Dell Laptop-No Sound

English Hardware
1

Hello people. I bought a Dell Studio 1555 Laptop a week ago and it comes with Vista. So the first thing I did was install Suse. And now… Yes you are right, I have no sound:’( I managed to sort out everything except the sound. I can even connect to the crappy Sky Broadband router. I am pretty much a newby and I have tried just about everything on the forum without success. I need some expert eyes on my system as I think I might be missing something or I might have to much… I don’t know…

I have tried the following two test:

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

and not a single beep through the speakers or earphones. Also tried the sound test as root and nothing.

I edited the first line in

/etc/modprobe.d/sound

by adding model= ‘everything under stac in the ALSA-Configuration.txt’ and then restarted the sound with

rcalsasound restart

and nothing…

I run the script:/usr/sbin/alsa-info.sh

and the result is:
http://www.alsa-project.org/db/?f=e540dbc9f7c5e9faffeee3d2f56b189365f7c2a6

Also: rpm -qa | grep alsa
alsa-plugins-1.0.18-6.13
alsaplayer-0.99.80-1.pm.1
alsa-utils-1.0.18-6.4
alsa-driver-doc-1.0.20.20090723-7.1
alsa-oss-1.0.17-1.43
alsa-plugins-jack-32bit-1.0.18-6.12
alsa-1.0.20-34.1
alsa-plugins-pulse-1.0.18-6.13
alsa-plugins-jack-1.0.18-6.13
alsa-plugins-32bit-1.0.18-6.12
alsa-firmware-1.0.17-1.42
alsa-driver-kmp-default-1.0.20.20090723_2.6.27.25_0.1-7.1
alsa-tools-1.0.18-1.16
alsa-oss-32bit-1.0.17-1.37
alsa-docs-1.0.20-34.1

And:rpm -qa | grep pulse
pulseaudio-lang-0.9.14-2.2.1
pulseaudio-module-jack-0.9.14-2.2.1
libpulse-mainloop-glib0-0.9.14-2.2.1
pulseaudio-esound-compat-0.9.14-2.2.1
pulseaudio-module-lirc-0.9.14-2.2.1
alsa-plugins-pulse-1.0.18-6.13
libxine1-pulse-1.1.15-23.3.3
pulseaudio-module-x11-0.9.14-2.2.1
libpulse-browse0-0.9.14-2.2.1
pulseaudio-module-bluetooth-0.9.14-2.2.1
pulseaudio-utils-0.9.14-2.2.1
pulseaudio-0.9.14-2.2.1
pulseaudio-module-zeroconf-0.9.14-2.2.1
libpulse0-0.9.14-2.2.1

And:rpm -q libasound2
libasound2-1.0.20-34.1

And:uname -a
Linux linux-haqt 2.6.27.25-0.1-default #1 SMP 2009-07-01 15:37:09 +0200 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

And:cat /etc/modprobe.d/sound

options snd slots=snd-hda-intel,snd-hda-intel

NXNs.tQ+HzCBX1_7:RV730XT Audio device [Radeon HD 4670]

alias snd-card-0 snd-hda-intel

u1Nb.hoA7T2ofYz2:82801I (ICH9 Family) HD Audio Controller

alias snd-card-1 snd-hda-intel

Many many thanks in advance for anyone that can help me. I need sound and I do not want to use Vista just because there is sound.

2

chilliboy adjusted his/her AFDB on Thursday 23 Jul 2009 23:16 to write:

>
> Hello people. I bought a Dell Studio 1555 Laptop a week ago and it comes
> with Vista. So the first thing I did was install Suse. And now… Yes
> you are right, I have no sound:’( I managed to sort out everything
> except the sound. I can even connect to the crappy Sky Broadband router.
> I am pretty much a newby and I have tried just about everything on the
> forum without success. I need some expert eyes on my system as I think I
> might be missing something or I might have to much… I don’t know…

>
> Many many thanks in advance for anyone that can help me. I need sound
> and I do not want to use Vista just because there is sound.
>
>

Just in case oldcpu has gone to bed ( like I am now ) have you tried upping
the volumes?

