Alsa shows no errors, but still no sound

[Acoc]

Hello,

I have reciently redid my computer from the ground up and so I have added alsa support. I have been able to boot alsa and my driver successfully. Unfortunately after unmuting I still recieve no sound.

- I am sure that the driver is correct because I used the same driver before successfully
- I have given my user access to audio in /etc/group
- I have rc-updated alsasound to make it run on boot (and no errors occur)
- I have done amixer and alsamixer and master, pcm, center, cd, and pc speaker are at 100
- I have not emerged alsa driver or added it to make.conf because it was compiled in kernel
- I have alsa-oss, alsa-lib, alsa-utils, alsa-tools, alsa-headers, and alsa-firmware emerged.

lspci | grep -i audio

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0000:00:02.7 Multimedia audio controller: Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] Sound Controller (rev a0)

driver used - INTEL8X0

I appriciate any help,

John

[sven-tek]

what does your /etc/modules.d/alsa look like?

[Acoc]

Here is my /etc/modules.d/alsa

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# Alsa 0.9.X kernel modules' configuration file.
# $Header: /var/cvsroot/gentoo-x86/media-sound/alsa-utils/files/alsa-modules.conf-rc,v 1.4 2004/11/16 01:31:22 eradicator Exp $

# ALSA portion
alias char-major-116 snd
# OSS/Free portion
alias char-major-14 soundcore

##
## IMPORTANT:
## You need to customise this section for your specific sound card(s)
## and then run `update-modules' command.
## Read alsa-driver's INSTALL file in /usr/share/doc for more info.
##
##  ALSA portion
## alias snd-card-0 snd-interwave
## alias snd-card-1 snd-ens1371
##  OSS/Free portion
## alias sound-slot-0 snd-card-0
## alias sound-slot-1 snd-card-1
##

# OSS/Free portion - card #1
alias sound-service-0-0 snd-mixer-oss
alias sound-service-0-1 snd-seq-oss
alias sound-service-0-3 snd-pcm-oss
alias sound-service-0-8 snd-seq-oss
alias sound-service-0-12 snd-pcm-oss
##  OSS/Free portion - card #2
## alias sound-service-1-0 snd-mixer-oss
## alias sound-service-1-3 snd-pcm-oss
## alias sound-service-1-12 snd-pcm-oss

alias /dev/mixer snd-mixer-oss
alias /dev/dsp snd-pcm-oss
alias /dev/midi snd-seq-oss

# Set this to the correct number of cards.
options snd cards_limit=1

John

[jschellhaass]

I think you need to uncomment

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## alias snd-card-0 snd-interwave 

and change it to

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 alias snd-card-0 snd-intel8x0

and run modules-update

jeff

[Acoc]

I changed /etc/modules.d/alsa and then changed the soundcard to a module. Now when I do /etc/init.d/alsasound restart I get a little blip out of the speakers, but still no sound. (All the mixer settings remained the same.)

John

[Somerled]

I had a similar problem. The CD player was showing the tracks and artists but no sound. I don't know if this will solve your problem but Linux uses the audio channel and requires a wire to pysically connect your CD player to the motherboard. Once installed it fixed my problem.

Hope it helps.

[Acoc]

I appriate your post, but I am using a laptop so I would hope that they would have this connected when they sent it. Also, I haven't been testing it with a cdrom, I've been using a wav file that I downloaded and ut2004-demo.

What is bothering me most is that I got this running last week on a loaded system with the same steps I took this time.

John

[Acoc]

I'll try to give more information by showing the /proc/asound files. I'm still in need of help.

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cat /proc/asound/version 
Advanced Linux Sound Architecture Driver Version 1.0.6 (Sun Aug 15 07:17:53 2004 UTC).
Compiled on Feb  6 2005 for kernel 2.6.9-gentoo-r14 (SMP).

