Lost sound trying to install Skype

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#1

I have been trying to get Skype to work with a new webcam and have now lost all sound from the speakers.

Running openSuse 12.2, Skype 4.0.0.8, Logitech C170 webcam. Installed Pulse Audio volume control.

The webcam has an integral microphone, video is working but not sure about the mike. I can hear sound through a set of USB headphones (with mike) but not through the speakers. Skype test call can be heard through headphones but mike not working. Without headphones there is no sound.

Can anyone please advise?

#2

Is the audio device you expect sound to come out of still listed as the default audio device in the sound section of Yast? I know it’s not much help, but it’s at least worth a look. You could also try the “play test sound” option from the “Other” menu in the bottom-right corner of the window to see if that still produces a sound even if other applications do not. It’d probably be a bit of useful info to anyone else reading this thread that knows much more about it than I do.

The option to make something the default audio device is also in the “Other” menu. It is labelled as “Set as the Primary Card”.

#3

I use the application ‘pavucontrol’ to control my audio requirements via pulse audio. I blogged about it here: https://forums.opensuse.org/blogs/oldcpu/pulseaudio-basics-opensuse-pavucontrol-96/

… I don’t know if that will help, but I hope it does.

#4

Thanks guys.

Using pavucontrol I have managed to get the sound back to the speakers and it looks like the webcam mike and the headphones output are now both working. But now I am unable to open Skype at all.

Just for information, output from aplay and arecord -

mike@dhcppc1:~> aplay -l
**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: Intel [HDA Intel], device 0: ALC662 rev1 Analog [ALC662 rev1 Analog]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 0: Intel [HDA Intel], device 1: ALC662 rev1 Digital [ALC662 rev1 Digital]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 3: HDMI 0 [HDMI 0]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 7: HDMI 0 [HDMI 0]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 8: HDMI 0 [HDMI 0]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 9: HDMI 0 [HDMI 0]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 3: Set [C-Media USB Headphone Set], device 0: USB Audio [USB Audio]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0

mike@dhcppc1:~> arecord -l
**** List of CAPTURE Hardware Devices ****
card 0: Intel [HDA Intel], device 0: ALC662 rev1 Analog [ALC662 rev1 Analog]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 0: Intel [HDA Intel], device 2: ALC662 rev1 Analog [ALC662 rev1 Analog]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 2: C170 [Webcam C170], device 0: USB Audio [USB Audio]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 3: Set [C-Media USB Headphone Set], device 0: USB Audio [USB Audio]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0

#5

How did you install Skype ? Note Skype is a 32-bit app and requires various 32-bit libraries installed for it to work under a 64-bit OS installation. There is guidance here for installing Skype: https://en.opensuse.org/SDB:Skype

If the above fails for you, please post here the error (in a bash shell / konsole) you get from running Skype from a bash shell/konsole.

#6

Skype was installed using Yast. I could open it, although it didn’t work, until I had this problem with the sound. I uninstalled and tried installing again, and I note that the version offered by Yast appears to be for openSuse v12.1, and it still wouldn’t open.

I also tried installing from your guidance link but this failed, apparently due to a repository already existing. Running from a bash shell produced no errors but also no skype running

mike@dhcppc1:~> skype
mike@dhcppc1:~>

I have had problems with Skype for the last couple of years since moving to openSuse. I tried again as I had just bought a new webcam. Maybe I should just give up on it again.

Thanks for your help.
Mike

#7

Please, what is the output of the command:


zypper lr -d

please put the output inbetween code brackets (ie code ] and /code ]

As part of any re-installing did you remove the old configuration files in your user’s /home directory ?