Some cards do not kick in until the volume is set above 90-95% also the PCM
might need to be above 95%.

Other than that I will leave it up to our resident guru oldcpu.

HTH

h also have a look at his howto on the OpenSuSE site somewhere, have not got
the link to hand at the mo but a search for sound and/or alsa should get you
there.

–
Mark
Caveat emptor
Nullus in verba
Nil illegitimi carborundum

3

Wow ! Neat !!

Actually, for a newbie, it looks like you tried a lot and you have done pretty good with your efforts. It is possible, thou, you missed something obvious due to a lack of familiarity.

ok, some comments here:

!!Amixer output
!!-------------
!!-------Mixer controls for card 0 [Intel]
Card hw:0 ‘Intel’/‘HDA Intel at 0xfc500000 irq 22’
Mixer name : ‘IDT 92HD73C1X5’
Simple mixer control ‘Master’,0
Capabilities: pvolume pvolume-joined pswitch pswitch-joined
Mono: Playback 64 [100%] [0.00dB]** [off]**
Simple mixer control ‘Speaker’,0
Capabilities: pvolume pswitch
Front Left: Playback 37 58%] -20.25dB] [on]
Front Right: Playback 37 58%] -20.25dB] [on]

Please, in your mixer, note what I highlighted in RED. You MUST unmute the master volume. That WILL block your audio for certain. Do you see the “OFF” that I highlighted in Red. That tells me it is muted. You can unmute in your Linux mixer (kmix in kde and alsamixer/amixer in gnome). Also, the volume scale is often not linear, and sometimes one only gets volume in the upper end of the control range, so move the “speaker” volume up from 58% to 95% for your tests. You can always move back later.

OK, … thats a lot of alsa apps … :slight_smile: … Still, I note your alsa versions could still be updated to the daily snapshot if necessary, but first lets sort your mixer !

Ahh the latest kernel.

I updated to the latest kernel with my Dell Studio 1537 laptop and sound stopped working, until I realized I mistakenly had “audio loopback” selected in the switching. Once I deselected “audio loopback” my Dell’s audio worked. But I did not see an “audio loopback” in your mixer output from the diagnostic script URL you posted, but if you do have an audio loopback, you may try de-selecting it.

I kept Vista on my Dell Studio 1537 for my wife (I managed after some difficulty to downsize it from taking the entire 250 GB hard drive to taking only 70GB). I am tempted to remove it as the Vista wireless no longer works and hence my wife (who wanted Vista) now refuses to use it !! Instead she boots to openSUSE-11.1 Linux (and note my wife dislikes Linux) and runs WinXP in a Virtual Box setting.

I have to RUN to work now ! Good luck.

4

Thanks oldcpu, will try it when I get home tonight. Really hope that is all there is to it. Although I think it is something else because when I start up I get an error saying: Intel HDA stac92xx not working falling back to ATI HD… (can’t remember the rest). But I read on one of the other posts that the error might just be a bug or something in suse 11.1 and the sound could still work.

But I will start with switching the sound on:)

5

I think thats a bug. … and 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:

6

If you find nothing else works, and you have to try updating (alsa) again, you probably found this page: Alsa-update - openSUSE

… but if that page does not help, and if you still have no sound you could try something really cutting edge, which is to install a daily snapshot (the risk being it makes things worse as it is so cutting edge) where I have guidance for that here: Alsa-update - openSUSE - daily snapshots

The commands look similar (to the first alsa-update page) but they are not, as they access a different repository.

7

O.k so I opened kmix and adjusted the volume to 100% then opened alsamixer and adjusted everything to 100% (I saw that alsamixer is ‘linked’ to kmix… I still got no sound so I ran the alsa info script again but for some reason the lines you highlited still says zero although the sound on my laptop is on 100%.

