11.1 sound & webcam

English Hardware
1

I recently upgraded to openSUSE 11.1 and have had the following issues with sound and my webcam.

For sound, no sound happens with certain programs like Kopete or Skype or normal system notifications whenever I am using Firefox. Whenever 11.1 starts up, it says that the “Intel ICH6 with unknown codec (Intel ICH6)” failed and it falls back to “default”. I have installed from yast2 all the ALSA things I thought I might need. I started doing that primarily because I wanted the computer to recognize the built-in microphone (it still doesn’t).

More importantly concerning the webcam, it is an HP Webcam. When I do lsusb in the terminal for the webcam it reads:

Bus 001 Device 004: ID 093a:2460 Pixart Imaging, Inc. Q-TEC WEBCAM 100

Again, I have tried installing from yast2 the appropriate drivers (gspcav1-kmp-debug, gspcav1-kmp-default, gspcav1-kmp-pae, gspcav1-kmp-xen) but I keep getting an error message, and I’m not sure what it means or how to resolve it.

YaST2 conflicts list - generated 2009-07-04 02:44:12

nothing provides kernel(debug:drivers_media_video) = ff184eb11e30edba needed by gspcav1-kmp-debug-20071224_2.6.25.5_1.1-10.4.i586

 ] do not install gspcav1-kmp-debug-20071224_2.6.25.5_1.1-10.4.i586

nothing provides kernel(default:drivers_usb_core) = 4460f5d7752dd946 needed by gspcav1-kmp-default-20071224_2.6.25.5_1.1-10.4.i586

 ] do not install gspcav1-kmp-default-20071224_2.6.25.5_1.1-10.4.i586

nothing provides kernel(pae:drivers_usb_core) = e2c805a86dc5f62e needed by gspcav1-kmp-pae-20071224_2.6.25.5_1.1-10.4.i586

 ] do not install gspcav1-kmp-pae-20071224_2.6.25.5_1.1-10.4.i586

nothing provides kernel(xen:vmlinux) = 83084c69820399d3 needed by gspcav1-kmp-xen-20071224_2.6.25.5_1.1-10.4.i586

 ] do not install gspcav1-kmp-xen-20071224_2.6.25.5_1.1-10.4.i586

YaST2 conflicts list END

If anyone has any suggestions on how to resolve these issues, it will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
tgbotg

2

I do not use Kopete nor Skype. I do not know what you mean you you refer to “normal system notifications whenever I am using Firefox”. What are Firefox system notifications?

Reference, falling back to default, this is a known bug. I believe a number of users have reported this. There are a more than a fewthreads here, where users have posted solutions that worked for them:

Someone else may need to help you with your webcam. But if you are looking for tests for basic webcam functionality, there are some neat command line tests here (of which some, but definitely NOT all, may work): webcam & microphone command line fun … - openSUSE Forums

3

Thank you, I’ll check those out immediately.

I may have been unclear with my statement. Whenever I am running Firefox, Kopete and Skype make no sounds. Also the system notifications do not make sounds, like the startup noise or whenever I unplug the laptop. When Firefox is not running these sounds occur normally. And I just restarted and there’s no sound whatsoever. Great. Yeah, I’ll definitely check out those threads.

4

The sound from firefox is dependant on the plugin you are using in firefox to provide sound.

The capability to play sound from multiple applications at the same time is dependant on the output audio module you have selected to use (and also the sound ending you have selected to use) with those applications.

In case you are curious, here is some openSUSE Linux sound theory: Sound-concepts - openSUSE

I’m currently on vacation in a different continent from where I normally live, and internet access is very limited, so I may not respond to any subsequent posts in a timely manner.

5

so the webcam needs a gspca driver; and gspca drivers were added to the 2.6.27 kernel, but alas that does not mean that things work;

the webcam shows up as Qtec 170 0x093a 0x2460 Qtec Webcam100 Pac207 Pac207 Yes gbrg spca5xx ****

on this website

http://mxhaard.free.fr/spca5xx.html

some suggest downloading the latest drivers from

v4l-dvb: Summary

download the bz2 file: if you need help on this, sing out …

If you read here

HCL/Web Cameras - openSUSE

it is the OpenSuse advice on webcams: you have the gspca type:

you can see they talk about

However, some applications still don’t work very well together with the new drivers,
… so …

a workaround is to preload a libv4l-compat library:

so for kopete you would type

LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib/libv4l/v4l1compat.so kopete

so there is a bit of homework for you;

so: Plan A is to try to get existing webcam working; when you have pulled out most of your hair, you can go to:

Plan B: is buy a new UVC one, as they are cheap, and SHOULD work

UVC Webcams - openSUSE

6

and this thread gives details of how to install the latest gspca drivers

How to install logitech Quickcam E2500 - openSUSE Forums

thanks to belal_mandurah for this

7

Thanks for all your help. I may have figured out the sound issue, but I should point out the links provided earlier didn’t help much. I discovered the SDB pages on this site and followed their advice. I apologize for asking a question that apparently already had an easy answer posted.

Yes, the first places I checked for the webcam were all the ones you provided, and I wasn’t sure what to download from that “v4l-dvb” site or any of the others of similar ilk. I downloaded and tried the usual “make” then “make install” routine with less then stellar results. Below is what comes up, and I replaced my home directory with “$HOME”. I am logged in as root.

# make                      
make -C $HOME/Desktop/v4l-dvb-c300798213a9/v4l                            
make[1]: Entering directory `$HOME/Desktop/v4l-dvb-c300798213a9/v4l'      
Updating/Creating .config                                                         
Preparing to compile for kernel version 2.6.27                                    
File not found: /lib/modules/2.6.27.23-0.1-default/build/.config at ./scripts/make_kconfig.pl line 32, <IN> line 4.                                                 
make[1]: *** No rule to make target `.myconfig', needed by `config-compat.h'.  Stop.                                                                                
make[1]: Leaving directory `$HOME/Desktop/v4l-dvb-c300798213a9/v4l'       
make: *** [all] Error 2                                                           

# make install              
make -C $HOME/Desktop/v4l-dvb-c300798213a9/v4l install                    
make[1]: Entering directory `$HOME/Desktop/v4l-dvb-c300798213a9/v4l'      

Removing obsolete files from /lib/modules/2.6.27.23-0.1-default/kernel/drivers/media/video:


Removing obsolete files from /lib/modules/2.6.27.23-0.1-default/kernel/drivers/media/dvb/cinergyT2:
cinergyT2.ko

Removing obsolete files from /lib/modules/2.6.27.23-0.1-default/kernel/drivers/media/dvb/frontends:

Installing kernel modules under /lib/modules/2.6.27.23-0.1-default/kernel/drivers/media/:
/sbin/depmod -a 2.6.27.23-0.1-default
make -C firmware install
make[2]: Entering directory `$HOME/Desktop/v4l-dvb-c300798213a9/v4l/firmware'
  CC  ihex2fw
Installing firmwares at /lib/firmware: vicam/firmware.fw cp: cannot stat `vicam/firmware.fw': No such file or directory
dabusb/firmware.fw cp: cannot stat `dabusb/firmware.fw': No such file or directory
dabusb/bitstream.bin cp: cannot stat `dabusb/bitstream.bin': No such file or directory
ttusb-budget/dspbootcode.bin cp: cannot stat `ttusb-budget/dspbootcode.bin': No such file or directory
cpia2/stv0672_vp4.bin cp: cannot stat `cpia2/stv0672_vp4.bin': No such file or directory
av7110/bootcode.bin cp: cannot stat `av7110/bootcode.bin': No such file or directory
make[2]: [install] Error 1 (ignored)

make[2]: Leaving directory `$HOME/Desktop/v4l-dvb-c300798213a9/v4l/firmware'
make[1]: Leaving directory `$HOME/Desktop/v4l-dvb-c300798213a9/v4l'

#

Based on the errors and the lack of webcam working I’m guessing it didn’t work, so how can I fix it? I did download what I could from YaST2 of ‘libv4l’, but I’m not sure what you (pdc_2) mean by typing in that preload thing for Kopete. Where would I type it in? In the Konsole? If so, under what directory? And if for Skype, would I simply replace “kopete” with “skype”? Would I have to do this every time I want to use it, or restart?

Now I realize there’s an issue with playing DVDs, but that’s another whole can of worms. What I will say here is that one DVD I have is not recognized as being in the drive when it clearly is. This may be a hardware issue. Is 11.1 just not wanting to recognize my disc?

Again, thanks for the replies and the help. And I still appreciate any further comments. :slight_smile:

Thanks!

