I have a completely fresh install of OpenSuse 12.1 64 bit with KDE. I used the netinstall CD for the installation, dual booting with Win 7 Pro 64 bit.
I booted into Suse to start setting up documents etc. I had no sound so I clicked on the sound icon in the notification area, then clicked on Mixer.
The default card was set as - Juniper HDMI Audio (Radeon 5700 Series) Digital Stereo (HDMI)
I have never used that option on my graphics card, I use the motherboard sound card - Realtek 5Series/3400 Series Chipset High Definition Audio.
No matter what I do I cannot get full 5.1 sound after I select the in use (ie connected to the speakers) sound card I want to use.
I click on Mixer-Settings-Audio Setup-Audio Hardware Setup, select Internal Audio as the Sound Card, Analog Surround 5.1 Output in Profile, click on the speaker test buttons in Speaker Placement. I get correct responses from the front, centre and sub-woofer but nothing from the rear speakers (yes they do work in Windows so it isn’t a physical connection issue).
I log out/log in, restart the PC. The default gets reset to the Radeon card again. I appreciate that Suse thinks this is the best option, but personally I would appreciate being able to make my own decision and make a permanent change to reflect that choice.
So, three questions:
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Do I need to install something else to resolve this?
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How do I permanently disable the Radeon sound card in Suse( as I have in Windows) so that the OS automatically uses the sound card I want to use?
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Am I going to have to resort to a command line and manually editing config files just to get the sound working. This is 2012 isn’t it, not 2002? Don’t tell me that it is still a necessity to do this just to get basic stuff working in Linux.