I restarted did the same and again the script says that my sound is zero. So I think something is not communicating…

next

I tried the two posts (above) and did everything, restarted and still nothing.

next

I updated alsa with the snapshot restarted and still nothing…

I suppose the next step is to try and modify the modprobe.d/sound file but before I start going down the list should I restart my computer after each modification or is a simple:

rcalsasound restart

enough?

also when editing the first line in the sound file do I just add ‘,model=name’ at the end of the first line? It gives a lot of errors if I do not put a comma before model.

Just for interest here is the new output from alsa:

http://www.alsa-project.org/db/?f=48cdd65b3bc9464b3d74fc419e455adef6064d09

rpm -qa | grep alsa
alsaplayer-0.99.80-1.pm.1
alsa-1.0.20.git20090718-2.1
alsa-driver-doc-1.0.20.20090723-7.1
alsa-plugins-pulse-1.0.20.git20090718-2.1
alsa-plugins-jack-32bit-1.0.18-6.12
alsa-firmware-1.0.20.git20090507-3.1
alsa-plugins-1.0.20.git20090718-2.1
alsa-plugins-jack-1.0.18-6.13
alsa-utils-1.0.20.git20090620-2.1
alsa-oss-1.0.17.git20080715-2.1
alsa-plugins-32bit-1.0.18-6.12
alsa-tools-1.0.20.git20090702-2.1
alsa-oss-32bit-1.0.17-1.37
alsa-docs-1.0.20-34.1
alsa-driver-kmp-default-1.0.20.20090724_2.6.27.25_0.1-1.1

pulseaudio-lang-0.9.14-2.2.1
pulseaudio-module-jack-0.9.14-2.2.1
alsa-plugins-pulse-1.0.20.git20090718-2.1
libpulse-mainloop-glib0-0.9.14-2.2.1
pulseaudio-esound-compat-0.9.14-2.2.1
pulseaudio-module-lirc-0.9.14-2.2.1
libxine1-pulse-1.1.15-23.3.3
pulseaudio-module-x11-0.9.14-2.2.1
libpulse-browse0-0.9.14-2.2.1
pulseaudio-module-bluetooth-0.9.14-2.2.1
pulseaudio-utils-0.9.14-2.2.1
pulseaudio-0.9.14-2.2.1
pulseaudio-module-zeroconf-0.9.14-2.2.1
libpulse0-0.9.14-2.2.1

rpm -q libasound2
libasound2-1.0.20.git20090718-2.1

uname -a
Linux linux-haqt 2.6.27.25-0.1-default #1 SMP 2009-07-01 15:37:09 +0200 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

that is everything. if you can’t see anything I am just going to reinstall suse because I think I have installed to many random packages in the quest to solve the sound issue and then try from scratch

thanks oldcpu

8

The options for your hardware are here (from the HD-Audio-Models.txt file for 1.0.20 of alsa):

STAC92HD73*
===========
  ref		Reference board
  no-jd		BIOS setup but without jack-detection
  dell-m6-amic	Dell desktops/laptops with analog mics
  dell-m6-dmic	Dell desktops/laptops with digital mics
  dell-m6	Dell desktops/laptops with both type of mics
  dell-eq	Dell desktops/laptops
  auto		BIOS setup (default)

If, for example, you wish to try “dell-m6” you would change your /etc/modprobe.d/sound file to something like:

options snd=hda-intel model=dell-m6
options snd slots=snd-hda-intel,snd-hda-intel
# NXNs.tQ+HzCBX1_7:RV730XT Audio device [Radeon HD 4670]
alias snd-card-0 snd-hda-intel
# u1Nb.hoA7T2ofYz2:82801I (ICH9 Family) HD Audio Controller
alias snd-card-1 snd-hda-intel

note the line I added at the start of the file.

Yes “rcalsasound restart” is all you need to after each edit to the file. You will also need to restart your mixer.

When testing your sound, be certain to use the 3 sound tests from the audio troubleshooting guide http://en.opensuse.org/SDB:AudioTroubleshooting#STEP-1:__How_To_Test_Your_Sound and check thoroughly your mixer (ensure PCM, Master and Speaker) are turned up. Do the standard checks with both root and a regular user and with/without headphones.

