hello everyone… im new to this forum and opensuse.hmm… to linux too… lol!.. first of all i’ll put down the details of my pc… dg33fb motherboard, 2 x 1gb kingston ddr2 ram, a intel quad core q6600, GeForce 9400 GT gfx card powered by a 550watt psu… i’ve recently installed opensuse 11.1 and everything is working perfectly so far…except for 1 major problem i definitely need to get solved:\ ive two speakers connected to the back panel of the pc and it works fine… but the front panel isn’t working… 
i plug in my headphones to the front panel most of the time… it does output a very weak signal… i’ve done everything i can so far to resolve this problem without any progress… like fiddling with sound control panel… nothing works… any advice?
btw… with xp i had realtek drivers :\
no solution for this?
You are not providing anyone much time to reply. Many people only check the forum every 2nd or 3rd day.
I myself can’t understand your problem with the limited information given, and I don’t have your hardware. I was hoping someone else would chime in. It may be a few days before that happens.
You could in the mean time provide more information to help the person who might “chime in”. Such as, provide the output URL provided by running in a konsole or terminal with root permissions in that terminal/konsole, with your PC connected to the internet:
/usr/sbin/alsa-info.sh
you may need to run that twice. The first time to update the script and the second time to get the URL
Also for the person who might “chime in”, provide a better idea as to the software you have installed for audio by providing the output of running in a terminal/konsole: rpm -qa | grep alsa
rpm -qa | grep pulse
rpm -q libasound2
uname -a
cat /etc/modprobe.d.sound
… and after providing the above, if impatient for a solution, you could try working your way through the openSUSE audio troubleshooting guide: http://en.opensuse.org/SDB:AudioTroubleshooting
Sounds like a faulty bios setting. He may also need to set his regular user to be a member of the group “audio”.
If you have an Intel sound chip, try SDB:Intel-HDA sound problems - openSUSE
heres the output i got:)
rpm -qa | grep alsa
alsa-oss-1.0.17-1.37
alsa-utils-1.0.18-6.4
alsa-1.0.18-8.7
alsa-plugins-1.0.18-6.12
alsa-plugins-pulse-1.0.18-6.12
rpm -qa | grep pulse
pulseaudio-module-gconf-0.9.12-9.6
pulseaudio-module-lirc-0.9.12-9.6
libpulse-mainloop-glib0-0.9.12-9.6
pulseaudio-utils-0.9.12-9.6
libpulse0-0.9.12-9.6
pulseaudio-module-x11-0.9.12-9.6
pulseaudio-module-bluetooth-0.9.12-9.6
pulseaudio-module-jack-0.9.12-9.6
libxine1-pulse-1.1.15-20.8
alsa-plugins-pulse-1.0.18-6.12
libpulse-browse0-0.9.12-9.6
pulseaudio-module-zeroconf-0.9.12-9.6
libpulsecore4-0.9.12-9.6
pulseaudio-esound-compat-0.9.12-9.6
pulseaudio-0.9.12-9.6
rpm -q libasound2
libasound2-1.0.18-8.7
uname -a
Linux ZXDSL831II 2.6.27.7-9-pae #1 SMP 2008-12-04 18:10:04 +0100 i686 i686 i386 GNU/Linux
cat /etc/modprobe.d/sound
options snd slots=snd-hda-intel
u1Nb.AZA7aVMRMwD:82801I (ICH9 Family) HD Audio Controller
alias snd-card-0 snd-hda-intel
Great, could you also run the script? With your PC connected to the internet, in a gnome terminal or kde konsole, type “su” (no quotes) such that you have root permissions (and enter root password). The prompt should change from > to # letting you know that session has root permissions. Then type into that terminal: /usr/sbin/alsa-info.sh you may need to run that twice. The first time to update the script and the second time to get the URL. Please post the URL here.
That URL will then contain lots of information on your PC’s sound configuration, such that (hopefully) coupled with the previous information you provided, a good recommendation can be given.
i just uploaded the script oldcpu
You have the same chip as me and I have submitted bug 471474 relating to this chip.
I can get sound to work by entering
su –
rcalsasound restart
after each reboot.
