openSuSe and HP HDX 16 configure - HOWTO

English Install/Boot/Login
#1

A week after purchasing my HP HDX 16 (2.53MHz duo core processor, 4GB RAM, NVidia 9600GT, 64bit, full HD monitor-1080p) and after installing many different distros, I think that suse is the best choice for this computer. I am writing this guide because I have spent a terrible week and I don’t want to see someone else in my position! :stuck_out_tongue:

First of all I have to tell you that I have also tried:

  • Ubuntu 9.04 (you only have to fix the sound but it crashes every now and then and that made it the worst choice for me. If you want to try it just do: sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf
    and add the line: options snd-hda-intel model=hp-m4)
  • Debian lenny (Wifi needs a new kernel version to work that doesn’t support the NVidia drivers. To fix the sound do the same as on Ubuntu)
  • Fedora 11 (NVidia driver not working. I don’t remember exactly how to fix the sound but the way is similar to that of ubuntu)
  • Gentoo (couldn’t even install it - CD booted but the installer would not load - I didn’t spend much time on that)

Finally I installed Suse 11.1 with DVD boot.
At first, I had to fix the display, and make it 1900x1080 (I am sure you will find how to do it, I’d rather not spend time on that).

Then, installing the NVidia driver was super easy. Just go to NVIDIA - openSUSE and click on the One Click Install under:

For all new NVIDIA cards (Geforce 6 and newer), click here

After that, you need to have the sound working. This is maybe the hardest part to find out how to do!

So, you do:

su

zypper install alsa

zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/multimedia:/audio/openSUSE_11.0/ multimedia

zypper install alsa-utils alsa-tools alsa-firmware alsa-oss alsa-plugins alsa-plugins-pulse

zypper rr multimedia

Then, you edit your /etc/modprobe.d/sound and add the magic line:

options snd-hda-intel model=hp-m4

save and reboot.

Then you will notice that your webcam does not work under Suse 11.1 and KDE. To fix that, if you are under KDE, just install KDE4.2. you can do that here: KDE/KDE4 - openSUSE by clicking the One Click Install for Suse 11.1. The camera will be black and white (I don’t know how to fix that) but it is better than nothing.

The webcam may be working under Gnome without any modification and with colours as well. At least it did on all the other distros that I installed. The things that will not work in any distro (yet) are: the mic, the fingerprint reader and it will not wake up after a suspend to RAM. If anyone knows how to make these work or give colour to the cam please let us know!

WARNING: Do not install amarok2 because the sound will stop working. There is a fix for that that i can tell you if you ask but amarok2 will still not be working. Use Songbird instead!

I hope this will help you. Thank you for reading,

jack

#2

Congratulations on getting your sound to work. Typically users with new PCs also need the package “alsa-driver-kmp-default” or “alsa-driver-kmp-pae” but I see you did not. (guide for that is here: Alsa-update - openSUSE ). There is also a new 2.6.27.23 kernel update out as of a few days ago, and it has broken the sound on a number of user’s PCs. My recommendation is to wait a week or two before updating to the latest kernel as if the past is any guide within a week or two the SuSE-GmbH packager who packages various new alsa releases will have packaged one for the new kernel (its not there/packaged yet).

Its interesting you only needed in the /etc/modprobe.d/sound file:

options snd-hda-intel model=hp-m4

as some users needed enable_msi=1 …i.e. :

options snd-hda-intel model=hp-m4 enable_msi=1

Reference the proprietary driver, now that you have the nVidia proprietary driver you also need to be careful there as kernel updates can break your kernel interface to the proprietary driver and you may also need to reinstall that driver as well (if updates are available) and/or wait for the updates.

One neat thing about the nVidia proprietary driver is it provides VDPAU capabilities such that one can play selected High Definition video (1920x1080 at high bit rates) with no stuttering nor jittering . You can read more here about VDPAU: Video editing/avchd - openSUSE

Currently I believe one needs both the Packman packager packaged MPlayer and libffmpeg/fffmpeg installed in order to take advantage of VDPAU playback.

Presumably you have solved the multimedia aspects with openSUSE ? My recommendation is for new users to stick with only OSS, Non-OSS, Update and Packman repositories and then add the other repositories (such as nVidia which you have done) only briefly for specific updates, to avoid installing packages that are conflicting and that can break things. One needs videolan for libdvdcss (for dvd playback) but other videolan packages conflict with packman packages (no dependency warnings - things just stop working) so IMHO its best not to install videolan applications if one goe the packman packaged route (and visa versa).

