kmixctrl not in control

bkorb · September 17, 2012, 5:56pm

$ kmixctrl Running Mixer_Backend destructor 
Running Mixer_Backend destructor 
Running Mixer_Backend destructor 
Running Mixer_Backend destructor 
Running Mixer_Backend destructor 
Running Mixer_Backend destructor 
Running Mixer_Backend destructor 
Running Mixer_Backend destructor 
Running Mixer_Backend destructor 
Running Mixer_Backend destructor 
Running Mixer_Backend destructor 
Running Mixer_Backend destructor 
Running Mixer_Backend destructor 
Running Mixer_Backend destructor 
Running Mixer_Backend destructor 
Running Mixer_Backend destructor 
Running Mixer_Backend destructor 
Running Mixer_Backend destructor 
Running Mixer_Backend destructor 
Running Mixer_Backend destructor 
$

I guess it really wanted me to know about that destructor running. So, I tried kmix directly:

$ kmix
QDBusConnection: session D-Bus connection created before QCoreApplication. Application may misbehave.
QDBusConnection: session D-Bus connection created before QCoreApplication. Application may misbehave.
$

Nope.

Today’s quest started because I installed the new 12.2. Never have been able to “upgrade”, the installer
always insists I install anew. Anyway, when I clicked on the mic menu, I was asked which driver I would
like to use. As if I had any idea about which low level driver would be optimal. Upon exiting:

Could not save properties. You do not have sufficient access to write to /u/bkorb/Desktop/kmix.desktop

Likely because it is symlinked to /usr/share/applications/kde4/kmix.desktop
I replaced the symlink with an actual file and kmix was happer, but I was not. Still no mic.

At least with 12.2 I finally do not have to mod probe the Brother USB printer driver.
Thank you, whoever you are. (This has taken many years.) Now I need suggestions for the mic.

$ lsmod | fgrep snd
snd_hda_codec_hdmi     36102  1 
raid1                  39568  1 
snd_hda_codec_realtek    81755  1 
snd_hda_intel          33312  2 
snd_hda_codec         136135  3 snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_codec_realtek,snd_hda_intel
snd_hwdep              13602  1 snd_hda_codec
snd_pcm               109282  3 snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec
snd_seq                69746  0 
snd_timer              29370  2 snd_pcm,snd_seq
snd_seq_device         14497  1 snd_seq
snd                    87206  13 snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_codec_realtek,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec,snd_hwdep,snd_pcm,snd_seq,snd_timer,snd_seq_device
$ lspci|egrep -i 'sound|audio'
00:07.0 Audio device: NVIDIA Corporation MCP72XE/MCP72P/MCP78U/MCP78S High Definition Audio (rev a1)

glistwan · September 18, 2012, 10:05am

Can you try creating a new user and see if the problem is there as well ?

bkorb · September 19, 2012, 7:22pm

Thanks, Greg. Turns out that:

I had to use alsamixer, not kmixctrl (how does one know?)
alsamixer controls the rear mic separately from the front mic and you have to know to keep pressing the “right arrow” until the screen starts wrapping and the rear mic control shows up as “off” (the default mode).

My reactions:

that is a stupid default
the column of greater-than characters (’>’) is a weak indicator of “more stuff to the right”. Try adding the sequence ‘M’, ‘O’, ‘R’, and ‘E’ in the middle of them.
alsamixer defaults to default device which was no device at all and certainly not the one and only audio controller chip on the system, so I had to switch devices. Fortunately, how to do it and the need to do it were both obvious (to me).
kmixctrl is deficient in that it could not identify the audio device that was plainly on the pci bus (“lspci” clearly showed it)

Oh, well. I can use Skype now. Leastwise, once my DSL line is repaired. (A tree took it out, so I’m out-of-the-house and on another platform right now…)