Sound issues with Mandriva 2008

[SueD]

The only problem I've come across concerns sound. Sometimes I've got it, sometimes I don't. I've got no sound in VLC and some sites yet other sites the sounds work and I hear the small tidbit when KDE starts and it works in Amarok.What am I missing?

[Bruno]

Have a look in the KDE-Control Center --> sound & multimedia --> soundsystem . . . is it enabled ? And does the test-button work ? Bruno

[SueD]

Have a look in the KDE-Control Center --> sound & multimedia --> soundsystem . . . is it enabled ? And does the test-button work ? Bruno

I forgot to mention that earlier...I did check and the soundsystem is enabled but the Test Sound button gives me nothing.I also discovered that when I click on videos at Youtube, I get no action what so ever.

[Bruno]

I forgot to mention that earlier...I did check and the soundsystem is enabled but the Test Sound button gives me nothing.

In that case aRts is not working and you better disable the soundsystem and use an "external player" ( like /usr/bin/play ) for the sound notifications.

I also discovered that when I click on videos at Youtube, I get no action what so ever.

Is the plash plugin installed ?? Bruno

[striker]

Bruno : I think the problem Sue is having with Mandriva might be broader, I think codecs which are not installed. And maybe the wrong sound system set.Sue: do you happen to know which sound card is in the machine, or what sound chip is on the main board ?

[SueD]

Is the plash plugin installed ?? Bruno

Good question...I knew I forgot to do something. I'll get on that in a bit.

Bruno : I think the problem Sue is having with Mandriva might be broader, I think codecs which are not installed. And maybe the wrong sound system set.Sue: do you happen to know which sound card is in the machine, or what sound chip is on the main board ?

Striker, I don't know. I have my mobo booklet in front of me but I don't see any information on the sound chip.

[cybormoron]

i had this prob also then it went away but now it's back. apparently a reboot clears it up temporarily till whatever is messing it up messes it up again. sorry, i have no clue what to do, so i'm watching this thread also.sue, can your mandriva control center show what hardware you have, maybe?http://aycu05.webshots.com/image/32124/200...96397246_rs.jpghttp://aycu06.webshots.com/image/30325/200...71903500_rs.jpg

Edited October 13, 2007 by cybormoron

[SueD]

Steve, it doesn't say a whole lot...AC'97 Sound Controller.

[Bruno]

Hmmmmm . . . . strange . . . . . okay I want you both to monitor the following:1). Have a look at the process-table you get when pressing Ctrl+Esc . . . and look again when the sound is suddenly gone . . . . is there a process eating cycles ? Is maybe /usr/bin/rec running ??2). Also have a look at "aumix -q" . . . are the "P" and the "R" in the right places ( the "R" should only be after the Mic ) . . . . and when the sound is gone, is there any change ?3). Does "/usr/bin/play /usr/share/sounds/KDE_Startup.wav" give sound when the sound is gone south ? Bruno

[cybormoron]

no aumix. i went into mcc and found aumix-text. command might be

aumix-text -q

[steve@localhost ~]$ aumix -qbash: aumix: command not found[steve@localhost ~]$ whereis aumixaumix:[steve@localhost ~]$ suPassword:[root@localhost steve]# aumix -qbash: aumix: command not found[root@localhost steve]# rpm -q aumixpackage aumix is not installed[root@localhost steve]# aumix-text -qvol 100, 100, Rpcm 100, 100speaker 0, 0line 0, 0, Pmic 0, 0, Pcd 100, 100, Pigain 0, 0line1 100, 100, Pdig1 0, 0phin 0, 0, Pphout 0, 0, Pvideo 0, 0, P[root@localhost steve]#

looks like my R is in the wrong place. mine is working ok at the moment so i'll just wait and see. when the sound goes out the startup and exit wav files will not play, either from the KDE test window or in the directory.i also notice that the other default system notifications sound files are in a different directory and they fail to play also but they're easy to change.sorry sue, i didn't mean to hijack your thread. i'll wait till bruno and striker solve your prob first. Edited October 14, 2007 by cybormoron

[SueD]

Hmmmmm . . . . strange . . . . . okay I want you both to monitor the following:1). Have a look at the process-table you get when pressing Ctrl+Esc . . . and look again when the sound is suddenly gone . . . . is there a process eating cycles ? Is maybe /usr/bin/rec running ??2). Also have a look at "aumix -q" . . . are the "P" and the "R" in the right places ( the "R" should only be after the Mic ) . . . . and when the sound is gone, is there any change ?3). Does "/usr/bin/play /usr/share/sounds/KDE_Startup.wav" give sound when the sound is gone south ? Bruno

1. I'm not sure what I'm looking for in the process table but there is no /usr/bin/rec running2. No aumix here either so I tried Steve's command and got

[sue@localhost ~]$ aumix-text -qvol 100, 100, Ppcm 100, 100speaker 100, 100line 100, 100, Pmic 0, 0, Rcd 100, 100, Pigain 80, 80line1 100, 100, Pdig1 100, 100phin 100, 100, Pphout 100, 100, Pvideo 100, 100, P

3. I get "/usr/bin/play stio: Can't open output file '/dev/dsp': Device or resource busy", no sound.

sorry sue, i didn't mean to hijack your thread. i'll wait till bruno and striker solve your prob first.