#8 
mike@dhcppc1:~> zypper lr -d
#  | Alias                     | Name                               | Enabled | Refresh | Priority | Type     | URI                                                                      | Service
---+---------------------------+------------------------------------+---------+---------+----------+----------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------+--------
 1 | Downloaded_programs       | Downloaded programs                | Yes     | Yes     |   99     | plaindir | dir:///home/mike/Download/Programs                                       |        
 2 | PK_TMP_DIR                | PK_TMP_DIR                         | Yes     | Yes     |   99     | plaindir | dir:///var/tmp/TmpDir.k3eMJZ                                             |        
 3 | Packman Repository        | Packman Repository                 | Yes     | Yes     |   99     | rpm-md   | http://packman.inode.at/suse/12.2/                                       |        
 4 | google-earth              | google-earth                       | No      | No      |   99     | rpm-md   | http://dl.google.com/linux/earth/rpm/stable/i386                         |        
 5 | home:Lazy_Kent            | home:Lazy_Kent                     | Yes     | Yes     |   99     | rpm-md   | http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/home:/Lazy_Kent/openSUSE_12.2/ |        
 6 | libdvdcss repository      | libdvdcss repository               | Yes     | Yes     |   99     | rpm-md   | http://opensuse-guide.org/repo/12.2/                                     |        
 7 | nVidia Graphics Drivers   | nVidia Graphics Drivers            | Yes     | Yes     |   99     | rpm-md   | ftp://download.nvidia.com/opensuse/12.2/                                 |        
 8 | repo-debug                | openSUSE-12.2-Debug                | No      | Yes     |   99     | NONE     | http://download.opensuse.org/debug/distribution/12.2/repo/oss/           |        
 9 | repo-debug-update         | openSUSE-12.2-Update-Debug         | No      | Yes     |   99     | NONE     | http://download.opensuse.org/debug/update/12.2/                          |        
10 | repo-debug-update-non-oss | openSUSE-12.2-Update-Debug-Non-Oss | No      | Yes     |   99     | NONE     | http://download.opensuse.org/debug/update/12.2-non-oss/                  |        
11 | repo-non-oss              | openSUSE-12.2-Non-Oss              | Yes     | Yes     |   99     | NONE     | http://download.opensuse.org/distribution/12.2/repo/non-oss/             |        
12 | repo-oss                  | openSUSE-12.2-Oss                  | Yes     | Yes     |   99     | NONE     | http://download.opensuse.org/distribution/12.2/repo/oss/                 |        
13 | repo-source               | openSUSE-12.2-Source               | No      | Yes     |   99     | NONE     | http://download.opensuse.org/source/distribution/12.2/repo/oss/          |        
14 | repo-update               | openSUSE-12.2-Update               | Yes     | Yes     |   99     | rpm-md   | http://download.opensuse.org/update/12.2/                                |        
15 | repo-update-non-oss       | openSUSE-12.2-Update-Non-Oss       | Yes     | Yes     |   99     | rpm-md   | http://download.opensuse.org/update/12.2-non-oss/                        |

I didn’t remove config files. I will try that.

#9

Config files removed and skype reinstalled and it is now working OK.

Thanks for your help.

regards,
mike

#10

… I’m currently on vacation in a different continent - so my responses are not as timely as normal.

Good news !

Glad to read that.

#11

I am still having problems with this. I can rest the sound card in Yast which then brings back the speakers, then to get Skype working I have to delete the .Skype folder. Then start Skype and it all seems OK.

But next time I boot the computer it’s back to square one and I have to do it all again. The settings for the sound card are saved after resetting but don’t appear to be maintained after switching off. How can I make the changes permanent please?

Mike

#12

Have to do what again ? Go to YaST and remove the .skype? or just remove the .skype ?

If this is specific to Skype then I don’t know. Perhaps go to the Skype support (Skype website).

#13

When I log-in the speakers are not working, so I have to open Yast>>Sound then select the card and reset. This then saves the settings and restarts the sound card and the speakers work. Skype then does not use the speakers so I delete the .Skype file and open Skype again and it works. But all the settings are not saved on exit.

Mike

#14

When speakers are not working after a login, with PC connected to internet, in a terminal/konsole please run this diagnostic script, choosing the UPLOAD/SHARE option, and post here the website/url it provides.


/usr/sbin/alsa-info.sh

Then after you have your sound configured properly, and YaST configured properly, run same diagnostic script and post here the second website/url it provides.

I’ll take a look at those and see if it provides any hints.

#15

Re-posting, as it did not make to the web-side.

On 2013-06-24 14:56, mikejd wrote:
>
> When I log-in the speakers are not working, so I have to open
> Yast>>Sound then select the card and reset. This then saves the settings
> and restarts the sound card and the speakers work. Skype then does not
> use the speakers so I delete the .Skype file and open Skype again and it
> works. But all the settings are not saved on exit.

Why not just restart the sound system? If alsa, then “rcalsasound restart”.