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cat /proc/asound/timers  
G0: system timer : 1000.000us (10000000 ticks)
P0-0-0: PCM playback 0-0-0 : SLAVE
P0-0-1: PCM capture 0-0-1 : SLAVE
P0-1-1: PCM capture 0-1-1 : SLAVE

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cat /proc/asound/pcm
00-00: Intel ICH : SiS SI7012 : playback 1 : capture 1
00-01: Intel ICH - MIC ADC : SiS SI7012 - MIC ADC : capture 1

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cat /proc/asound/devices 
  1:       : sequencer
  0: [0- 0]: ctl
 25: [0- 1]: digital audio capture
 16: [0- 0]: digital audio playback
 24: [0- 0]: digital audio capture
 33:       : timer

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cat /proc/asound/cards
0 [SI7012         ]: ICH - SiS SI7012
                     SiS SI7012 at 0xe800, irq 169

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cat /proc/asound/SI7012/intel8x0 
Intel8x0

Global control        : 0x00000002
Global status         : 0x00300300
AC'97 codecs ready    : primary secondary

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cat /proc/asound/SI7012/codec97#0/ac97#0-0
0-0/0: Realtek ALC655 rev 0

Revision         : 0x00
Compat. Class    : 0x00
Subsys. Vendor ID: 0xffff
Subsys. ID       : 0xffff

Capabilities     :
DAC resolution   : 16-bit
ADC resolution   : 16-bit
3D enhancement   : No 3D Stereo Enhancement

Current setup
Mic gain         : +0dB [+0dB]
POP path         : pre 3D
Sim. stereo      : off
3D enhancement   : off
Loudness         : off
Mono output      : MIX
Mic select       : Mic1
ADC/DAC loopback : off
Extended ID      : codec=0 rev=2 LDAC SDAC CDAC DSA=0 SPDIF
Extended status  : SPCV LDAC SDAC CDAC SPDIF=3/4 SPDIF

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cat /proc/asound/SI7012/pcm0c/info
card: 0
device: 0
subdevice: 0
stream: CAPTURE
id: Intel ICH
name: SiS SI7012
subname: subdevice #0
class: 0
subclass: 0
subdevices_count: 1
subdevices_avail: 1

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cat /proc/asound/SI7012/pcm1c/info 
card: 0
device: 1
subdevice: 0
stream: CAPTURE
id: Intel ICH - MIC ADC
name: SiS SI7012 - MIC ADC
subname: subdevice #0
class: 0
subclass: 0
subdevices_count: 1
subdevices_avail: 1

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cat /proc/asound/SI7012/pcm0p/info 
card: 0
device: 0
subdevice: 0
stream: PLAYBACK
id: Intel ICH
name: SiS SI7012
subname: subdevice #0
class: 0
subclass: 0
subdevices_count: 1
subdevices_avail: 1

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cat /proc/asound/SI7012/oss_mixer 
VOLUME "Master" 0
BASS "" 0
TREBLE "" 0
SYNTH "" 0
PCM "PCM" 0
SPEAKER "PC Speaker" 0
LINE "Line" 0
MIC "Mic" 0
CD "CD" 0
IMIX "" 0
ALTPCM "" 0
RECLEV "" 0
IGAIN "Capture" 0
OGAIN "" 0
LINE1 "Aux" 0
LINE2 "" 0
LINE3 "" 0
DIGITAL1 "IEC958" 0
DIGITAL2 "" 0
DIGITAL3 "" 0
PHONEIN "Phone" 0
PHONEOUT "Master Mono" 0
VIDEO "Video" 0
RADIO "" 0
MONITOR "" 0

This last oss-mixer looks pretty interesting. I tried to change it manually, but it resets every time it tries to access the card. By the way I have oss disabled in the kernel.

I appriate any help,
John

[transient]

Try playing a sound file through aplay to make sure that its not an application problem

[Invincible_777]

Man, i feel your pain. my sound wont work either. I remember when life(sound) was good in linux, and the radio was usually playing... That was back when I used SuSE 9.2, as a matter of fact, that wasnt very long ago. Yast was nice, but portage is better

[Acoc]

I get no output when I use aplay. It simply says:

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aplay /usr/lib/MozillaThunderbird/res/samples/test.wav
Playing WAVE '/usr/lib/MozillaThunderbird/res/samples/test.wav' : Unsigned 8 bit, Rate 22050 Hz, Mono

Yeah I really wish Alsa was a better system, but after using it sucessfully and hearing that rich sound, I find it hard to go back to oss.

John

[Schem]

Have you tried alsaconf?

In my case, the problem was (everything OK, but no sound) that I've had not compile ISA & PnP support into kernel. I've heard, that sometimes it is no good to have ALSA compiled not as module. So, compile as module.

