[SOLVED] ALSA unmuted but no sound in VirtualBox

sleepy_cat · 2015-12-15 01:31:44

i've installed alsa package, and unmuted the Master sound card.
but it still no sound at all, why?

output of lspci | grep audio:

00:05.0 Multimedia audio controller: Intel Corporation 82801AA AC'97 Audio Controller (rev 01)

output of pacman -Qs alsa:

local/alsa-firmware 1.0.29-1
    ALSA firmware package
local/alsa-lib 1.1.0-1
    An alternative implementation of Linux sound support
local/alsa-oss 1.0.28-1
    OSS compatibility library
local/alsa-plugins 1.1.0-1
    Extra alsa plugins
local/alsa-utils 1.1.0-1
    An alternative implementation of Linux sound support

here is the screenshot of alsamixer command:
http://dwz.cn/2lZsuW

output of speaker-test -c 2:

speaker-test 1.1.0

Playback device is default
Stream parameters are 48000Hz, S16_LE, 2 channels
Using 16 octaves of pink noise
Rate set to 48000Hz (requested 48000Hz)
Buffer size range from 2048 to 16384
Period size range from 1024 to 1024
Using max buffer size 16384
Periods = 4
was set period_size = 1024
was set buffer_size = 16384
 0 - Front Left

# frozen at here, ctrl + z stopped.

there is no sound during speaker-test -c 2.

Last edited by sleepy_cat (2015-12-21 03:48:35)

Lone_Wolf · 2015-12-15 11:05:09

dmesg / journalctl output after the frozen speaker-test would be useful.

Please post these also :

full output of aplay -l & aplay -L (first command uses small lima, 2nd a capital Lima) would help.

content of /etc/asound.conf file (if it exsists)

output of pacman -Qs pulse

sleepy_cat · 2015-12-16 02:21:11

dmesg / journalctl output after the frozen speaker-test would be useful.

what that mean? i really don't understand it.

output of aplay -l:

**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: I82801AAICH [Intel 82801AA-ICH], device 0: Intel ICH [Intel 82801AA-ICH]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0

output of aplay -L:

null
    Discard all samples (playback) or generate zero samples (capture)
pulse
    PulseAudio Sound Server
default:CARD=I82801AAICH
    Intel 82801AA-ICH, Intel 82801AA-ICH
    Default Audio Device
sysdefault:CARD=I82801AAICH
    Intel 82801AA-ICH, Intel 82801AA-ICH
    Default Audio Device
front:CARD=I82801AAICH,DEV=0
    Intel 82801AA-ICH, Intel 82801AA-ICH
    Front speakers
surround21:CARD=I82801AAICH,DEV=0
    Intel 82801AA-ICH, Intel 82801AA-ICH
    2.1 Surround output to Front and Subwoofer speakers
surround40:CARD=I82801AAICH,DEV=0
    Intel 82801AA-ICH, Intel 82801AA-ICH
    4.0 Surround output to Front and Rear speakers
surround41:CARD=I82801AAICH,DEV=0
    Intel 82801AA-ICH, Intel 82801AA-ICH
    4.1 Surround output to Front, Rear and Subwoofer speakers
surround50:CARD=I82801AAICH,DEV=0
    Intel 82801AA-ICH, Intel 82801AA-ICH
    5.0 Surround output to Front, Center and Rear speakers
surround51:CARD=I82801AAICH,DEV=0
    Intel 82801AA-ICH, Intel 82801AA-ICH
    5.1 Surround output to Front, Center, Rear and Subwoofer speakers
iec958:CARD=I82801AAICH,DEV=0
    Intel 82801AA-ICH, Intel 82801AA-ICH
    IEC958 (S/PDIF) Digital Audio Output

where /etc/asound.conf do not exist.

output of pacman -Qs pulse:

local/libpulse 7.1-3
    A featureful, general-purpose sound server (client library)

Last edited by sleepy_cat (2015-12-16 02:27:53)