Welcome to openSUSE and thankyou for sharing your experiences.

Here is a link to some basic openSUSE concepts: Concepts - openSUSE

#3

For those with non-functioning sound as a result of the new 2.6.27.23 kernel, the SuSE-GmbH packager has now released the rpms for the update to 1.0.20 of alsa for the 2.6.27.23 kernel. Note this is on a special multimedia repository and not on the standard “update” repository.

There is guidance here for doing the update:
Alsa-update - openSUSE

Note one MUST send six zypper commands, being certain to pick the one’s specific to one’s openSUSE version. I recommend one optimize the alsa apps to be installed to match what one has on one’s PC already. … and also the second last command in the 3 command group should be specific to one’s kernel. Do NOT install multiple alsa-driver-kmp-<packages> … Only install the ONE that is applicable.

#4

nice! thank you for keeping us updated! :smiley: that worked but even with these updates my mic still doesn’t work :frowning:

#5

Internal mics are notoriously difficult to get working. But external mics should work. You need to pay close attention to your mixer settings to get your external mic to work.

If you are using openSUSE-11.1 and want others to look at your mixer settings, you can run:
/usr/sbin/alsa-info.sh
and post to a forum thread the URL you were given. JUST the URL.

If after all of this you can not get your mic to work, you can raise a bug report: Submitting Bug Reports - openSUSE That might end up in there being a solution provided.

I’ll be on vacation for a few weeks, starting on Tuesday 16-June and hence may not monitor this thread as much (and only very intermittently).

#6

ok! here is the link: http://www.alsa-project.org/db/?f=ec81bcf0bb1609df90ff79086dc0b0f61603fd11

#7

well after doing this i get no sound when i log in or log out, but the sound works when i play a song or view a video and i think it has a better quality than it had before! i think that enabled the woofer because i can hear the bass now!

#8

This is system sound and is related to your desktop GUI. I’m not good at helping there.

Your mixer settings here are really confusing. As near as I can determine, everything is set to ensure ABSOLUTELY no AUDIO is RECORDED. Was that intentional? Just to see if I was awake? Take a look at this output from the script:

!!Amixer output
!!-------------

!!-------Mixer controls for card 0 [Intel]

Card hw:0 ‘Intel’/‘HDA Intel at 0xdd300000 irq 22’
Mixer name : ‘Nvidia MCP78 HDMI’
Simple mixer control ‘Line Jack Mode’,0
Items: ‘Mic In’ ‘Line In’
Item0: ‘Mic In’
**Simple mixer control ‘Mic Jack Mode’,0
** Items: ‘Mic In’ ‘Line In’
Item0: ‘Mic In’
Simple mixer control ‘Capture’,0
Front Left: Capture 6 [40%] [9.00dB] [off]
Front Right: Capture 6 [40%] [9.00dB] [off]
**Simple mixer control ‘Capture’,1
** Front Left: Capture 9 [60%] [13.50dB] [off]
Front Right: Capture 9 [60%] [13.50dB] [off]
Simple mixer control ‘DAC0’,0
Front Left: Capture 23 [74%] [0.00dB] [off]
Front Right: Capture 23 [74%] [0.00dB] [off]
Simple mixer control ‘DAC1’,0
Front Left: Capture 23 [74%] [0.00dB] [off]
Front Right: Capture 23 [74%] [0.00dB] [off]
Simple mixer control ‘Digital’,0
Front Left: Capture 60 [50%] [0.00dB]
Front Right: Capture 60 [50%] [0.00dB]
Simple mixer control ‘Import0 Mux’,0
Front Left: Capture 23 [74%] [0.00dB] [off]
Front Right: Capture 23 [74%] [0.00dB] [off]
Simple mixer control ‘Import1 Mux’,0
Front Left: Capture 23 [74%] [0.00dB] [off]
Front Right: Capture 23 [74%] [0.00dB] [off]
Simple mixer control ‘Input Source’,0
Items: ‘Mic’ ‘Line’
Item0: ‘Mic’
Simple mixer control ‘Input Source’,1
Items: ‘Mic’ ‘Line’
Item0: ‘Mic’
Simple mixer control ‘Mux’,0
Front Left: Capture 0 [0%] [0.00dB]
Front Right: Capture 0 [0%] [0.00dB]
Simple mixer control ‘Mux’,1
Front Left: Capture 0 [0%] [0.00dB]
Front Right: Capture 0 [0%] [0.00dB]
Now I do not know exactly which capture controls have to be switched ON and the capture moved up to a high %, but its a mute point (pun intended) as EVERY control practically is either OFF or at 0%. Take a look at what I highlighted in RED. That pretty much guarantees no sound capture. Was that deliberate to test me? :\

Also, I do not know if you are trying to get an internal or external mic to work.

