No sound with ALSA, using an intel sound card

Germanof · 2011-03-04 14:20:52

Hello !

I have got a problem about sound on my computer. Indeed, my soundcard doesn't seems to be recognize by ALSA. It's weird, I'll show you. Well, my soundcard is :

lspci | grep Audio 
00:14.2 Audio device: ATI Technologies Inc SBx00 Azalia (Intel HDA) (rev 40)

Next, my sound modules loaded are

lsmod | grep snd

snd_hda_intel          21837  0 
snd_seq_dummy           1479  0 
snd_seq_oss            29240  0 
snd_seq_midi_event      5516  1 snd_seq_oss
snd_seq                50562  5 snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi_event
snd_seq_device          5281  3 snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq
snd_pcm_oss            39509  0 
snd_hda_codec          74609  1 snd_hda_intel
snd_mixer_oss          17730  1 snd_pcm_oss
snd_hwdep               6222  1 snd_hda_codec
snd_pcm                72321  3 snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm_oss,snd_hda_codec
snd_timer              19537  2 snd_seq,snd_pcm
snd                    58906  10 snd_hda_intel,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq,snd_seq_device,snd_pcm_oss,snd_hda_codec,snd_mixer_oss,snd_hwdep,snd_pcm,snd_timer
soundcore               6161  1 snd
snd_page_alloc          7361  2 snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm

Then, I want sound. I use alsaconf, of course, and I can choose my soundcard in a list (the other choice is "legacy"). I answer yes to the question "Do you want to modify /etc/modprobe.d/sound.conf [...] ", and then, during a few seconds :

 Loading driver...
:: Saving ALSA Levels                                                                         [BUSY] 
/usr/sbin/alsactl: save_state:1519: No soundcards found...              [FAIL]

It's eerie, I found my card in the list, and then not >_<

Then, alsamixer say me : "cannot open mixer: No such file or directory".

Here is my /dev/snd directory :

lsi /dev/snd
total 0
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 116, 3 Mar  4 15:06 seq
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 116, 2 Mar  4 15:06 timer

/dev/dsp and /dev/mixer don't exist.

So, to summarize, I finally don't have sound in my computer (I never had since I made it). I also tried using OSS, but it didn't work as well.

So I need you help, if you need some more informations, I can get them. Thank you very much !

Last edited by Germanof (2011-03-04 14:23:45)

stlarch · 2011-03-05 03:17:47

Hi, did you install alsa-utils and add alsa to your daemons array in /etc/rc.conf? Also, you need to add yourself to the audio group, #gpasswd -a yourusername audio. The wiki has an article on alsa that should help, or check the beginners guide.

Last edited by stlarch (2011-03-05 03:52:10)

ewaller · 2011-03-05 04:56:30

can you post the output of
cat /proc/asound/cards

Also, you should have a directory /proc/asound/card0/ Which should have one or more files with names of the form codec#n, where n is a sequential integer starting with 0. If those files are not hellaciously long, post them here (With code tags). Otherwise, could you pastebin them and provide a link?

Edit: fixed typo

Last edited by ewaller (2011-03-05 04:57:25)

Germanof · 2011-03-05 11:39:44

stlarch wrote:

Hi, did you install alsa-utils and add alsa to your daemons array in /etc/rc.conf? Also, you need to add yourself to the audio group, #gpasswd -a yourusername audio. The wiki has an article on alsa that should help, or check the beginners guide.

Yes, of course, alsa-utils is installed (so is alsa-firmware, and alsa-oss). I'm in audio group.

ewaller wrote:

can you post the output of
cat /proc/asound/cards
Also, you should have a directory /proc/asound/card0/ Which should have one or more files with names of the form codec#n, where n is a sequential integer starting with 0. If those files are not hellaciously long, post them here (With code tags). Otherwise, could you pastebin them and provide a link?
Edit: fixed typo

~ $ cat /proc/asound/cards 
--- no soundcards ---

The directory /proc/asound/card0 doesn't exist :

~ $ lsi /proc/asound/
total 0
-r--r--r-- 1 root root 0 Mar  5 12:38 cards
-r--r--r-- 1 root root 0 Mar  5 12:38 devices
-r--r--r-- 1 root root 0 Mar  5 12:38 hwdep
-r--r--r-- 1 root root 0 Mar  5 12:38 modules
dr-xr-xr-x 2 root root 0 Mar  5 12:38 oss/
-r--r--r-- 1 root root 0 Mar  5 12:38 pcm
dr-xr-xr-x 2 root root 0 Mar  5 12:38 seq/
-r--r--r-- 1 root root 0 Mar  5 12:38 timers
-r--r--r-- 1 root root 0 Mar  5 12:38 version

Thanks for helping !

Xlator · 2011-03-05 16:56:06

What version of the kernel are you running? My soundcard (using the snd-intel-hda module) wouldn't work on 2.6.37, downgrading to 2.6.36 solved my problems.

ewaller · 2011-03-05 18:37:28

Germanof wrote:

...

~ $ cat /proc/asound/cards 
--- no soundcards ---

...

Well, There's your problem

How about the output of sudo lspci -nv

Germanof · 2011-03-05 20:13:05

Here, sudo lspci -nv

ewaller · 2011-03-06 00:23:44

You know what, alsaconf doesn't work on this machine anymore

So, even though the thread is that alsaconf doesn't work, Is your real problem that you don't have sound?

Regardless, I think this https://bugs.archlinux.org/task/19970 is regarding this issue.
To get the sound working, create or edit:

/etc/modprobe.d/sound.conf

alias snd-card-0 snd-hda-intel
alias sound-slot-0 snd-hda-intel

Germanof · 2011-03-06 13:13:55

Well, if alsaconf worked, i would have sound. So the problem is that alsaconf doesn't work, I think.

