Arch Linux

Manifold

Member

Registered: 2006-08-16

Posts: 64

ALSA problem

Greetings.

I am a new Arch Linux user. Before I talk about my problem, Ihave got to say that I'm learning a lot about Liunx.It was a big mistake to install Ubuntu and try and reverse engineer it. Better to build my own system from the base upwards.

Anyway.. to my problem.

I have followed the ALSA setup guide from the wiki, and sound did appear when I tried a .wav. After I rebooted, and tried the same .wav file, it appeared to play but nothing there was no output.

I tried that 'quirk' command too, at the end of the wiki.

I think my sound card is the SI701 (http://www.alsa-project.org/alsa-doc/in … SiS#matrix) My motherboard is a K7S41 (http://www.asrock.com/product/K7S41.htm)

Thanks.

tardo

Member

Registered: 2006-07-15

Posts: 526

Re: ALSA problem

did you start the daemon?

/etc/rc.d/alsasound start

murffatksig

Member

From: Atl

Registered: 2004-05-17

Posts: 358

Re: ALSA problem

to have alsa start automatically at boot, edit /etc/rc.conf and add alsa in the list of daemons.

EX.

DAEMONS=(alsa)

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Manifold

Member

Registered: 2006-08-16

Posts: 64

Re: ALSA problem

to have alsa start automatically at boot, edit /etc/rc.conf and add alsa in the list of daemons.

EX.

DAEMONS=(alsa)

I have done that and rebooted twice, but I still get no audio output when I play the .wav

idjut

Member

From: Oslo

Registered: 2006-05-15

Posts: 177

Re: ALSA problem

Check the levels in alsamixer, master and pcm should be unmuted. If they have MM then press m to unmute.

If you want to save the levels type in a term

alsactl store

If it doesnt work, try alsaconf once more

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Linux user #403491

"Men have called me mad; but the question is not yet settled, whether madness is or is not the loftiest intelligence– whether much that is glorious– whether all that is profound– does not spring from disease of thought– from moods of mind exalted at the expense of the general intellect." - E. A. Poe from Eleonora

Manifold

Member

Registered: 2006-08-16

Posts: 64

Re: ALSA problem

Check the levels in alsamixer, master and pcm should be unmuted. If they have MM then press m to unmute.

If you want to save the levels type in a term

alsactl store

If it doesnt work, try alsaconf once more

I've tried all that, but still the same soundless output.. Hmm.

murffatksig

Member

From: Atl

Registered: 2004-05-17

Posts: 358

Re: ALSA problem

Try as root, see if you hear the sound then.

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"Oh, they have the internet on computers now."

Manifold

Member

Registered: 2006-08-16

Posts: 64

Re: ALSA problem

Try as root, see if you hear the sound then.

Sorry, I have tried that too.

jaboua

Member

Registered: 2005-11-05

Posts: 634

Re: ALSA problem

How did you play the sound file? If you start the audio player from a terminal do you get any errors?

Manifold

Member

Registered: 2006-08-16

Posts: 64

Re: ALSA problem

aplay /home/clem/aliens06.wav
Playing WAVE '/home/clem/aliens06.wav : Unsigned 8 bit, Rate 11025 Hz, Mono

That's the command and the out put, identical to when the output actually gave me some sound.

murffatksig

Member

From: Atl

Registered: 2004-05-17

Posts: 358

Re: ALSA problem

When you ran alsamixer and unmuted both master and PCM, did you also press the up arrow several times to turn the volume up?

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"Oh, they have the internet on computers now."

dolby

Member

From: 1992

Registered: 2006-08-08

Posts: 1,581

Re: ALSA problem

what i did:
1) add user to group audio
2) run alsaconf to detect the audio card but dont let it modify modprobe
3) run alsamixer and "unmute" the main channel
4) add alsa to daemons in /etc/rc.conf
5) run alsactl store to save settings

& all works fine.
i found out that leaving out the alsaconf step i couldnt have sound. maybe u missed that step cause of the way its explained at the wiki..

