[SOLVED] No audio in Virtualbox

[simon_irl]

...with any host driver (OSS/ALSA) or guest audio (Intel HD/ICH AC97/Soundblaster 16). This despite the fact that ALSA works perfectly for other apps, so the problem is with Virtualbox.

The guest OS is Windows 7. I found this thread, and rebuilt libsdl as advised, but that's made no difference. In Windows the audio device says "working properly" and the visual level indicators bob up and down in the mixer app, so Windows is happy that it's sending audio out. All the log gives me is a bunch of "ALSA: Failed to apply audio parameters" and the barely more helpful "HostAudioNotResponding" error message. I know it's not responding: I can hear that. *WHY* isn't it responding, when my other audio/video apps use ALSA with no problems?

[simon_irl]

Got it working. For reference, the only settings that work (in VirtualBox) are:

Host (Gentoo ~amd64): OSS (*not* ALSA)
Guest (Windows 7 Home Premium, 32-bit): Intel HD Audio (this is the only driver that works).

...AND (this is why I failed to notice that the above settings were working the first time I tried them) the external amp has to be cranked up to levels that are uncomfortably loud for other (non-VirtualBox) audio apps on the host, in addition to the software mixer's being cranked up to 100% in the Windows guest. It's a nuisance that the volume for sound overall has to be up uncomfortably high for sound on the Windows guest to be audible at all, and I notice there are a few cracks and pops in the audio playback as well, but I'm assuming this is as good as it can get on my hardware, so I'm marking this problem SOLVED.