8

Rather than try recompiling a package that someone else has already spent the time and effort compiling, did you first check to see if some one else has compiled it?

Do a search for “v4l” under webpin, and see what you get:
Webpin

9

Once again, thanks for all your help. I managed to get the webcam working, but I have to do this

bash -c 'export LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib/libv4l/v4l1compat.so skype' &

each time I open the program. On that link, How to install logitech Quickcam E2500 - openSUSE Forums mentioned earlier, it says this:

  • you can do an application luncher with this command so you don’t type the command in all the time.

I’m not quite sure what that means.

For the sound card, I followed the advice here: SDB:Muted Sound Card - openSUSE
But it still doesn’t work when I restart. Do you guys have any suggestions?

Also, I still am not sure why some of my DVDs are not even recognized by the OS, but others are. But these same DVDs are recognized if I restart with the DVD already in the drive. Note, I’m not asking for help on playing DVDs. This isn’t the right forum for that, after all.

Thanks!

10

Instead of following the advice in that URL, when you restart your pc, type: **su -c ‘rcalsasound restart’ ** and enter root password when prompted. Restart your mixer and test your sound.

If that works, then to have it run each time you restart your PC, you can edit your PC’s file /etc/init.d/boot.local adding as a last line the following:
rcalsasound restartYou can edit that file

  • with gnome by typing: gnomesu ‘gedit /etc/init.d/boot.local’

  • with kde by typing: kdesu ‘kwrite /etc/init.d/boot.local’

I’m not at a Linux PC and I am going by memory, so I hope I have that correct.

11

Well, that works, but I tried adding it to my boot.local file just as you said, but it still doesn’t survive restart. Is there another place I can put it? If it does work, will I have to start up KMix every time?

12

Exactly what did you put in /etc/init.d/boot.local ? What is your criteria (precisely) for saying it does not survive a restart ? (ie EXACTLY what test did you do to determine that ? ).

13

Everything in the file boot.local was commented out, so below I added what you told me to add:

rcalsasound restart

I saved it and then restarted to see if it would work. The goal is to make it so multiple applications can access the sound card at once. I test this by opening up Firefox and going to YouTube or Hulu, some website with sound, then either opening up Skype and trying to make the Test Call or simply unplugging the laptop and plugging it back in. What normally happens is, before I do an ‘alsaconf’ or an ‘rcalsasound restart’, Firefox takes priority and Skype is soundless and can’t make the Test Call (it says “Problem with Audio Playback”), and the notification that my laptop is unplugged is also mute. But once I punch in ‘alsaconf’ or ‘rcalsasound restart’ all these programs have access to the soundcard, i.e. they make noise and Skype can make the Test Call.

Oh, and I saw when boot.local occurs, and KMix isn’t activated until later. Now I understand the timeline. So that question is now null.

14

OK, to ensure you have basic sound, the test should be the sound tests specified in the audio troubleshooting guide. ie try BOTH (not just one) of these tests: SDB:AudioTroubleshooting - openSUSE - speaker tests

and also this test: SoundcardTesting - AlsaProject

If any one of those tests give sound then your sound is functioning. Its quite common for one or two of those not to work, while the 3rd works.

Fair enough, BUT this is a far distant difference from a basic sound test. This is FAR TOO COMPLEX for a basic sound test. Note testing for multiple applications is NOT the same as testing for basic sound.

So then from what I deduce is your basic sound works ??

This firefox/skype test is far too complex for a basic sound test.

So your problem is not basic sound? But its advanced multiple application sound?

You could read the sound concepts guide here, to get a better feel as to what sound modules support multiple sound, and which do not: Sound-concepts - openSUSE

Anyway, its clear now to me that I did not understand what you wanted. I thought you had a basic sound problem. You don’t.

Hence I’ll bow out of this thread as I do not use Skype.

15

How to make an application luncher
In Gnome (I am not sure how to make it in KDE)
1- Right click on your panel.
2- Choose “Add to Panel…”
3- Select “Custom Application Launcher”
4- Type in the Name. For example, “Skype”
5- Type in the command. (in your case for example, “bash -c ‘export LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib/libv4l/v4l1compat.so skype’ &”
6- Comments are optional.
7- Changing the picture is optional.(just click on the image)
8- You can drag and drop the launcher into your desktop or any folder.
9- Done