Anyway, I’m off on vacation on Tuesday, and I have a lot to do between now and then, … so good luck in this. You really MUST take a HARD look at your mixer settings to get the mic to work. :slight_smile:

#9

Thanks! Bumping…
http://www.snagpic.com/users/img/4092/n09x0302vnsn/clear.gif

#10

i am trying to use an internal mic! i have not tried yet an external mic (i don’t have one at the moment) but i am pretty sure it will work! is there any way i can turn on all these controls that are off? i tried from the alsamixer but with no luck!

have a nice holiday mate! thanks for helping!

#11

You must be a gnome user? I don’t use gnome and I do not know any of the gnome specific controls.

You could try the alsa “amixer” command. You will need type “man amixer” to figure out how it works.

#12

i normally use gnome yeah but i usually use ubuntu, debian or fedora. when i use suse i always use kde. so now i am on kde! ok i didn’t know that command! try alsamixer it works under kde as well! now everything seems to be turned on but still doesn’t work!

Simple mixer control ‘Capture’,0
Capabilities: cvolume cswitch
Capture channels: Front Left - Front Right
Limits: Capture 0 - 15
Front Left: Capture 6 [40%] [9.00dB] [on]
Front Right: Capture 6 [40%] [9.00dB] [on]
Simple mixer control ‘Capture’,1
Capabilities: cvolume cswitch
Capture channels: Front Left - Front Right
Limits: Capture 0 - 15
Front Left: Capture 7 [47%] [10.50dB] [on]
Front Right: Capture 7 [47%] [10.50dB] [on]
Simple mixer control ‘Analog Loopback’,0
Capabilities: pswitch pswitch-joined
Playback channels: Mono
Mono: Playback [off]
Simple mixer control ‘Analog Loopback’,1
Capabilities: pswitch pswitch-joined
Playback channels: Mono
Mono: Playback [off]
Simple mixer control ‘DAC0’,0
Capabilities: cvolume cswitch
Capture channels: Front Left - Front Right
Limits: Capture 0 - 31
Front Left: Capture 23 [74%] [0.00dB] [on]
Front Right: Capture 23 [74%] [0.00dB] [on]
Simple mixer control ‘DAC1’,0
Capabilities: cvolume cswitch
Capture channels: Front Left - Front Right
Limits: Capture 0 - 31
Front Left: Capture 23 [74%] [0.00dB] [on]
Front Right: Capture 23 [74%] [0.00dB] [on]
Simple mixer control ‘Digital’,0
Capabilities: cvolume
Capture channels: Front Left - Front Right
Limits: Capture 0 - 120
Front Left: Capture 60 [50%] [0.00dB]
Front Right: Capture 60 [50%] [0.00dB]
Simple mixer control ‘Import0 Mux’,0
Capabilities: cvolume cswitch
Capture channels: Front Left - Front Right
Limits: Capture 0 - 31
Front Left: Capture 23 [74%] [0.00dB] [on]
Front Right: Capture 23 [74%] [0.00dB] [on]
Simple mixer control ‘Import1 Mux’,0
Capabilities: cvolume cswitch
Capture channels: Front Left - Front Right
Limits: Capture 0 - 31
Front Left: Capture 23 [74%] [0.00dB] [on]
Front Right: Capture 23 [74%] [0.00dB] [on]
Simple mixer control ‘Input Source’,0
Capabilities: cenum
Items: ‘Mic’ ‘Line’
Item0: ‘Mic’
Simple mixer control ‘Input Source’,1
Capabilities: cenum
Items: ‘Mic’ ‘Line’
Item0: ‘Mic’
Simple mixer control ‘Mux’,0
Capabilities: cvolume
Capture channels: Front Left - Front Right
Limits: Capture 0 - 3
Front Left: Capture 0 [0%] [0.00dB]
Front Right: Capture 0 [0%] [0.00dB]
Simple mixer control ‘Mux’,1
Capabilities: cvolume
Capture channels: Front Left - Front Right
Limits: Capture 0 - 3
Front Left: Capture 0 [0%] [0.00dB]
Front Right: Capture 0 [0%] [0.00dB]

#13

I think you should try and borrow (or simply purchase an inexpensive) external mic to plug in and test. That will teach you which controls are applicable wrt your hardware and alsa implemention for mic recording. Without that, it can be very difficult to get the mic working.