The part of my /etc/modules.d/alsa :

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##  ALSA portion  
       alias snd-card-0 snd-intel8x0 
##  OSS/Free portion 
      alias sound-slot-0 snd-card-0 

But I think, that alsaconf is doing it the best

Maybe it will help, I hope so

[Acoc]

It looks like alsaconf can't find my soundcard, but I had tried this last time I got it working and it couldn't find it then either.

As for ISA and PnP, that reminds me of something I did different this time around. ISA is enabled same as last time, but last time I had everything configured with ~amd64. Now I'm trying for a little more stability, so I went with the more stable amd64. So when I put the kernel togther I used kernel-2.6.9-r14 when last time I used kernel-2.6.10-something. The biggest difference I noticed was there was no option for PnP with 2.6.9. I never really thought I used it, but I guess I may have.

I'm going to emerge the newest kernel with ~amd64 with PnP to see if I get anything new.

John

[Acoc]

Well after compiling the other kernel, I still am experiencing the same problems. In fact this idea hurt my system more because now the video card won't work. I think I'm going to thinker around to try and find out why, but I might go back to the other kernel.

John

Edit: I got the video card to work. It's actually kind of nice now, I don't have to make the ebuild by hand the ati-drivers-r3 works. Still no luck on the sound.

[Acoc]

I don't know if this is related, but after upgrading the kernel, I've been getting this error. It deals with the coldplugged pci.

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modprobe pciehp
FATAL: Error inserting pciehp (/lib/modules/2.6.10-gentoo-r7/kernel/drivers/pci/hotplug/pciehp.ko): No such device

[aqua26]

maybe u should Use OSS if u have i8x0 card.
ALSA is giving problem to me too.
I took out ALSA & used OSS.
with genkernel 2.6.10
& it did work for me.
maybe it will work for u as well.

some how alsa is giving problem to everyone with i8x0 soundcard with kernel 2.6+ i can't think any resone why.

[Gentree]

I dont think it is you kernel versions, I have a no experience of genkernel of any grade but I have 2.6.10-nitro4 2.6.9-nitro1 2.6.6-love4 etc and they all work with alsa.

You should enable alsa in kernel as well as turning off OSS and adding oss-emulation under the alsa section .

Helps debugging if you compile these as modules that way you can see what is loaded or not loaded as you do various steps by using lsmod.


If you have alsa-driver package , unmerge it since it duplicates what is in the kernel and may confuse things.

You can check which alsa related stuff you have emerged with

qpkg -I -v | grep alsa

Best to use alsamixer for setting levels and unmuting.

Check that the levels are being reloaded next time you boot , if not : alsactl store

I have appended the following to /etc/make.conf , I _believe_ this is instead of editiing /etc/modules.d/alsa . In any case both seem to work.

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### additional ALSA stuff ###
ALSA_CARDS="snd-ens1371"
SOUND_CARDS="ens_1371"

The earlier post saying Linux needs a cable connection is inaccurate and misleading.

Firstly , I would be surprised if your laptop does not have an analogue cable link already.

It is not LInux which req. a cable or not . Linux is a kernel.

There are certain packages that work through the analogue cable (gnome-cdplayer) and others that do full digital sound through the bus : pcm (gxine , mplayer, alsaplayer, etc) The wire is just for using the cd to play audio CDs , where the computer just says "play track 1" and the cd drive does the rest.

That;s not exhaustive but I hope it helps you see where you need to go.

[pls]

My setup is similar to the orginal poster: a laptop (Thinkpad T41p) which uses the snd_intel8x0 module. After upgrading to 2.6.10-morph23 from 2.6.7-gentoo-r13 the onboard sound no longer generates any output. The sound worked just fine under 2.6.7, and I didn't muck with the sound settings.

I've been bashing my head against this for three days, now. Nothing I try makes a bit of difference. ALSA is clearly working: as an experiment, I attached a Plantronics USB headset. When I specify the headset as the output device, sound output is audible. When I specify the onboard intel8x0 sound....nothing. The application behaves as if it is playing, and generates no error messages.

I have unmuted everything and turned up the volume - that is definitely not the problem. I've tried diddling all the sliders while an application is playing, just in case that might make a difference. (It doesn't) Like Acoc, I also see the zeroed values in oss_mixer for the intel_8x0 device in /proc/asound. but I think that is a red herring...I see the same values for the USB device, and its output is just fine.