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Manifold

Member

Registered: 2006-08-16

Posts: 64

Re: ALSA problem

Looks like I let alsaconf modify my modprobe.conf.

How do I go about 'resetting' this modprobe.conf?

jaboua

Member

Registered: 2005-11-05

Posts: 634

Re: ALSA problem

Looks like I let alsaconf modify my modprobe.conf.

How do I go about 'resetting' this modprobe.conf?

Empty it

Sigi

Member

From: Thurgau, Switzerland

Registered: 2005-09-22

Posts: 1,131

Re: ALSA problem

open /etc/modprobe.conf in the editor of your choice and delete everything under the comment on top. (-> Delete every uncommented line)

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Haven't been here in a while. Still rocking Arch.

Manifold

Member

Registered: 2006-08-16

Posts: 64

Re: ALSA problem

I have followed all these instructions, yet I still have soundless output. I don't understand, because it worked the first time, before I rebooted.

Sigi

Member

From: Thurgau, Switzerland

Registered: 2005-09-22

Posts: 1,131

Re: ALSA problem

If you run alsamixer after a reboot, are the main channels unmuted and the volume up?

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Haven't been here in a while. Still rocking Arch.

Manifold

Member

Registered: 2006-08-16

Posts: 64

Re: ALSA problem

This is my output from the command mentioned in the wiki entry:

lsmod|grep '^snd'
snd_seq_oss            31360  0 
snd_seq_midi_event      6528  1 snd_seq_oss
snd_seq                50256  4 snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi_event
snd_seq_device          6796  2 snd_seq_oss,snd_seq
snd_intel8x0           29084  1 
snd_ac97_codec         93216  1 snd_intel8x0
snd_ac97_bus            2304  1 snd_ac97_codec
snd_pcm_oss            37664  0 
snd_mixer_oss          16128  1 snd_pcm_oss
snd_pcm                76292  3 snd_intel8x0,snd_ac97_codec,snd_pcm_oss
snd_timer              19972  2 snd_seq,snd_pcm
snd                    45924  11 snd_seq_oss,snd_seq,snd_seq_device,snd_intel8x0,snd_ac97_codec,snd_pcm_oss,snd_mixer_oss,snd_pcm,snd_timer
snd_page_alloc          8072  2 snd_intel8x0,snd_pcm

And this:

ls -l /dev/snd
total 0
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 116,  0 Aug 17  2006 controlC0
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 116, 24 Aug 17  2006 pcmC0D0c
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 116, 16 Aug 17  2006 pcmC0D0p
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 116, 25 Aug 17  2006 pcmC0D1c
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 116,  1 Aug 17  2006 seq
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 116, 33 Aug 17  2006 timer

And this is the rc.conf entry I have for loading the modules..:

MODULES=(sis900 snd-intel8x0 snd-pcm-oss)

And the DAEMONS:

DAEMONS=(syslog-ng !hotplug !pcmcia network netfs crond alsa)

Sorry about the hassle, I always get the obscure problems..

If you run alsamixer after a reboot, are the main channels unmuted and the volume up?

Yes, the settings are saved.

brain0

Developer

From: Aachen - Germany

Registered: 2005-01-03

Posts: 1,382

Re: ALSA problem

This is my output from the command mentioned in the wiki entry:

lsmod|grep '^snd'
snd_seq_oss            31360  0 
snd_seq_midi_event      6528  1 snd_seq_oss
snd_seq                50256  4 snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi_event
snd_seq_device          6796  2 snd_seq_oss,snd_seq
snd_intel8x0           29084  1 
snd_ac97_codec         93216  1 snd_intel8x0
snd_ac97_bus            2304  1 snd_ac97_codec
snd_pcm_oss            37664  0 
snd_mixer_oss          16128  1 snd_pcm_oss
snd_pcm                76292  3 snd_intel8x0,snd_ac97_codec,snd_pcm_oss
snd_timer              19972  2 snd_seq,snd_pcm
snd                    45924  11 snd_seq_oss,snd_seq,snd_seq_device,snd_intel8x0,snd_ac97_codec,snd_pcm_oss,snd_mixer_oss,snd_pcm,snd_timer
snd_page_alloc          8072  2 snd_intel8x0,snd_pcm

And this:

ls -l /dev/snd
total 0
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 116,  0 Aug 17  2006 controlC0
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 116, 24 Aug 17  2006 pcmC0D0c
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 116, 16 Aug 17  2006 pcmC0D0p
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 116, 25 Aug 17  2006 pcmC0D1c
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 116,  1 Aug 17  2006 seq
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 116, 33 Aug 17  2006 timer

These are fine all fine. I have the same (or a similar) onboard chip and it looks exactly like that.