If that works for you, you can follow the progress of the bug in bugzilla.
you mean i have to manually get it running each time i boot? :\
Great! Can you pass the URL please 
Thats easy to do, if it works for you. (One simply adds “rcalsasound restart” to one’s /etc/init.d/boot.local file). But first, before jumping to conclusions, it is a good idea to TEST this (rcalsasound restart) first, as it may not help you.
http://www.alsa-project.org/db/?f=e0bd93b923c2cbb5c94108b0bdd73cd5a7a80d3b
sorry for being so late oldcpu… and the last solution didn’t work for me… that reastarting sound thingy.lol!
hmmm… i had to reinstall windows xp again due to a crash (not new eh?) and i had to enable ac97 front panel support to get the headphones activated… so i think i need a alternative linux driver which does the same:\
Did you just re-install winXP? And if so, when you re-installed winXP did it overwrite your MBR causing you lose your openSUSE boot? Have you managed to recover your openSUSE boot with your openSUSE installation (also rescue) CD/DVD ?
If the hardware wiring of one’s audio is tricky for winXP (requiring custom manufacturers drivers) then it is possible it is not supported, or that it requires a very clever .asoundrc file (which is beyond my limited knowledge here). Still, the script output indicated your PC has an ALC888. I searched the alsa web site for the ALC888 and noted there were some updates recently for Acer and Fujitsu PCs (which I assume does not include your PC): Search results for ALC888 - AlsaProject
There is always the possibility the autoprobe of alsa of your card did not work properly, and you may benefit from either a custom /etc/modprobe.d/sound file (as there are over 2 dozen different custom model options that can be applied, one at a time only), or benefit possibly from an alsa update (which may have an updated alsa autoprobe function), but I don’t know.
Still, before doing anything, it would be worth knowing the status of your openSUSE after your winXP re-install. Are you starting over? Are you ready to continue trying?
i completely installed all os’s again… i had make my hard drive a unpartitioned space because i got into trouble trying to manually install ubuntu before opensuse… opensuse reported 20 or so unknown partitions… rotfl!
so i unpartitioned the hard drive to make fewer sections… well i did have a litle trouble configuring the firewall after re-installing opensuse… before, it automatically configures my dsl router… now everything is back to normal except headphone sound… im only using the windows os rarely now… just to play farcry and some other games when im bored… i use opensuse for everything else… i simply love it and not bothered about having to learn terminal and stuff. im greatful to the opensuse developers for making this amazing o/s:)
anyway can manage without the headphones except when im watching movies late at night… i guess i’ll have to switch to windows just for that… thats ok with me:)… thank you for you’re time oldcpu… and others who posted… see you around<:)
OK, then reference your headphone sound, we could start all over again … … ie Provide the output URL provided by running in a konsole or terminal with root permissions in that terminal/konsole, with your PC connected to the internet:
/usr/sbin/alsa-info.shyou may need to run that twice. The first time to update the script and the second time to get the URL
… and provide a better idea as to the software you have installed for audio by providing the output of running in a terminal/konsole: rpm -qa | grep alsa
rpm -qa | grep pulse
rpm -q libasound2
uname -a
cat /etc/modprobe.d.sound
I don’t anticipate much will change, but it does not hurt to confirm. After that is confirmed, then your choices are to:
a. add different model configurations, one at a time (restart alsa sound driver and your mixer, after each), where there are > 2-dozen possibilities, in the hope that one will activate your headphone jack, [here I can provide guidance] or
b. update to alsa 1.0.19 in the hope that will activate your headphone jack (downside being your sound will likely break (and require a quick fix) after every kernel update) [here I can provide guidance], and/or
c. search the web for an .asoundrc file example, that might be applicable to your hardware and that headphone jack, and then implement such a file under your /home/username [here you are on your own].
This front jack that you use for your headphone, … is it ever used for anything else (like a mic ? ) …
If you can only use the front panel connector by changing the bios to AC97 then you might need a bios update if one is available. I have the front panel on mine set for HDMI but the standard headphone and mic inputs are still quite alive. If you are using other than onboard audio it may be causing a conflict with the front panel connector.