No sound whatsoever [SOLVED]

[motaito]

I am trying to get sound in KDE. I followed the wiki entries for alsa (http://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/ALSA) and pulseaudio (http://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/PulseAudio). I configure the kernel according to the description and emerged the tools as described. I also made sure to have my user in the audio group.

In KDE however Kmix only shows a dummy output and alsamixer only has a master level and does not find any sound devices. I have no sound whatsoever. From what I can tell no soundcard is found at all.

[dachschaden]

lspci -kvvvv?

[motaito]

[dachschaden]

Your kernel lacks a module to communicate with your HDA chip (HIgh Definition Audio), which is usually snd_hda_intel. Note how many other devices got a "Kernel driver in use" or a "Kernel modules" line? Your HDA chip lacks it.
Make sure that the following kernel compilation options are selected:

CONFIG_SOUND
CONFIG_SND_PCI (You won't have to select any entry in it, but the section itself must be enabled)
CONFIG_SND_HDA_INTEL
CONFIG_SND_HDA_GENERIC

I am no hardware specialist, but the subsystem is defined as MSI, so you should enable CONFIG_MSI_LAPTOP as well.

It might have its advantages, but I prefer the vanilla kernel (kernel.org) over the gentoo kernel. If you configured your kernel with genkernel, you better do it manually.
True story: a friend of mine once tried to use gentoo, and his Wifi card wasn't recognized. Turned out that all Wifi drivers were selected, but not the very one that he needed. Enabled it, disabled all the others, and it worked.
I don't trust genkernel ever since, also the vanilla kernel might have better support. But first try to compile your kernel with the given options.

Also, no guarantee that it will work. Manual kernel configuration is pretty tough, and error prone.

[motaito]

I checke the kernel config. I already had
SOUND = y
SND_PCI = y
SND_HDA_INTEL = y
SND_HDA_GENERIC = y

I changed the following:
MSI_LAPTOP=m -> now set to MSI_LAPTOP=y
I had to change these dependencies to be able to build it into the kernel rather than setting it as module.
(RF switch subsystem support) RFKILL=m -> now set to RFKILL=y
(Sparse kaymap support library) INPUT_SPARSEKMAP=m -> now set to INPUT_SPARSEKMAP=y


Nothing has changes at all exept now I also have:
failed to load module iwlwifi.

Though, I don't think that has any influence for sound.

[krinn]

Try : https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-p-6339697.html#6339697

[motaito]

Thanks for the help. But I fiddled with the kernel config and somehow completely messed up the system. Now by rebooting I get:

Could not find the root block device in .
Please specify another value or:
- press Enter for the same
- type "shell" for a shell
- type "q" to skip...

I think I have to reinstall from scratch. It might be faster than finding another solution for this. I'm not familiar with gentoo and it might be better to take one step at a time... Or this thread just shifted into a completely different issue

[dachschaden]

Replace the kernel image (that is, initrd and vmlinuz) with the old one:

[motaito]

Thanks for the tip but meanwhile I started the liveCD and chrooted into the environment. I changed the kernel config again and got the same issue. So, the old files are now also corrupted... I try with another kernel configuration and if that does not work either I think I will have to restart again. Anyway, it's my first attempt to install gentoo outside a virtual box I expected a few issues from the start. If I don't succeed with this it's going to take a while to be back on track. Assuming the sound problem persists, I will bump this thread again later or leave a comment if the problem is solved.

Anyway, thanks for all the help!

[motaito]

Holy cow...! Or should I say holy Larry!

I chrooted with the liveCD and managed to build a kernel that runs. However, I have now neither network nor sound... Is there a way or a tool to find out what kernel modules are needed for your hardware. Trial and error approach does not work so well. I had problems with network before. Applying the same solution does not work now.

Those pesky modules...

[dachschaden]

You are a lucky man that I suffer from insomnia, 'cause it's 2 AM over here ...

But dude, seriously? You already posted your lspci and got my comment about kernel modules and such ... you are searching for

[motaito]

Thanks for you help!