Lone_Wolf · 2015-12-16 11:22:49

Ok, nothing clearly wrong sofar, although i'd expect alsamixer to show more channels .
The freezing speaker-test however suggest there's a problem on a lower level.

run dmesg > dmesg-alsaproblem.txt and post the dmesg-alsaproblem.txt .
It will be large, better use a a pastebin client. https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Li … in_clients

sleepy_cat · 2015-12-17 00:44:50

here is the full channels of alsamixer:
http://dwz.cn/2mNuJe

and here is the output of dmesg:
http://ix.io/mQ8

the settings of audio in Virtualbox:
http://dwz.cn/2mNyM3
which Host Audio Driver: contains

Null Audio Driver
Windows DirectSound

Audio Controller contains:

Intel HD Audio
ICH AC97
SoundBlaster 16

Last edited by sleepy_cat (2015-12-17 00:51:49)

Lone_Wolf · 2015-12-17 10:06:22

dmesg doesn't give clues sofar, please run the speaker-test and post dmesg output after you have done that.

You could also try selecting "Intel HD Audio" and see if that does work.

sleepy_cat · 2015-12-17 13:47:29

after running speaker-test -c 2, output of dmesg:
http://ix.io/mQH

when i switched to "Intel HD Audio", output of lspci | grep audio:

00:05.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) High Definition Audio Controller (rev 01)

output of speaker-test -c 2 under "Intel HD Audio":

speaker-test 1.1.0

Playback device is default
Stream parameters are 48000Hz, S16_LE, 2 channels
Using 16 octaves of pink noise
ALSA lib pcm_dmix.c:1029:(snd_pcm_dmix_open) unable to open slave
Playback open error: -2,No such file or directory

screenshot of alsamixer under "Intel HD Audio":
http://dwz.cn/2n8AbC

output of dmesg after running speaker-test -c 2 under "Intel HD Audio":
http://ix.io/mQK

Last edited by sleepy_cat (2015-12-17 14:01:52)

Lone_Wolf · 2015-12-17 21:27:48

Intel HD audio

Looks like alsa needs additional configuration for that setup,not sure if it's worth pursuing.

-----------------------------

[   16.689026] snd_intel8x0 0000:00:05.0: disable (unknown or VT-d) VM optimization
<snip>
[   62.719236] snd_intel8x0 0000:00:05.0: intel8x0_measure_ac97_clock: measured 5127236 usecs (4459 samples)
[   62.719246] snd_intel8x0 0000:00:05.0: measured clock 869 rejected
<snip>
[   63.075982] snd_intel8x0 0000:00:05.0: intel8x0_measure_ac97_clock: measured 53025 usecs (4456 samples)
[   63.075992] snd_intel8x0 0000:00:05.0: measured clock 84035 rejected
<snip>
[   63.432380] snd_intel8x0 0000:00:05.0: measure - unreliable DMA position..
[   63.432523] snd_intel8x0 0000:00:05.0: clocking to 48000

I think you're hitting this issue : Looks http://www.withoutthesarcasm.com/fixing … irtualbox/

in the guest , create the /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf file like described in that link.

Another thing :

[    8.537844] smpboot: CPU0: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-5200U CPU @ 2.20GHz (fam: 06, model: 3d, stepping: 04)

Did you configure virtualbox to pass your real cpu to the VM ?

Your host runs windows i think, which flavor and 32 or 64 bit windows ?

please check your bios/uefi firmware settings, are virtualization options enabled ?

sleepy_cat · 2015-12-18 01:47:48

in http://www.withoutthesarcasm.com/fixing … irtualbox/ the author using:

At the bottom of the file, add this line:

but when i edit alsa-base.conf using nano /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf,
it prompt me a new file, and i just only add the line:

options snd-intel8x0 ac97_clock=48000

and the output of aplay /usr/share/sounds/alsa/Front_Center.wav:

Playing WAVE '/usr/share/sounds/alsa/Front_Center.wav' : Signed 16 bit Little Endian, Rate 48000 Hz, Mono

// frozen here, no sound, ctrl+z stopped. :-(

newly output of dmesg under ac'97 sound card:
http://ix.io/mRv

there seems nowhere to configure virtualbox to pass my real cpu to the VM, screenshot of it:
http://dwz.cn/2neg5h
my cpu is double-cored, four threads. but in virtualbox i just at most using 2(threads?) of them.

i'm using windows 7 x64, and i checked virtualization options in bios.

