Thanks oldcpu. I’ve noticed you once posted a contribution concerning a similar issue 
http://forums.opensuse.org/english/get-technical-help-here/multimedia/440201-no-sound-only-dummy-output-pulse.html
On 2013-04-12, Shadoglare <Shadoglare@no-mx.forums.opensuse.org> wrote:
> I’m aware that there are multiple layers as well as multiple solutions,
> and that not all apps necessarily use the same ones, yes.
Sadly the multiple audio layers is something that overcomplicates (IMO) sound configuration in Linux. The layers you are
dealing with are definitely worth knowing about. If you want a good, brief explanation, have a look at
http://tuxradar.com/content/how-it-works-linux-audio-explained - sometimes they work in competition rather than
together!
> Almost - it’s the 64-bit 12.3 full release, with KDE.
Perfect :).
>
>> 1. In YaST, are there any nvidia devices listed under `Audio’.
Nope, the “AC’97” is the only device listed
Good. This means that the sound is not channeled to the wrong hardware.
- What application with audio are you using to test sound?
First I listen for the KDE login sound, which when I don’t hear it I
can click on the volume control tray app and see that “Dummy Output” is
the selected sound device. At this point I can test using FireFox (such
as with Youtube). or Amarok, and they act like they are playing but are
silent.
Those are good ways to test. Remember if you’re testing with a game, you may need to install OpenAL.
However I can then go into Yast → Sound, and the “AC’07” will be the
only device listed - I can then go to Other → Play Test Sound and the
test works fine. I have also selected “Set as the primary card” to see
if it would make a difference, but it didn’t.
At least this confirms that at the driver level, your hardware is reliably detected.
- Do you have PulseAudio enabled under YaST?
Yes, if I go to Yast → Sound → Other → PulseAudio Configuration, it
shows PulseAudio as enabled.
So the break in the Sound card->ALSA+Kernel->PulseAudio chain is likely to be at the level of PulseAudio or its
interface with ALSA.
- Assuming you do have PulseAudio enabled, are there any devices listed
under pavucontrol (which sadly isn’t installed
by default) in the `Configuration’ tab.
>
> I installed, ran, and under the Configuration tab it says “No cards
> available for configuration.”
This confirms the above diagnosis.
>> 5. Is your openSUSE 12.3 fully up-to-date? If not, does running a `sudo
zypper up’ make any difference?
It is according to the update app… but I’ll run the zypper
command…
And it only found a new update for gtk-config.
OK so the issue is not resolved by updates. This kind of problem has been observed for other distributions (e.g. see
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/pulseaudio/+bug/322374 ). This leaves you with two options:
- Try and make PulseAudio work.
- Disable PulseAudio then uninstall it (you don’t need it to play sound).
How to accomplish 1) would be guesswork for me. If you Google ‘pulseaudio no cards available for configuration’ you will
find some potential work arounds. Looking at http://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/PulseAudio the issue for Dummy Output only is
explained as PulseAudio unable to access the sound devices: either the the user has no permissions or another program is
blocking access. You could try:
$ fuser -v /dev/snd/*
to list potential programs - and close them. Or you could try restarting PulseAudio to try and reorder the block:
$ pulseaudio -k ; start-pulseaudio-x11
For PulseAudio, I find you have to reboot (or at least log out and in again) in order make changes take effect.
Regressive I know.
The last resort [Option 2)] is to disable and remove PulseAudio and reboot:
$ su -
$ setup-pulseaudio --disable
$ zypper rm pulseaudio
$ shutdown -r now
If by the time you reach this stage, it still fails then check your volumes in YaST.