To try “dell-eq” you would replace “dell-m6” with “dell-eq”, restart alsa, restart mixer, etc …

No matter what the outcome, you really should write a bug report on this with guidance here: Submitting Bug Reports - openSUSE Note the openSUSE packager of alsa is also an alsa developer and hence by raising a bug report (be certain to raise it against component “sound”) will get the attention of a developer who will likely ask you more questions and then probably will solve your laptop’s sound problems. He is very very good at this.

9

O.k so I deleted suse downloaded the DVD and reinstalled everything, then I updated ALSA and whent through that all the steps again. But I still don’t even have a beep so I am writing a bug report now. Thanks anyway oldcpu.

10

Sorry that I could not help.

My experience, is if you write the bug report and ensure to put it in the category “sound”, you get the attention of the SuSE-GmbH packager for openSUSE alsa, who is also a very active alsa developer. He will likely ask you to run the alsa-info.sh script with the --no-upload option (ie: /usr/sbin/alsa-info.sh --no-upload ) and then attach that to the bug report. He understands all of that script output, while I only understand a fraction of it.

Then typically he will create a daily snapshot and ask you to install the daily snapshot, and test.

You can see where he fixed the problem I had (last November) here: Access Denied … Absolutely super response.

… AND the added advantage is once he comes up with a fix that works for you, he then sends the fix upstream (for incorporation in subsequent alsa versions and subsequent kernel builds as appropriate) and ALL Linux users with the same hardware benefit from the fix that he does for you (and from your testing of his fix).

I am very impressed with this methodology (when it works) :slight_smile:

11

O.K problem solved. I submitted a bug report over the weekend:

https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=525244

and the guy basically started helping me the same day (on a weekend).

I am very impressed and at last I have sound!

12

Congratulations on getting sound, … and reference the support, I agree that Takashi Iwa provides superb support. In addition to being the alsa packager for openSUSE, he is also one of the alsa project developers. Hence by fixing the bug you had with your Dell, he will pass the fix upstream to the alsa project (and ultimately the kernel, I think) which will result in other Dell users benefiting from your troubleshooting Takashi’s fix.

We are fortunate to have him as an openSUSE packager/dev.

13

Hi, I have bought DellStudio1555 and now I’m going to configure it. I have ever used mac or windows it’s a new thing linux, but a software I have to use is only for linux or vista and, I hate vista so…I’m a dummy so, how can I configure audio in a very simple way step by step, please.

Thank you

14

Open a terminal and type:
**uname -a
**and post here the output. That will tells us what kernel your PC has and also enable us to guess what openSUSE version you are using, since you neglected to mention that.

You probably have to update to 1.0.21 of alsa and you need to know that kernel version to update via rpms. If you use the multimedia OBS repository you will need to sendsix zypper commands per the daily snapshot guide here: Alsa-update-snapshot - openSUSE

Then you need to edit your PCs /etc/modprobe.d/sound file, adding this as the first line to that file:

options snd-hda-intel model=dell-m6

NOTE: Linux is case sensitive.

You can edit the /etc/modprobe.d/sound file :

  • in gnome by typing: gnomesu gedit /etc/modprobe.d/sound
    #and make/save the change
  • in kde by typing: kdesu ‘kwrite /etc/modprobe.d/sound’
    #and make/save the change

and then restart and test your sound.

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 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 -twavYou 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).

Since you stated you are new to linux, you should read our stickie: NEWBIES - Suse-11.1 Pre-installation – PLEASE READ - openSUSE Forums

and also brush up on some opensuse Basic Concepts: Concepts - openSUSE

15

mortain wrote:

>
> Hi, I have bought DellStudio1555 and now I’m going to configure it. I
> have ever used mac or windows it’s a new thing linux, but a software I
> have to use is only for linux or vista and, I hate vista so…I’m a
> dummy so, how can I configure audio in a very simple way step by step,
> please.
>
> Thank you
>
>
Hiya,

Often this can be caused by the volume simply being set at 0 and moving the
slider up and/or un-muting the audio channel will get it going.

–
kev.