Last edited by sleepy_cat (2015-12-18 02:28:59)

Lone_Wolf · 2015-12-18 10:48:25

smpboot: CPU0: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-5200U CPU @ 2.20GHz (fam: 06, model: 3d, stepping: 04)

That's the cpu your AL guest sees, you can run lscpu in the guest to get more info.

The Vbox screens show your Vbox doesn't support the newer intel VT-d / AMD-Vi , but only the older Intel VT-x / AMD-V .
Those screens also show PIIIX3 as used chipset, that's an old chipset.

Frankly, i'm feeling like your sound problems are not Arch Linux related, but Virtualbox related.

Latest virtualbox version is 5.0.10 , what version are you running ?

Edit

Try changing system > acceleration > paravirtualization support to kvm .

Last edited by Lone_Wolf (2015-12-18 10:57:58)

sleepy_cat · 2015-12-18 14:14:49

i'm running VirtualBox-5.0.10-104061-Win, currently it's the latest version.

output of lscpu:

Architecture:          x86_64
CPU op-mode(s):        32-bit, 64-bit
Byte Order:            Little Endian
CPU(s):                2
On-line CPU(s) list:   0,1
Thread(s) per core:    1
Core(s) per socket:    2
Socket(s):             1
NUMA node(s):          1
Vendor ID:             GenuineIntel
CPU family:            6
Model:                 61
Model name:            Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-5200U CPU @ 2.20GHz
Stepping:              4
CPU MHz:               2194.914
BogoMIPS:              4391.73
Hypervisor vendor:     KVM
Virtualization type:   full
L1d cache:             32K
L1i cache:             32K
L2 cache:              256K
L3 cache:              3072K
NUMA node0 CPU(s):     0,1
Flags:                 fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush mmx fxsr sse sse2 ht syscall nx rdtscp lm constant_tsc rep_good nopl xtopology nonstop_tsc pni pclmulqdq ssse3 cx16 sse4_1 sse4_2 movbe popcnt aes xsave avx rdrand hypervisor lahf_lm abm 3dnowprefetch rdseed

after i switch "Paravirtualization Interface" to "KVM", what i should next?

Last edited by sleepy_cat (2015-12-18 14:18:49)

Lone_Wolf · 2015-12-18 16:30:00

restart the VM and test.

If that doesn't solve the sound problem, the lines at the bottom suggest to me we should try a newer chipset.
VBox should also allow you to choose ICH9 chipset.
Their manual says it's experimental, but imo it's the last thing that may help.

[  438.850132] piix4_smbus 0000:00:07.0: SMBus base address uninitialized - upgrade BIOS or use force_addr=0xaddr
[  438.935639] snd_intel8x0 0000:00:05.0: disable (unknown or VT-d) VM optimization

sleepy_cat · 2015-12-19 04:40:31

which i tried nano /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf with:

blacklist i2c_piix4

and restart, no "SMBus base address uninitialized - upgrade BIOS or use force_addr=0xaddr" warning.
or switch "Chipset" to "ICH9", and diable blacklist.conf.
but both methods have no sound. :-(
-------------------------------------------------------
maybe i should install archlinux in a real environment,
if i have any question, i will post it.
thanks so much to Lone_Wolf, you helped me a lot.
a :-) to you.