How many internal mics does your PC have? I note 2 captures (capture0 and capture1)

Some thoughts - I think the Analog-Loop-Back should be OFF but you could toggle it briefly ON to see if it makes a difference (and switch OFF if it does not). I put the digital audio in orange. Do you think your Internal mic is a digital mic? I put the mixer mux capture in RED. But may its position is OK ? … I don’t know how it fits in with your mic circuitry.

And finally, I note your PC’s hardware audio codec is an IDT 92HD71B7X. In the off chance that alsa did not correctly configure your audio during the boot autoprobe, you could try forcing a specific model configuration to your alsa, restart your alsa, and restart your mixer, and then test both your sound and internal mic to see if it works with a forced configuration.

To try that, I note this for the IDT 92HD71B7X from the 1.0.20 alsa’s HD-Audio-Models.txt file:

STAC92HD71B*
============
  ref		Reference board
  dell-m4-1	Dell desktops
  dell-m4-2	Dell desktops
  dell-m4-3	Dell desktops
  hp-m4		HP mini 1000
  hp-dv5	HP dv series
  hp-hdx	HP HDX series
  auto		BIOS setup (default)

You currently have the line:

options snd-hda-intel model=hp-m4

you could try adding enable_msi=1 to give you:

options snd-hda-intel model=hp-m4 enable_msi=1

and restart your alsa driver with **su -c ‘rcalsasound restart’**and enter your root password when prompted, restart your mixer, and test your sound and mic.

Or possibly even better, instead of “hp-m4” that you noted worked best for you, I think you could also try “hp-hdx” which the HD-Audio-Models.txt file suggests is optimized for the HP HDX series. After making the change, restart your alsa driver with **su -c ‘rcalsasound restart’**and enter your root password when prompted, restart your mixer, and test your sound and mic.

You could also try the other options.

Good luck.

#14

Hi, I also have HP HDX 16 computer with openSUSE 11.1 (32-bit) with Gnome installed. Everything works except the internal mic (and the fingerprint reader). I have not tried an external mic though.

Here’s a link to my ALSA information:
http://www.alsa-project.org/db/?f=83657001b8f4ea8360b2990d41d3be9922504ec7

Can someone skilled in the art have a look at it? I would appreciate an advice on what to try to make the internal mic work.

Thanks!

#15

I’m not very skilled with that file. There are some people who hang out on IRC freenode #alsa who understand most of whats in there.

I know a few small things.

I note “Codec: IDT 92HD71B7X” … IMHO you may get better behaviour from a newer kernel / alsa version from that hardware.

Your mixer is not set up to record an integrated mic. Note most integrated mics are digital . Digital can sometimes be IEC958 … So look at these settings that I quote:

!!Amixer output
!!-------------

!!-------Mixer controls for card 0 [Intel]
Card hw:0 ‘Intel’/‘HDA Intel at 0xdd000000 irq 22’
Mixer name : ‘Nvidia MCP78 HDMI’
**Simple mixer control ‘Front Mic Jack Mode’,0
** Items: ‘Mic In’ ‘Line In’
Item0: ‘Line In’
**Simple mixer control ‘Mic Jack Mode’,0
** Items: ‘Mic In’ ‘Line In’
Item0: ‘Line In’
**Simple mixer control ‘IEC958’,0
** Mono: Playback [off]
**Simple mixer control ‘Digital Mic’,0
** Front Left: Capture 0 [0%] [0.00dB]
Front Right: Capture 0 [0%] [0.00dB]
Simple mixer control ‘Input Source’,0
Items: ‘Mic’ ‘Front Mic’ ‘Digital Mic’
Item0: 'Mic’
Simple mixer control ‘Input Source’,1
Items: ‘Mic’ ‘Front Mic’ ‘Digital Mic’
Item0: 'Mic’

Given the internal mic is likely a digital mic, is very clear you do not have it selected, AND its very clear you have its capture muted. In essence your mixer is set up to guarantee it won’t capture any sound.

#16

Thanks oldcpu!! I just went ahead and enabled all options under volume control preferences for Alsa. Now the built in microphone works, although I get some additional tapping sounds when I play back a recording from the mic. I will try now to get rid of some of the devices that I enabled, and hopefully those tapping sounds will be gone. Even Skype works now, which was my primary motivation when I started struggling with mic input.

Thanks again!