The IBM has some hardware controls linked to the speaker: volume down, volume up, and mute buttons. When I push the volume up button, the speakers beep loudly, so it's not a hardware problem, and it isn't muted in hardware.

I've tried playing sounds in several applications, so it isn't an application issue. In XMMS with the ALSA output plugin, for example, I can switch between the USB and the intel8x0, but only the USB provides audible output. Other applications give similiar results, as does aplay on the command line.

Based on a hint in another forum post, I tried the steps described at http://www.linux.w1n-forum.net/#sound - no discerable effect, which isn't really surprising, as the Asus hardware is rather different.

I have ALSA compiled as modules. The module stack, from soundcore to snd_intel8x0 loads without errors and shows up in the output of lsmod. I do not have alsa-driver installed. I have re-emerged every alsa-related ebuild (alsa-tools, alsa-utils, alsa-oss, alsa-lib, alsa-firmware, alsa-headers). I've tried upgrading to udev from devfsd. (I now have a few errors in my logs when devfsd tries to call "unlink" in "GLOBAL".) I have nodes in /dev/sound that match the configuration in /etc/modules.d/alsa. I've tried running alsaconf. I've read the Gentoo ALSA configuration guide. I've read every forum post I could find that looked remotely relevant (and there are a LOT of people complaining that ALSA stopped generating sound after they upgraded to 2.6.10, 2.6.11, or occasionally 2.6.9).

I can post any or all logs and configuration files that might be diagnostic - I won't spam things up by posting everything unless someone requests. At this point, I'm ready to try just about anything.

Any help will be greatly appreciated. I'm stumped.

[pls]

Okay, this one should probably go on an ALSA FAQ somewhere...I fixed my problem by muting the "Headphone Jack Sense" and "Line Jack Sense" controls. (Based on a suggestion at https://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/sh ... ?id=144742)

If you are have a problem with no sound output on a Thinkpad or other system using the snd_intel8x0 ALSA module, try the following:

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amixer sset "Headphone Jack Sense" mute
amixer sset "Line Jack Sense" mute

The use of "mute/unmute" to refer to the state of these controls is, to put it kindly, bleeding stupid. "On/Off" would be much saner, and might induce people to try diddling with them when things aren't working.

Frustration level now abating....

[CloudStorm]

Hey Thanks for that pls! I have a dell laptop that uses that the "intel8x0" and have been pulling hairs out for a week or more. Everything loads, works, plays but no sound and like a dog with a bone, I couldn't leave it alone and move onto more important things. Your 2 lines you posted for a fix were magic! Thank god for people who post their fixes or I might have been another week or more wasting time on this!

CS

[pvocong]

Hello,

Try to "emerge auxmix" as well.
I found that piece on the forum.
This will put an speaker icon on your menu bar (volume ruler).
I check the sound, on kde->control center->Sound & Multimedia ->System Notifications.

Do a lspci: it seems that your box haven't detect it (from your first posting).

Do a lsmod,if you didn't find the line, resembling

snd_intel8x0 28320 1


I am using kernel 2.6.10

[naviathan]

Praise be to pls!!! I have been racking my brain on this for 3 days now. I'm also working on a T41P and the sound issue was driving me nuts! One thousand thank yous to pls (don't mind me, I'm in iraq and it's rubbing off).

[Revellion]

a fix that fixes most ALSA related issues is to simple make ALSA + soundcard driver a built into the kernel, ALSA is very simple that way no problems howsoever except the muting issue that can be solved by a custom-made init script or just

/etc/conf.d/local.start

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alsactl restore

/etc/conf.d/local.stop

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alsactl store

Hope this cleans up the issue for those that does'nt require it to be modules and just want it all working fully and reliable

[njcwotx]

Having sound trouble too. No errors.

I fixed by going into alsamixer and turning up volume with up arrow keys on channels and (this is the important one that had me spend an extra hour) press the 'M' key to turn the channel on...

I wasted too much time with this...should be in alsa docs on this site.

[ticapix]

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amixer sset "Headphone Jack Sense" mute
amixer sset "Line Jack Sense" mute

.

I was excatly in the same case that you were.
All the day long I was looking to solve this pb. and now it's working
Thanks a lot pls.