Last edited by sleepy_cat (2015-12-19 04:44:54)

sleepy_cat · 2015-12-19 08:16:32

##############################################################################################################
hi, Lone_Wolf, i spent some time to install archlinux in a real environment.
and here i have some question related to ALSA.

i also installed alsa-utils, alsa-plugins for sound.
but it seems the default sound card is not i wanted, but i don't know how to switch it manually.
here is screenshot of alsamixer:
http://dwz.cn/2nLP7S
// if you cannot see the image, please tell me.

output of aplay -l:

**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: HDMI [HDA Intel HDMI], device 3: HDMI 0 [HDMI 0]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 0: HDMI [HDA Intel HDMI], device 7: HDMI 1 [HDMI 1]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 0: HDMI [HDA Intel HDMI], device 8: HDMI 2 [HDMI 2]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: PCH [HDA Intel PCH], device 0: ALC3234 Analog [ALC3234 Analog]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0

output of aplay -L:

null
    Discard all samples (playback) or generate zero samples (capture)
pulse
    PulseAudio Sound Server
hdmi:CARD=HDMI,DEV=0
    HDA Intel HDMI, HDMI 0
    HDMI Audio Output
hdmi:CARD=HDMI,DEV=1
    HDA Intel HDMI, HDMI 1
    HDMI Audio Output
hdmi:CARD=HDMI,DEV=2
    HDA Intel HDMI, HDMI 2
    HDMI Audio Output
default:CARD=PCH
    HDA Intel PCH, ALC3234 Analog
    Default Audio Device
sysdefault:CARD=PCH
    HDA Intel PCH, ALC3234 Analog
    Default Audio Device
front:CARD=PCH,DEV=0
    HDA Intel PCH, ALC3234 Analog
    Front speakers
surround21:CARD=PCH,DEV=0
    HDA Intel PCH, ALC3234 Analog
    2.1 Surround output to Front and Subwoofer speakers
surround40:CARD=PCH,DEV=0
    HDA Intel PCH, ALC3234 Analog
    4.0 Surround output to Front and Rear speakers
surround41:CARD=PCH,DEV=0
    HDA Intel PCH, ALC3234 Analog
    4.1 Surround output to Front, Rear and Subwoofer speakers
surround50:CARD=PCH,DEV=0
    HDA Intel PCH, ALC3234 Analog
    5.0 Surround output to Front, Center and Rear speakers
surround51:CARD=PCH,DEV=0
    HDA Intel PCH, ALC3234 Analog
    5.1 Surround output to Front, Center, Rear and Subwoofer speakers
surround71:CARD=PCH,DEV=0
    HDA Intel PCH, ALC3234 Analog
    7.1 Surround output to Front, Center, Side, Rear and Woofer speakers

output of speaker-test -c 2:

speaker-test 1.1.0

Playback device is default
Stream parameters are 48000Hz, S16_LE, 2 channels
Using 16 octaves of pink noise
ALSA lib pcm_dmix.c:1029:(snd_pcm_dmix_open) unable to open slave
Playback open error: -2,No such file or directory

// frozen, no sound, ctel+z stopped.

which default playback device is "HDA Intel HDMI", how to switch to "HDA Intel PCH"?

and here is the output of dmesg after speaker-test -c 2:
http://ix.io/mSv

Last edited by sleepy_cat (2015-12-19 08:31:28)

sleepy_cat · 2015-12-19 10:04:59

aha, i sloved this problem,
for all users:
1) $ nano /etc/asound.conf // create asound.conf
2) add the following text into asound.conf:

defaults.ctl.card     1
defaults.pcm.card     1
defaults.timer.card   1

or for current user:
1) $ nano .asoundrc // in home(~) folder
2) add previous text

note that, if you want remote access to your audio(like web music player),
you may add current user add group audio by:
$ gpasswd --add current_username audio

for more detail, please refer to https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Ad … privileges

Last edited by sleepy_cat (2015-12-19 10:09:23)

Lone_Wolf · 2015-12-19 12:38:40

i spent some time to install archlinux in a real environment.

