Another problem with Skype and microphone

English Multimedia
#1

I see that two other people have had problems with OpenSuse 11.0 and the microphone not working with Skype. It seems that the problem in my case has something to do with the computer model. The problem occurs on my HP DC5750 but I just got it to work on another user’s HP DC5850. Since the computer on my desk is a 5750 I still would like to know how I can set up the 5750 so that it works.

Before I give the information asked for in the other postings, I was wondering if someone could tell me what pulseaudio is and/or where I can look up about it in conjunction with Suse 11.0?

I tried recording using arecord and it didn’t work.

Here is the result of the tsalsa script:
tsalsa.txt - nopaste.com (beta)

> rpm -qa | grep alsa
alsa-plugins-pulse-32bit-1.0.16-57.1
alsaplayer-0.99.80-1.pm.1
alsa-devel-1.0.16-39.1
alsa-utils-1.0.16-35.1
alsa-firmware-1.0.16-24.1
alsa-tools-gui-1.0.16-47.1
alsa-plugins-1.0.16-57.1
alsa-oss-1.0.15-48.1
alsa-1.0.16-39.1
alsa-oss-32bit-1.0.15-48.1
alsa-docs-1.0.16-39.1
alsa-plugins-pulse-1.0.16-57.1
alsamixergui-0.9.0rc1-705.1
alsa-tools-1.0.16-47.1


> rpm -qa | grep pulse
alsa-plugins-pulse-32bit-1.0.16-57.1
pulseaudio-module-gconf-0.9.10-26.5
libpulse-mainloop-glib0-0.9.10-26.5
pulseaudio-module-x11-0.9.10-26.5
libpulse0-32bit-0.9.10-26.5
pulseaudio-module-zeroconf-0.9.10-26.5
gstreamer-0_10-pulse-0.9.7-42.pm.1
pulseaudio-esound-compat-0.9.10-26.5
pulseaudio-utils-0.9.10-26.5
libpulse0-0.9.10-26.5
pulseaudio-module-lirc-0.9.10-26.5
libpulsecore4-0.9.10-26.5
alsa-plugins-pulse-1.0.16-57.1
pulseaudio-0.9.10-26.5
pulseaudio-module-bluetooth-0.9.10-26.5
libpulse-browse0-0.9.10-26.5


> rpm -q libasound2
libasound2-1.0.16-39.1


> uname -a
Linux tlin12 2.6.25.16-0.1-default #1 SMP 2008-08-21 00:34:25 +0200 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux


> cat /etc/modprobe.d/sound
options snd slots=snd-hda-intel
# 5Dex.PhRZuqzzDPA:DC5750 Microtower
alias snd-card-0 snd-hda-intel

Any help greatly appreciated!

Matthew

#2

I can’t help with Skype. I never use it. My recommendation is to do what you tried (and failed to get to work), which is to see if you can get it working with arecord first, and then if it works, try setting up your Skype.

Re: pulse audio, take a look at the openSUSE sound concepts page: Sound-concepts - openSUSE

I note you have an ALC260 from that script. I did a search for the ALC260 on the alsa web site, and obtained this hit: Search results - AlsaProject

I see there is an update in 1.0.18RC3 of alsa for that codec, but it appears not to be specific for your laptop. Whether that update would work for your laptop, I do not know. If you do want to try an alsa update, let me know and I’ll pass you to a URL with instructions on how to update using rpms.

Reference your mixer, it does not appear to be setup correctly. I note from the diagnostic script:


Amixer item options for card 0 [SB] _________________________________        
          
'Input Source'  ; Item #0 'Mic'  ; Item #1 'Front Mic'  ; Item #2 'Line'  ; Item #3 'CD'        

Amixer contents for card 0 [SB] _____________________________________        
amixer set 'Front Mic',0 100%,100% on        
amixer set 'Line',0 100%,100% on        
amixer set 'Mic',0 75%,75% on        
amixer set 'Aux-In',0 52%,52% on        
amixer set 'Capture',0 Capture 35 100%,Capture 35 100% on        
amixer set 'Input Source',0 Items: 'Mic' 'Front Mic' 'Line' 'CD' Item0: 'Line'

You have the input set to “Line” instead of “Front Mic” or “Mic”. I think you should try “Mic” as your setting.

I see you applied no options. You could try some options in your /etc/modprobe.d/sound file. I notice in the documentation to 1.0.16 of alsa (which you have installed) the following in the ALSA-Configuration.txt file:

	ALC260
	  hp		HP machines
	  hp-3013	HP machines (3013-variant)
	  fujitsu	Fujitsu S7020
	  acer		Acer TravelMate
	  will		Will laptops (PB V7900)
	  replacer	Replacer 672V
	  basic		fixed pin assignment (old default model)
	  test		for testing/debugging purpose, almost all controls can
			adjusted.  Appearing only when compiled with
			$CONFIG_SND_DEBUG=y
	  auto		auto-config reading BIOS (default)

so if the mixer adjustment I recommended is inadequate, you could try this edit to your /etc/modprobe.d/sound file:

options snd slots=snd-hda-intel
# 5Dex.PhRZuqzzDPA:DC5750 Microtower
alias snd-card-0 snd-hda-intel 
options snd-hda-intel model=auto

the idea being maybe the alsa auto configuration was not applied at it needs to be forced. Restart your alsa after that edit with: su -c ‘rcalsasound restart’ (enter root password when prompted) and then test your mic.

If that does not work, you could try the same, but instead of using “auto”, try sequentially (restarting alsa and test mic after each attempt) hp, hp-3013, fujitsu, acer, will, replacer , and finally basic . Some of those attempts may cause your PC problems, forcing a reboot (hopefully not). You can always change the /etc/modprobe.d/sound file back to its default, if there are problems.

#3

Thanks for your help! I never got around to trying all of your suggestions because the information on pulseaudio gave me a solution that works for me.

Some googling led me to the following post - sound issue on SUSE 11 - openSUSE Forums - in which somebody said that they solved their problem by uninstalling pulseaudio. I tried that and I got a lot better results very quickly. In the end I was able to get Skype to work.