I correct in thinking that the above looks like my sound card has just died and disappeared completely?

hitest · 05-22-2016, 02:47 PM

Maybe this thread will help?

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...nd-4175563124/

xj25vm · 05-22-2016, 02:58 PM

Thank you for the suggestion hitest. I think my situation is not looking promising:

Code:

# lspci | grep -i audio
#

ReaperX7 · 05-22-2016, 03:57 PM

How old is your hardware?

xj25vm · 05-22-2016, 04:11 PM

About 3.5 years old. I wouldn't be surprised if it has started to give in.

ReaperX7 · 05-22-2016, 05:03 PM

If udev isn't loading drivers then it very well could be dying hardware. A good way to check this is to get a USB audio device, even as something simple as a headset, and attach it and see how well it works. This will tell you if it's software or hardware. If the USB device loads without issue, then you have a problem. If not, check and see if you have HDMI.

If by chance you also have an HDMI capable system, then, check which device is in the 0:0 position. You might need further configuration to mark the Multimedia controller as the first audio device. Pulse isn't perfect but it's just automated somewhat, and even it can need fine tuning.

However, if the hardware is dying, you have a few options such as USB audio or even, if you have the port for it, PCMCIA audio devices. Personally, get what will work best for you and isn't bank breaking.

Nille_kungen · 05-22-2016, 05:34 PM

If i get an error like this i often boot an live-distribution to check if it works there or if it's detected at all.

ReaperX7 · 05-22-2016, 11:12 PM

You can also try force loading the driver with modprobe. However, if the interface doesn't register then the hardware is going out.

xj25vm · 05-31-2016, 04:11 AM

Thanks everybody. Today I got round to trying a live cd on this laptop. There was no sound hardware registered there either - so this laptop is heading for the laptops heaven in the sky!