That would have been my next suggestion.

some comments :

- Check https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Microcode and implement Intel early microcode update
(i didn't mention this before because updating processor microcode should always be done in the host, not in a VM guest)

- Triple check anything you do with asound.conf, it's very powerful but also easy to break your sound system with it.

- your dwz.cn links often do require multiple tries, i think you should switch to posting the full links.
"quote" this post for an example how use it.
and here is the output of dmesg after speaker-test -c 2:

- it's not hard to use alsa-base.conf to set a default audio device, but it needs to be set correctly.
please post lspci -k output

sleepy_cat · 2015-12-19 13:49:54

output of lspci -k:

00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Broadwell-U Host Bridge -OPI (rev 09)
	Subsystem: Dell Device 066e
	Kernel driver in use: bdw_uncore
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Broadwell-U Integrated Graphics (rev 09)
	DeviceName:  Onboard IGD
	Subsystem: Dell Device 066e
	Kernel driver in use: i915
	Kernel modules: i915
00:03.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation Broadwell-U Audio Controller (rev 09)
	Subsystem: Dell Device 066e
	Kernel driver in use: snd_hda_intel
	Kernel modules: snd_hda_intel
00:14.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation Wildcat Point-LP USB xHCI Controller (rev 03)
	Subsystem: Dell Device 066e
	Kernel driver in use: xhci_hcd
	Kernel modules: xhci_pci
00:16.0 Communication controller: Intel Corporation Wildcat Point-LP MEI Controller #1 (rev 03)
	Subsystem: Dell Device 066e
	Kernel driver in use: mei_me
	Kernel modules: mei_me
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation Wildcat Point-LP High Definition Audio Controller (rev 03)
	Subsystem: Dell Device 066e
	Kernel driver in use: snd_hda_intel
	Kernel modules: snd_hda_intel
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Wildcat Point-LP PCI Express Root Port #1 (rev e3)
	Kernel driver in use: pcieport
	Kernel modules: shpchp
00:1c.3 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Wildcat Point-LP PCI Express Root Port #4 (rev e3)
	Kernel driver in use: pcieport
	Kernel modules: shpchp
00:1c.4 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Wildcat Point-LP PCI Express Root Port #5 (rev e3)
	Kernel driver in use: pcieport
	Kernel modules: shpchp
00:1d.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation Wildcat Point-LP USB EHCI Controller (rev 03)
	Subsystem: Dell Device 066e
	Kernel driver in use: ehci-pci
	Kernel modules: ehci_pci
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation Wildcat Point-LP LPC Controller (rev 03)
	Subsystem: Dell Device 066e
	Kernel driver in use: lpc_ich
	Kernel modules: lpc_ich
00:1f.2 SATA controller: Intel Corporation Wildcat Point-LP SATA Controller [AHCI Mode] (rev 03)
	Subsystem: Dell Device 066e
	Kernel driver in use: ahci
	Kernel modules: ahci
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation Wildcat Point-LP SMBus Controller (rev 03)
	Subsystem: Dell Device 066e
	Kernel modules: i2c_i801
07:00.0 Network controller: Intel Corporation Wireless 3160 (rev 83)
	Subsystem: Intel Corporation Dual Band Wireless AC 3160
	Kernel driver in use: iwlwifi
	Kernel modules: iwlwifi

here is a another problem with iwlwifi:

# dmesg | grep splx
[    4.185893] iwlwifi 0000:07:00.0: Unsupported splx structure

and each time i want to connect a wifi-ap, i need to activate wifi module manually:

# ip link set wlpXsY up

how to make this command executed at bootime?

Last edited by sleepy_cat (2015-12-20 02:53:12)

Lone_Wolf · 2015-12-20 12:18:03

First, i just noticed all your posts are in 2 threads and nobody welcomed you sofar.

Welcome to Arch Linux community, sleepy_cat.

If you feel like introducing yourself, post in The Official Hello Everyone Thread

The wifi problem should be dealt with in another thread, Kernel & Hardware or Newbie Corner (depending on how confident you feel) would be suitable.

