I had a go at compiling a new kernel.

It didn't work. So, booted into the OLD kernel.

Which works fine, right up until I try and play an MP3, and I notice there's no sound.

The syslog has the same messages repeated over and over that it can't locate the module:

Apr 9 15:49:31 Eeyore modprobe: modprobe: Can't locate module sound-slot-0
Apr 9 15:49:31 Eeyore modprobe: modprobe: Can't locate module sound-service-0-0
Apr 9 15:49:31 Eeyore modprobe: modprobe: Can't locate module sound-slot-0
Apr 9 15:49:31 Eeyore modprobe: modprobe: Can't locate module sound-service-0-0
Apr 9 15:49:31 Eeyore modprobe: modprobe: Can't locate module sound-slot-0
Apr 9 15:49:31 Eeyore modprobe: modprobe: Can't locate module sound-service-0-0
Apr 9 15:53:04 Eeyore modprobe: modprobe: Can't locate module char-major-116

So.. how do I go about getting sound back?

And, for a bonus point, how do I get rid of the new (non-functioning) kernel and go back to just the original one? Simply overwriting vmlinuz with vmlinuz.old doesn't seem to work.

Any advice appreciated

sounds like you've royally messed things up but it should be recoverable. I'd say the best thing to do is to persist with the new kernel and give up on the old one. If you follow the instructions from http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...threadid=49035 in the future you should avoid getting into a mess again about not being able to go back to a working kernel. I'm guessing from what you said about just overwriting vmlinuz with vmlinuz.old you haven't done the same with System.map and System.map-old?

a good way of getting the new kernel working is make oldconfig, it uses the config file from your old kernel as a basis so its more likely to work first time

you can command exp:cd /src/kernelxxxx then xconfig and with with beautiful gui,you can configure or enable it whatsmore much things you can configure and administrate you kernel
good luck

I DID follow the instructions from that guide... the whole process went just fine, the kernel just doesn't work. I obviously took out something I shouldn't have..

Wasn't sure about System.map but have now copied the old one over, thanks.

That just leaves me with no sound.. alsaconf says it can't find any PCI sound cards, even tho lspci finds it just fine. The sound card is built in to the motherboard, so it's not like it's going to get disconnected

Any ideas?

sounds like you haven't compiled the driver needed for the soundcard into the kernel

I too have a soundcard built into my mobo, alsaconf reports that there is none, but it seems that it still sees it, because when I change the volume with alsamixer it seems to work. Try just turning alsamixer up and see if it plays sound. If it doesn't, then you probably dont have the right drivers compiled into the kernel like dhbiker said. Post what type of motherboard you have.

--Hope this helps

Alsamixer won't open - it complains about "No such device"

The thing I don't understand is that I'm using the original kernel - which used to work just fine.

MoBo is the Asus A7N8X Deluxe

Because its complaing about not finding the modules, I assume its still looking in the dir of the other kernel. Try

depmod %your kernel number (e.x. 2.4.22)%

That should fix it.

slackwarefan you are a legend! I've been complaining about loading modules from other kernels for a while now and no-one has been able to help me. does depmod work for 2.6.xx kernels as well? (I remember hearing something about them using a different system for module management or something)

Nope, still no joy

lsmod lists "soundcore", used by 0 - that's all that's obviously to do with sound tho.

Is it possibly something to do with the drivers? The soundcard is an nVidia nForce, but in /etc/modules.conf it aliases "snd-card-0" to snd-intel8x0. While sound cards are (fairly obviously not my specialty, I find it hard to believe an nForce card on an athlon mobo uses intel...

I'm really baffled that lspci finds an audio controller just fine, but alsaconf insists there's no PCI sound detectable..

yup, that's definitely the wrong module you've got there in your kernel, that is the driver for the intel boards (and SiS7012).

I think lspci just tells you that the soundcard is there properly, I don't think it tells you that you've got the correct drivers. You need to compile the correct module into the kernel and it should work

Right. So, now that we know what to do to solve the sound card issue...

Any idea why I can't seem to compile a working kernel?

I've used the guide from this forum, and, although no error messages popped up, the kernel doesn't work. I've tried over-writing the new kernel & system.map with the original, working old one - doesn't work.

I've tried using "make oldconfig" to make a new kernel with all the settings of the original. It STILL doesn't work - it gets to the "checking BIOS" bit right after LILO, then when I expect it to change to the booting screen with the Tux icon in the top corner, the screen just goes blank and that's it.

What am I doing wrong?? I get no error messages in the whole recompile process, I just can't get a working kernel at the end of it. I'm still having to boot via Linux.old!

As soon as I can figure out how I compile a working kernel, maybe I have a chance of configuring the right modules into it. Right now, I'm lost...

*edit* A look-around in the menuconfig shows the preferences aren't the original ones, even after oldconfig - if I replace the .config file with the one that came with the original Slackware install, would it allow me to recompile the original kernel? If so, where do I find a copy of said file?

Hi there

Are you trying to upgrade from kernel 2.4.x to 2.6.x? Anyway....

Once I had this problem too (sound card didn't work after upgraded to 2.6.x), here's how I solved it:

1. Make sure you selected the correct sound driver when compiling your new kernel.

2. Upgrade alsa-lib and alsa-utils as well. You can download them from http://www.alsa-project.org/. (for my case, alsaconf reported there's no sound card because I didn't upgrade these two package)

3. run alsaconf to auto-config your sound card.

4. (if you are upgrade from 2.4.x to 2.6) run "generate-modprobe.conf > /etc/modprobe.conf" as root to update the modprobe.conf file.

5. Run "modprobe <you_snd_card_module>" to see if it works or not.

6. (if 5. success) Run "alsamixer" and "alsactl store" to store your mixer setting.

That's how I (a newbie) fix my sound problem... (google is your best friend) hope this can help.

if this works I could run down the wire and give you a big kiss