Arch Linux

warnec

Member

From: Poland

Registered: 2009-06-22

Posts: 166

Sound works only between kernel modules load and alsa start

Hi. I've already posted a few times about my X-fi card, but here comes another issue... (argh!) The damn thing only works between loading the kernel modules and loading alsa. I mean, when sound is sent (I input sound through Digital-In using my xbox) it is played whena  system loads (when I see messages about CUPS starting,etc.). To be specific, it starts to work after message of lading kernel modules (or something like that) and stops working exactly when ALSA starts to work. (Restoring "ALSA Levels [DONE]" message)

I have added ctxfi to modules in rc.conf and blacklisted pcspkr:

#
# /etc/rc.conf - Main Configuration for Arch Linux
#

# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
# LOCALIZATION
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
#
# LOCALE: available languages can be listed with the 'locale -a' command
# HARDWARECLOCK: set to "UTC" or "localtime"
# USEDIRECTISA: use direct I/O requests instead of /dev/rtc for hwclock
# TIMEZONE: timezones are found in /usr/share/zoneinfo
# KEYMAP: keymaps are found in /usr/share/kbd/keymaps
# CONSOLEFONT: found in /usr/share/kbd/consolefonts (only needed for non-US)
# CONSOLEMAP: found in /usr/share/kbd/consoletrans
# USECOLOR: use ANSI color sequences in startup messages
#
LOCALE="pl_PL.utf8"
HARDWARECLOCK="localtime"
USEDIRECTISA="no"
TIMEZONE="Europe/Warsaw"
KEYMAP="pl"
CONSOLEFONT=
CONSOLEMAP=
USECOLOR="yes"

# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
# HARDWARE
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
#
# MOD_AUTOLOAD: Allow autoloading of modules at boot and when needed
# MOD_BLACKLIST: Prevent udev from loading these modules
# MODULES: Modules to load at boot-up. Prefix with a ! to blacklist.
#
# NOTE: Use of 'MOD_BLACKLIST' is deprecated. Please use ! in the MODULES array.
#
MOD_AUTOLOAD="yes"
#MOD_BLACKLIST=() #deprecated
MODULES=(mii r8169 pcspkr !snd-pcsp !pcspkr ctxfi vboxdrv vboxnetflt)

# Scan for LVM volume groups at startup, required if you use LVM
USELVM="no"

# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
# NETWORKING
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
#
# HOSTNAME: Hostname of machine. Should also be put in /etc/hosts
#
HOSTNAME="chakra"

# Use 'ifconfig -a' or 'ls /sys/class/net/' to see all available interfaces.
#
# Interfaces to start at boot-up (in this order)
# Declare each interface then list in INTERFACES
#   - prefix an entry in INTERFACES with a ! to disable it
#   - no hyphens in your interface names - Bash doesn't like it
# 
eth0="dhcp"
# Wireless: See network profiles below
#
eth0="dhcp"
INTERFACES=(!eth0 !eth1 !wlan0)

# Routes to start at boot-up (in this order)
# Declare each route then list in ROUTES
#   - prefix an entry in ROUTES with a ! to disable it
#
gateway="default gw 192.168.0.1"
ROUTES=(!gateway)
 
# Enable these network profiles at boot-up.  These are only useful
# if you happen to need multiple network configurations (ie, laptop users)
#   - set to 'menu' to present a menu during boot-up (dialog package required)
#   - prefix an entry with a ! to disable it
#
# Network profiles are found in /etc/network.d
#
# This now requires the netcfg package
#
#NETWORKS=(main)

# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
# DAEMONS
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
#
# Daemons to start at boot-up (in this order)
#   - prefix a daemon with a ! to disable it
#   - prefix a daemon with a @ to start it up in the background
#
DAEMONS=(syslog-ng hal !network avahi-daemon avahi-dnsconfd cups alsa kdm)

And still no luck. I tried alsaconf and it says that no cards are found.
I tried this at modprobe.conf:

alias snd-card-0 ctxfi
alias sound-slot-0 ctxfi

And still the same. What should I do?

sreekant

Member

Registered: 2009-06-03

Posts: 8

Re: Sound works only between kernel modules load and alsa start

May be something you already looked at but did you check alsamixer levels and if you want just do 'alsactl store '. Then in rc.local you can put alsactl restore. Provided that the issue is mixer levels.

warnec

Member

From: Poland

Registered: 2009-06-22

Posts: 166

Re: Sound works only between kernel modules load and alsa start

Yep, that fixed it. It turned out I've got a "Wave" channel which also affects the sound's volume. I had no idea of that. So I've got 3 basic sound channels now - PCM, Master and Wave, and all of them affect the global volume. How can I 'turn them off' so that only Master will have an influence on general volume?