-----------------------------------------
Back to the sound problem.

add a line at the top of your in /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf file like this :

options snd_hda_intel index=1,0

That line will tell the kernel to change the order cards using that module are seen.
after reboot check if alsamixer shows the card you want as default.

sleepy_cat · 2015-12-20 14:12:37

here is my comment on Hello-Everyone-Thread.

options snd_hda_intel index=1,0

works very well, as refers to wiki, i using the following code:

options snd_hda_intel index=0     # Which don't work, but why index=1,0 works?

does those indices means the precedence(order) of sound cards?
e.g. first 1(pch), then 0(hdmi)?

here i made this que. to SOLVED, but you still can reply it.

Last edited by sleepy_cat (2015-12-21 03:48:12)

Lone_Wolf · 2015-12-21 11:04:31

All top level sound modules (like snd_hda_intel) use an array of all (present in system) cards that use that module .
The order of the cards in the array is determined by kernel/udev .
The index option allows users to change that order.

On your system hdmi is the first card and PCH the 2nd card.
index=1,0 tells snd_hda_intel to put the HDMI at position 1 and the PCH at position 0 .
the card at position 0 is the default card.

Last edited by Lone_Wolf (2015-12-21 11:04:50)

sleepy_cat · 2015-12-21 14:11:03

thanks so much :-)
perfectly solved my question.

Arch Linux

#1 2015-12-15 01:31:44

[SOLVED] ALSA unmuted but no sound in VirtualBox

#2 2015-12-15 11:05:09

Re: [SOLVED] ALSA unmuted but no sound in VirtualBox

#3 2015-12-16 02:21:11

Re: [SOLVED] ALSA unmuted but no sound in VirtualBox

#4 2015-12-16 11:22:49

Re: [SOLVED] ALSA unmuted but no sound in VirtualBox

#5 2015-12-17 00:44:50

Re: [SOLVED] ALSA unmuted but no sound in VirtualBox

#6 2015-12-17 10:06:22

Re: [SOLVED] ALSA unmuted but no sound in VirtualBox

#7 2015-12-17 13:47:29

Re: [SOLVED] ALSA unmuted but no sound in VirtualBox

#8 2015-12-17 21:27:48

Re: [SOLVED] ALSA unmuted but no sound in VirtualBox

#9 2015-12-18 01:47:48

Re: [SOLVED] ALSA unmuted but no sound in VirtualBox

#10 2015-12-18 10:48:25

Re: [SOLVED] ALSA unmuted but no sound in VirtualBox

#11 2015-12-18 14:14:49

Re: [SOLVED] ALSA unmuted but no sound in VirtualBox

#12 2015-12-18 16:30:00

Re: [SOLVED] ALSA unmuted but no sound in VirtualBox

#13 2015-12-19 04:40:31

Re: [SOLVED] ALSA unmuted but no sound in VirtualBox

#14 2015-12-19 08:16:32

Re: [SOLVED] ALSA unmuted but no sound in VirtualBox

#15 2015-12-19 10:04:59

Re: [SOLVED] ALSA unmuted but no sound in VirtualBox

#16 2015-12-19 12:38:40

Re: [SOLVED] ALSA unmuted but no sound in VirtualBox

#17 2015-12-19 13:49:54

Re: [SOLVED] ALSA unmuted but no sound in VirtualBox

#18 2015-12-20 12:18:03

Re: [SOLVED] ALSA unmuted but no sound in VirtualBox

Welcome to Arch Linux community, sleepy_cat.

#19 2015-12-20 14:12:37

Re: [SOLVED] ALSA unmuted but no sound in VirtualBox

#20 2015-12-21 11:04:31

Re: [SOLVED] ALSA unmuted but no sound in VirtualBox

#21 2015-12-21 14:11:03

Re: [SOLVED] ALSA unmuted but no sound in VirtualBox

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