/etc/modprobe.d/sound.conf already exists, with those lines written in.

One of the comments talks about nvidia. I have got a nvidia graphic card. Even though I don't think the problem come from here, could it be possible ?

Thanks for your help !

ewaller · 2011-03-06 22:23:21

Okay, try this.

Once you have run alsaconf once, the file /var/tmp/alsaconf.cards should exist.

From your lspci -n post, we can determine the manufacturer : product of your system --> 1043:841b
As root, open /var/tmp/alsaconf.cards, and find the section snd_intel_hda.o Mine looks like

snd-hda-intel.o
PCI: 0x8086=0x1c20
PCI: 0x8086=0x1d20
PCI: 0x8086=0x811b
PCI: 0x8086=0xffffffff
PCI: 0x8086=0x293e
PCI: 0x1002=0x437b
PCI: 0x1002=0x4383
PCI: 0x1002=0x793b
PCI: 0x1002=0x7919
PCI: 0x1002=0x960f
PCI: 0x1002=0x970f
PCI: 0x1002=0xaa00
PCI: 0x1002=0xaa08
PCI: 0x1002=0xaa10
PCI: 0x1002=0xaa18
PCI: 0x1002=0xaa20
PCI: 0x1002=0xaa28
PCI: 0x1002=0xaa30
PCI: 0x1002=0xaa38
PCI: 0x1002=0xaa40
PCI: 0x1002=0xaa48
PCI: 0x1106=0x3288
PCI: 0x1039=0x7502
PCI: 0x10b9=0x5461
PCI: 0x10de=0xffffffff
PCI: 0x6549=0x1200
PCI: 0x1102=0x0009
PCI: 0x17f3=0x3010
PCI: 0x1002=0xffffffff
PCI: 0x1022=0xffffffff

Add a line That says PCI: 1043:841b and re-run alsaconf. It worked again on my system after I added the line PCI: 0x8086=0x293e (Mine is an Intel chip)

There is a problem in the creation of the data base by alsaconf. I don't know (yet) if it is bug in alsaconf, or in one of the myriad of things it calls.

Let us know if this helps.

Germanof · 2011-03-06 23:41:25

Unfortunately, it doesn't.

I tried adding this line, and also tries PCI: 0x1043=0x841b, but it doesn't change anything. If I comment the others lines of the section, no others sound card are founded.

ewaller · 2011-03-07 16:21:15

Well, I re-read my post and it is quite wrong. I was not tired, I had not been drinking.... Don't know what happened.

Try it with the line:

PCI: 0x1043=0x841b

instead of the nonsense I wrote before.

Germanof · 2011-03-07 16:39:25

Oh yes, I tried this yesterday, but it didn't change. I'm trying again, but it doesn't work

sullivanva · 2011-06-06 21:29:21

This was very similar to what happened to me.

1. Alsaconf detected 2 cards in the beginning, and the intel got in the way of the emu10k1, so I blacklisted hda-intel. Today I have to un-blacklist hda-intel. It's working again.

At first I used modprobe.conf, then it had to be empty, then it became /etc/modprobe.d/sound.conf with my hda-intel again.

2. I was using alsa, now I am using pulseaudio. Not by choice. Upgrade and voila! Added ao=pulse to mplayer.conf.

3. Alsamixer used to have 16 things to adjust. Finding the one that actually affected the volume kept shifting. Now my alsamixer just has master! Of course alsactl doesn't work anymore.

Headphones used to work. Then all of a sudden the Headphones bar in alsamixer no longer worked. Now it's gone.

4. Each and every time I lose sound I have to read through the wikis and forum again. The pulseaudio wiki is telling me I need gnome-media-pulse, which doesn't even exist!

Sound is crucial. Why do people keep messing with it?

Kilzool · 2011-06-07 10:20:41

I hope you got your sound working.

Now for my 2cents:

alsaconf does not detect my HDA intel sound card (on the motherboard).
(so I don't use it)

In xfce4, the mixer works, and I have sound.
I do not use pulseaudio.
I do not use OSS.

Also, in your first post:
#spci | grep Audio
00:14.2 Audio device: ATI Technologies Inc SBx00 Azalia (Intel HDA) (rev 40)

Also, in post after your first post:
"I have got a nvidia graphic card"

Do you have two video cards?

Last edited by Kilzool (2011-06-07 10:22:54)

Arch Linux

#1 2011-03-04 14:20:52

No sound with ALSA, using an intel sound card

#2 2011-03-05 03:17:47

Re: No sound with ALSA, using an intel sound card

#3 2011-03-05 04:56:30

Re: No sound with ALSA, using an intel sound card

#4 2011-03-05 11:39:44

Re: No sound with ALSA, using an intel sound card

#5 2011-03-05 16:56:06

Re: No sound with ALSA, using an intel sound card

#6 2011-03-05 18:37:28

Re: No sound with ALSA, using an intel sound card

#7 2011-03-05 20:13:05

Re: No sound with ALSA, using an intel sound card

#8 2011-03-06 00:23:44

Re: No sound with ALSA, using an intel sound card

#9 2011-03-06 13:13:55

Re: No sound with ALSA, using an intel sound card

#10 2011-03-06 22:23:21

Re: No sound with ALSA, using an intel sound card

#11 2011-03-06 23:41:25

Re: No sound with ALSA, using an intel sound card

#12 2011-03-07 16:21:15

Re: No sound with ALSA, using an intel sound card

#13 2011-03-07 16:39:25

Re: No sound with ALSA, using an intel sound card

#14 2011-06-06 21:29:21

Re: No sound with ALSA, using an intel sound card

#15 2011-06-07 10:20:41

Re: No sound with ALSA, using an intel sound card

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