No problem. It's nice to know I'm not the only one with a problem.

[Bruno]

Apparently there is a bug . . . . . . and since /usr/bin/play does not produce sound I would guess it is in Alsa.There are more people with soundproblems in 2008: http://forum.mandriva.com/viewforum.php?f=...cfa4854c4b57c14 so my guess is that there will be a bugfix real soon. Up to then you could provide us with the output of:

$ lspcidrake -v | grep -i audio$ cat /etc/modprobe.conf | grep -i sound

If the module ( output 2nd command ) is snd_hda_intel you surely suffer from the bug.In case the bug indeed is in Alsa you could try to use the oss module . . . or use esd for soundsystem ( if "esdplay /usr/share/sounds/KDE_Startup.wav" gives you sound there is hope we can use a temp fix ) Bruno

[SueD]

I had checked the Mandriva forums the other day almost immediately after I'd first discovered the problem but didn't see anything about it. Life's been keeping me busy to go back and check.

[sue@localhost ~]$ lspcidrake -v | grep -i audiosnd_intel8x0 : Silicon Integrated Systems [siS]|AC'97 Sound Controller [MULTIMEDIA_AUDIO] (vendor:1039 device:7012 subv:1849 subd:7012)

[sue@localhost ~]$ cat /etc/modprobe.conf | grep -i soundalias sound-slot-0 snd_intel8x0

[Bruno]

Hi SueWhat you can try is adding an extra line to your /etc/modprobe.conf:

options snd_intel8x0 model=3stack

reboot and see if you have sound . . . if model=3stack does not help you can try 5stack or 6stack ( and reboot every time after the change.If even that does not help . . . have a look in the MCC --> hardware --> soundcard what alternative drivers it proposes . . . and report them back to me so we can have a look which one you could try / testB) Bruno

[SueD]

3stack, 5stack and 6stack don't work. The sound icon on my panel shows "Mixer cannot be found". I get the following message...

Sound server informational message:Error while initializing the sound driver:device: default can't be opened for playback (No such device)The sound server will continue, using the null output device.

Should I remove that line?Alternative drivers: ‎ali5455, i810_audio, nvaudio

[Bruno]

Yep remove the "options snd_intel8x0 model=3stack" again . . . . and let us try another trick:First make a backup of your /etc/modprobe.conf:

# cp /etc/modprobe.conf /etc/modprobe.conf-BACKUP

In the KDE Control Center --> Sound & Multimedia --> Soundsystem -> 2nd tab, the one that says "hardware" . . . "Select the audio device" you can change it from "Advanced Linux Sound Architecture" ( Alsa ) to Auto or OSS or ESD or Jack or Toss . . . test them all ( press "Apply" and use the test-button on the first tab )If even that does not help then try the i810_audio driver in the MCC --> Hardware . . . and set the KDE Control Center --> Soundsystem to "Auto"I hope there is something in all these tricks that will give you sound . . . . . . if not we will have to wait for the bug-fix from Mandriva. Bruno

[SueD]

I think Autodetect worked...at least it did when I hit the Test button. I'm going to leave it there for now, check out the sites sound wasn't working in and see if that helps. If not, I'll give the rest of your instructions a go.Thank you Bruno. Have a good night.

[Bruno]

Maybe reboot before your tests . . . . so the changes are systemwide. Bruno

[striker]

i810_audio should work with ALSA out of the box.Now where SIS comes into play, I think there's the problem. Maybe it's the 7012 chip, but I'm not sure. Sue, am I right you did mention having a manual over there from the main board of this machine ? If yes, then you could maybe telling us what main board this is. We could look up then which chip is handling the audio.

[SueD]

Bruno, after a reboot, it's not working everywhere so I'll try the others.Striker, I do have have the manual. It covers two boards though, and I'm not 100% sure which one is mine. It's either an ASRock GE PRO-HT or GE PRO-M2. I did a search on it last night but my eyes glazed over when I saw too many technical words.

[striker]

OK Sue, I'll look into this and see what I can gather from their site. I'll report back but that won't probably be before tomorrow.

[SueD]

OK Sue, I'll look into this and see what I can gather from their site. I'll report back but that won't probably be before tomorrow.

Thanks Striker, that's fine.

[Bruno]

Chances are that if you change in the MCC top the i810_audio driver you will be able to use Alsa ( Soundsystem, Kcontrol center ) . . . . which will give you more chance to hear the media in your browser.But if alsa is broken ( which might explain why it took the oss driver during the install ) this sure will not work . . . but I think it still is worth the try. Bruno

[SueD]

If even that does not help then try the i810_audio driver in the MCC --> Hardware . . .