–
Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 12.3 x86_64 “Dartmouth” at Telcontar)

#16

oldcpu :

After first boot, sound not working -
http://www.alsa-project.org/db/?f=48007b0a489329e57a88cbfd6993f186455d1458

Yast sound reconfigured, sound working -
http://www.alsa-project.org/db/?f=e90950ea3a6a81709e451997c2f2f7101d13eeae

cheers,
Mike

#17

In posts #11 and #13 above you request how to make the changes permanent. I don’t see any significant changes in the above.

That suggests to me that restarting the sound device via YaST was not necessary, and was like hitting a fly with a hammer. The problem, of course, is finding the fly.

Possibly you also restarted pulse when restarting the sound device via YaST and maybe that cures things. Another possibility, if any application had seized the sound device upon boot (such as your KDE or Gnome desktop) and was refusing to share it, then restarting YaST would also break that desktop’s application lock on the sound device.

IMHO you need to focus your search that way.

To check if any application had seized the sound device restart your PC, and when sound is not working, send the command:


lsof /dev/dsp* /dev/audio* /dev/mixer* /dev/snd/*

and then restart the sound with YaST so that sound is working, and again send the command:


lsof /dev/dsp* /dev/audio* /dev/mixer* /dev/snd/*

The output should be the same in both cases. If the same, post one example. If NOT the same, then post both outputs.

That command ‘lsof’ lists open files, and by checking open files associated with audio, the idea is to try and determine which application is using the audio (and hence has files open) when sound works and when it does not work, so we can properly focus our attention there on the guilty application.

For example on my PC, when sound works, I get:


oldcpu@corei7-920:~>
lsof: status error on /dev/dsp*: No such file or directory
lsof: status error on /dev/audio*: No such file or directory
lsof: status error on /dev/mixer*: No such file or directory
COMMAND    PID   USER   FD   TYPE DEVICE SIZE/OFF NODE NAME
pulseaudi 5286 oldcpu   22u   CHR  116,9      0t0 6632 /dev/snd/controlC0
pulseaudi 5286 oldcpu   27u   CHR  116,9      0t0 6632 /dev/snd/controlC0
pulseaudi 5286 oldcpu   33u   CHR  116,3      0t0 6625 /dev/snd/controlC1

ie pulse audio is using the sound device and the older /dev/dsp, dev/audio, and dev/mixer (used in earlier openSUSE versions) are no longer used in my openSUSE-12.3.

#18

On boot, no sound from speakers (system sounds, video on browser)

mike@dhcppc2:~> lsof /dev/dsp* /dev/audio* /dev/mixer* /dev/snd/*

 lsof: status error on /dev/dsp*: No such file or directory
 lsof: status error on /dev/audio*: No such file or directory
 lsof: status error on /dev/mixer*: No such file or directory
 COMMAND    PID USER   FD   TYPE DEVICE SIZE/OFF NODE NAME
 pulseaudi 3891 mike  mem    CHR 116,13          3909 /dev/snd/pcmC1D3p
 pulseaudi 3891 mike   28u   CHR  116,9      0t0 6282 /dev/snd/controlC0
 pulseaudi 3891 mike   33u   CHR  116,9      0t0 6282 /dev/snd/controlC0
 pulseaudi 3891 mike   39u   CHR  116,3      0t0 3770 /dev/snd/controlC2
 pulseaudi 3891 mike   47u   CHR 116,18      0t0 6412 /dev/snd/controlC1
 pulseaudi 3891 mike   48u   CHR 116,13      0t0 3909 /dev/snd/pcmC1D3p

Reset sound card in Yast
(**82801G (ICH7 Family) High Definition Audio Controller - ** Configured as sound card number 0 Driver snd-hda-intel )

mike@dhcppc2:~> lsof /dev/dsp* /dev/audio* /dev/mixer* /dev/snd/*

 lsof: status error on /dev/dsp*: No such file or directory
 lsof: status error on /dev/audio*: No such file or directory
 lsof: status error on /dev/mixer*: No such file or directory

speakers now working ( video on browser OK ) Skype no sound until delete .Skype folder and re-install.

#19

On 2013-06-26 11:46, mikejd wrote:
>
> On boot, no sound from speakers (system sounds, video on browser)

> Reset sound card in Yast

Why don’t you simply restart the sound system, in CLI? Without YaST?

–
Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 12.3 x86_64 “Dartmouth” at Telcontar)

#20

robin_listas - tried the CLI “rcalsasound restart” as you suggested and it didn’t work. Thanks anyway.