Sound problems with 82801I sound card

[eeijlar]

Hi,

I am having trouble with 82801I card on OpenSuse 11.1. Everything looks fine... but no sound is coming out. Here is my alsa profile:

http://www.alsa-project.org/db/?f=55...d85ffaab48a7dd

I am getting this error in /var/log/messages:

pulseaudio[4568]: module.c: Failed to load  module "module-alsa-sink" (argument: "device_id=0 sink_name=alsa_output.pci_8086_293e_sound

Any ideas would be great...

[oldcpu]

Originally Posted by eeijlar

I am having trouble with 82801I card on OpenSuse 11.1. Everything looks fine... but no sound is coming out. Here is my alsa profile:

http://www.alsa-project.org/db/?f=55...d85ffaab48a7dd

I am getting this error in /var/log/messages:

pulseaudio[4568]: module.c: Failed to load  module "module-alsa-sink" (argument: "device_id=0 sink_name=alsa_output.pci_8086_293e_sound

I don't know what that error message means. It could be a pulse audio problem. If it is pulse (and I do not know if it is) then the only possible approaches I know would be to either disable pulse, or try an update to pulse. ... But it may not be that at all.

I note from the script your HP DC7800P PC is running a 32-bit openSUSE-11.1 with the 2.6.27.29 kernel and the nominal 1.0.17/1.0.18 alsa version, where the audio hardware is using an AD1884 hardware audio codec.

I checked the alsa web site and note support for this AD1884 was started around 1.0.14 of alsa: Search results - AlsaProject - AD1884 There were also some updates indicated in version 1.0.20 of alsa which may or may not be relevant.

I checked the HD-Audio-Models.txt file for 1.0.21 of alsa, and I noted only an "n/a" for the AD1884. The same is also true for older alsa versions.

AD1884A / AD1883 / AD1984A / AD1984B
====================================
  desktop	3-stack desktop (default)
  laptop	laptop with HP jack sensing
  mobile	mobile devices with HP jack sensing
  thinkpad	Lenovo Thinkpad X300

AD1884
======
  N/A

Hence there appears to be no custom model options one should apply.

I note you received the error message you posted. Can you also advise what you used as a sound test to prove your PC's sound functionality (or lack there of) ?

Do NOT use the startup system sound as your criteria for stating sound does not work. Also be certain to check your mixer. Its not uncommon for a mixer setting (master, pcm or speaker) to be muted upon boot. In KDE your mixer is "kmix" (the small speaker in right hand corner). In Gnome your mixer is "alsamixer".

Note, when testing if you have sound, please copy and paste the following speaker-test into a Gnome terminal or a kde konsole:

speaker-test -Dplug:front -c2 -l5 -twav

Note Linux is case sensitive, and “D” is not the same as “d”. To stop the above test, while the konsole/xterm has the mouse focus, press <CTRL><C> on the keyboard. Note you should check your mixer settings (kmix if using KDE, and alsamixer if using Gnome) to ensure that PCM and Master Volume are set around 95%. Once you have basic sound established you can back off to lower volume levels. Note the test for surround sound is different.

If that test yields errors (and its not uncommon to get errors there), try instead this more simple test:

speaker-test -c2 -l5 -twav

You should hear a female voice saying 'FRONT LEFT', 'FRONT RIGHT' five times. Its quite common that one of those speaker tests will work and one will NOT work, so don't be distressed if that is the case. IF that test gives sound, stop now, post that the sound test gives sound, and we will look at other possible causes for your applications not giving you the sound you want (such as missing codecs, using the wrong packaged version ... etc ... ).

Or alternatively, for testing the simple playback, use aplay program. Prepare a WAV file and simply run like:

aplay -vv somefile.wav

With the option -vv, aplay shows the verbose information of the PCM device, and a VU-peak meter during playing the file.

Try those speaker-tests as both a regular user, and also with root permissions. If you have a headset, try with your headset plugged in, and also with your headset not plugged in (for speakers).

In fact, try ALL 3 tests, to see if any work.

Note you should move up both PCM and Master volume to high settings to see if you have sound. Since you have a desktop, please also double check your cables ( ... I've had cases where the made mistakenly loosened a cable when cleaning, or visiting children knocked against a cable when playing).

If none of the above helps, please provide the output of the following (and I'll try recommend an appropriate alsa update to see if that helps):

rpm -qa | grep alsa
rpm -qa | grep pulse
rpm -q libasound2
uname -a
cat /etc/modprobe.d/sound

[eeijlar]

Wow!!!! What a response.... I am stunned.

Ok, so the speaker test works:

speaker-test -c2 -l5 -twav

So, it must be an application problem as you said. I was using Amarok and a lastfm plugin for Firefox which puts a little music player in at the bottom of firefox.

Thanks so much for your reply...

/jlar

[eeijlar]

Ok, so I tried playing the mp3 that amarok was playing in mplayer and it works! I get an error first though saying:

[AO OSS]audio_setup: Can't open audio device /dev/dsp: Device or resource busy

It plays though..

[oldcpu]

Originally Posted by eeijlar

Ok, so the speaker test works:

speaker-test -c2 -l5 -twav

So, it must be an application problem as you said. I was using Amarok and a lastfm plugin for Firefox which puts a little music player in at the bottom of firefox.

Fantastic.

So your basic sound functions ! Thats great.

Now assuming your PC has internet access, I recommend you immediately setup your software repositories with 4 and only 4 repositories. Just 4. No others! Those 4 are OSS, Non-OSS, Update and Packman. Just those 4. Others can be added and removed on an adhoc basis, but as a default keep only those 4. Note others can add problems. There is guidance here how to do that: Repositories/11.1 - openSUSE-Community Its likely OSS, Non-OSS, and Update are already setup, and you only need to add Packman. So just those 4. No others. None ! Then install some multimedia apps to replace the crippled Novell/SuSE-GmbH packaged sound apps. You can find a guide here (note you briefly add libdvdcss repository for one and only one app, and immediately remove that repos afterward).
Multi-media and Restricted Format Installation Guide - openSUSE Forums

If you wish to use amaork, also install the packman packaged versions of amarok, amarok-packman, amarok-xine. And then change amarok to use the xine sound engine.

Note you can tell packman packaged versions by the "pm" in the version number.