Guess I have insomnia too... Yes, I'm aware of the alx drivers. I already built them into the kernel. It's not working. There must be another module that I have not enabled. In order to get the system working I used "genkernel all" my previous lspci output is not up to date anymore. I have to do some more research. I was just wondering if there is a tool to help find the necessary kernel settings for any given hardware. Genkernel all only gets me so far. Sorry if I appear as a noob. I have very little experience with linux. I am only using gentoo for about a week now. Since I have no network at the moment giving the lspci output is a bit problematic right now. It's quite long... here is the gist of it:

[dachschaden]

And you are sure that genkernel really used your config?
I again refer to the story of my friend: genkernel generated its own configuration file and overwrote the modified one - the one that had the Wifi drivers that my friend needed. Maybe that is what happened to yours.

Maybe you would write-protect the file:

[motaito]

[dachschaden]

You are currently chrooting into your gentoo system, right? Because if not, it's natural that the /lib directory of your liveCD won't contain new modules.
And according to the handbook, you should use genkernel --menuconfig all, add support for alx, and before you restart, check if the module was created and stored in the /lib/modules/$(uname -r) directory. If it's not there, you called genkernel not correctly - or you compiled the module directly into the kernel, either one.

[motaito]

You really do suffer from insomnia... Again thanks a lot for your help!

I only chrooted into the system to compile a kernel that got the system started again. After that no more. I also selected the module to be build into the kernel (=y). I guess it's too late now. I have been at it for several hours now and it's past 4:30 in the morning. I am prone to make more mistakes. Tomorrow I will decide if it's better to keep trying or check it up as a learning experience and start with a fresh install.

What bothers me most right now is that I could not find a tool or guide that helps find the right modules for a specific hardware. Sure, I can use lspci and get a list of the hardware but then I sill don't know which module is right and whether to set it as a module or build it into the kernel. Once this is sorted out I probably run into similar issues when trying to get another component to work. Just use google and hope to find some kernel settings for a component is an unreliable and long process. Also, I have to find a way so I don't always need to bother you guys with beginners questions... I imagine you get enough of those already.

For a first try on actual hardware I got xserver running, KDE, solved an issue with consolekit and another with powermanagement in KDE. I also got samba working and thanks to this forum (and the help of guys like you) solved some other issues as well all in a bit over a week next to work. Maybe I just have to take it a little slower. But enough rambling of a tired man

Anyway, I am very grateful for your help!

[pidsley]

[dachschaden]

@pidsley: Cool shit, I didn't know about the site. Just added my box elements to the site.

@motaito: Hm, this is strange ... yesterday the alx driver apparently got loaded, and I do not see any reason why it wouldn't get loaded now. Maybe dmesg after booting in your Gentoo system does the trick ... ?
Also /var/log/kernel.log (if you are running the legacy sysklogd, like I do) or /var/log/syslog might provide you with enough informations?

[motaito]

Awesome, thanks for the link!

I woke up early today. The problem doesn't let me sleep... I booted the liveCD again and found the alx.ko module. However, it is not present on the system.

[dachschaden]

What about genkernel --menuconfig all? Did you try that out?

[motaito]

It appears the difference between "genkernel all" and "genkernel --menuconfig all" is that "genkernel --menuconfig all" brings up the menuconfig tool before compiling, so that you can make additional adjustments. It also failed with errors.

[dachschaden]

What errors?
We are from Missori - you gotta show us.

[motaito]

I am writing from a windows box right now. I can't copy-paste the error message. It's about two screens long... basically it cannot build the bzImage file.

[dachschaden]

That might have something to do that you are lacking the userspace tools to build the kernal archive and the initramfs. Google the error, emerge the given package, and try it out again.

[motaito]

How can I lack the userspace tools when it worked before? The hole mess started with trying to reconfigure the kernel for sound. I did not do anything other than recompile the kernel. Also, emerging a package might be problematic without network...

I appreciate your help but I am sorry, I have to let you wait a bit as I have some business to attend to. I will google the error to night and give it another shot.