If I click on Set Current Driver Options, I get "You can configure each parameter of the module here"...??? I have no clue what to do there.It's late for you, go to bed...we can pick this up again tomorrow.LOL

[striker]

Got it.It appears these boards do all have the same sound chip on it, a C-Media AC97 which in windows needs an UDA038 Audio Driver.(So it has nothing to do with SIS nor snd_intel8x0.)Now there are a couple of possibilities with CMedia, : http://bugtrack.alsa-project.org/main/inde...:Vendor-C-Mediaandhttp://www.alsa-project.org/main/index.php...x:Module-cmipciFor problems with this Cmipci chip see :http://alsa.opensrc.org/index.php/CmipciIf the chip in question is another one than the CMI8338/8738 which I assume it could be (As included onboard ASUS motherboards), then we need the exact chip description as printed on it; then look here : http://alsa.opensrc.org/index.php/ALSA_modulesLet's see what we can do tomorrow.

[SueD]

Thanks Striker. I've got to tell you though, while reading those links, I have no idea what any of them meant. I'm not a technical person and this stuff just goes pfffffft, way over my head.

If the chip in question is another one than the CMI8338/8738 which I assume it could be (As included onboard ASUS motherboards), then we need the exact chip description as printed on it; then look here : http://alsa.opensrc.org/index.php/ALSA_modules

I'm not sure what you mean by that. If my chip is different than what's listed, I'm supposed to find out what it is? And if so, how?I'm sorry, I don't understand.

[Bruno]

If I click on Set Current Driver Options, I get "You can configure each parameter of the module here"...??? I have no clue what to do there.It's late for you, go to bed...we can pick this up again tomorrow.LOL

??? . . . there used to be a button "Run Config Tool" ( even in 2008 RC2 it was there ! ) but in 2008 Final I do not see it myself either . :(Okay we can do it manually: please show us the "/etc/modprobe.conf"

Got it.It appears these boards do all have the same sound chip on it, a C-Media AC97 which in windows needs an UDA038 Audio Driver.(So it has nothing to do with SIS nor snd_intel8x0.)

????? . . . lspcidrake clearly shows

[sue@localhost ~]$ lspcidrake -v | grep -i audiosnd_intel8x0 : Silicon Integrated Systems [siS]|AC'97 Sound Controller [MULTIMEDIA_AUDIO] (vendor:1039 device:7012 subv:1849 subd:7012)

Bruno

[striker]

??? . . . there used to be a button "Run Config Tool" ( even in 2008 RC2 it was there ! ) but in 2008 Final I do not see it myself either . :(Okay we can do it manually: please show us the "/etc/modprobe.conf" ????? . . . lspcidrake clearly shows Bruno

I know Bruno, that's what baffles me too. But I had a look at the asrock site which on itself doesn't say a word of which sound chip is used, not even the manuals mention it. I even looked at some photos of the board online at various sources, but they are not big enough to reveal what is printed on the sound chip and the quality of those pics is not good enough to magnify them.However, when you start the asrock page for downloads for those main boards, you'll see under the audio section all these main boards Sue mentioned seem to have a CMedia chip on it. The chipset for the main board may indeed be a SIS, but that has nothing at all to do with audio service if you ask me.Also, it seems to be that the CMedia chip has quite a few quirks (if not bugs) and Mandriva 2008 seems to have a few bugs regarding audio too, however myself I was very lucky to not suffer from these, not even with my not so standard Audigy 4. So all in all it makes the case complicated enough.Personally I think the best thing to do is giving aRts a kick right off and select ALSA as the sound system being used and leave it that way. Then go from there. This of course when indeed the CMedia chip is the right one, for which I'm not able to get any contrary proof when I count possible bugs in the audio section of Mandriva too.Which way are we going to take Bruno ?You know this might get interesting to see where the actual problem is, is it Mandrivas detection, is it asrock giving false information or maybe a combination of those two.Maybe it is better to go on with the way you're trying to solve it, if to no avail later on you can always take the other road which leads in the CMedia direction. @Sue : you don't need to apologize not having any clue or technical competence, we're not expecting you to have that and certainly not in this case which may be complicated.

[SueD]

??? . . . there used to be a button "Run Config Tool" ( even in 2008 RC2 it was there ! ) but in 2008 Final I do not see it myself either . :(Okay we can do it manually: please show us the "/etc/modprobe.conf" ????? . . . lspcidrake clearly shows Bruno

/etc/modprobe.conf gives me permission denied.

[SueD]

Personally I think the best thing to do is giving aRts a kick right off and select ALSA as the sound system being used and leave it that way. Then go from there. This of course when indeed the CMedia chip is the right one, for which I'm not able to get any contrary proof when I count possible bugs in the audio section of Mandriva too.@Sue : you don't need to apologize not having any clue or technical competence, we're not expecting you to have that and certainly not in this case which may be complicated.

Umm, I could open the case and look. Thing is, I'm not quite sure where or what to look for.Thanks for being so patient with me on this.