If you run alsamixer after a reboot, are the main channels unmuted and the volume up?

Yes, the settings are saved.

Strange. Should work then.

The intel8x0 driver has some options, according to modinfo, those are:

parm:           joystick:int
parm:           enable:bool
parm:           xbox:Set to 1 for Xbox, if you have problems with the AC'97 codec detection. (bool)
parm:           buggy_irq:Enable workaround for buggy interrupts on some motherboards. (bool)
parm:           buggy_semaphore:Enable workaround for hardwares with problematic codec semaphores. (bool)
parm:           ac97_quirk:AC'97 workaround for strange hardware. (charp)
parm:           ac97_clock:AC'97 codec clock (0 = auto-detect). (int)
parm:           id:ID string for Intel i8x0 soundcard. (charp)
parm:           index:Index value for Intel i8x0 soundcard. (int)

You can play with those, as everything else seems to be fine.

Manifold

Member

Registered: 2006-08-16

Posts: 64

Re: ALSA problem

It seems there's always been problems with this particular chipset.. I had to mute certain channels for any output. Once I've muted it once, I can unmute/mute those channels at will in alsamixer with no effect upon output. Strange stuff.

Also, I have not managed to make my 4-channel surround sound work. I can only get output for 2 channels. The 'surround option' in alsamixer doesn't have any volume controls..

The intel8x0 driver has some options, according to modinfo, those are:

parm:           joystick:int
parm:           enable:bool
parm:           xbox:Set to 1 for Xbox, if you have problems with the AC'97 codec detection. (bool)
parm:           buggy_irq:Enable workaround for buggy interrupts on some motherboards. (bool)
parm:           buggy_semaphore:Enable workaround for hardwares with problematic codec semaphores. (bool)
parm:           ac97_quirk:AC'97 workaround for strange hardware. (charp)
parm:           ac97_clock:AC'97 codec clock (0 = auto-detect). (int)
parm:           id:ID string for Intel i8x0 soundcard. (charp)
parm:           index:Index value for Intel i8x0 soundcard. (int)

You can play with those, as everything else seems to be fine.

How do I apply these?

William Koch

Member

From: Paranaguá - Paraná (Brasil)

Registered: 2006-09-23

Posts: 22

Website

Re: ALSA problem

My problem is similar to this one, that's why I am posting here (Don't want to create another topic)

I configured my sound, Everything is working fine. But every time I Reboot my computer, I need to unmute "PCM" on alsamixer and level the volume up, The Master control is working with gnome, it is muting and unmuting in the sound icon in gnome.

I tryed alsactl store as user and as root, and in both cases the changes in alsamixer are not saved. It works fine until I reboot, then I need to make this changes again.

Snowman

Developer/Forum Fellow

From: Montreal, Canada

Registered: 2004-08-20

Posts: 5,212

Re: ALSA problem

My problem is similar to this one, that's why I am posting here (Don't want to create another topic)

I configured my sound, Everything is working fine. But every time I Reboot my computer, I need to unmute "PCM" on alsamixer and level the volume up, The Master control is working with gnome, it is muting and unmuting in the sound icon in gnome.

I tryed alsactl store as user and as root, and in both cases the changes in alsamixer are not saved. It works fine until I reboot, then I need to make this changes again.

Add alsa to the DAEMONS array of /etc/rc.conf

William Koch

Member

From: Paranaguá - Paraná (Brasil)

Registered: 2006-09-23

Posts: 22

Website

Re: ALSA problem

Thanks snowman, that solved my problem!