volume very feeble

English Multimedia
1

Hi,

I installed openSUSE 11 in my acerTravelmate 5720 Laptop.Ifind that even at 100% of volume control , my speaker output is feeble.I had the same problem in sled10 sp2.I was able to correct it as per the guidance given in novell forums,but that doesnt seem to work here.I am giving the details normally asked.

rpm -qa | grep alsa
alsa-plugins-pulse-32bit-1.0.16-57.1
alsa-tools-gui-1.0.16-47.1
alsa-plugins-pulse-1.0.16-57.1
alsa-plugins-samplerate-32bit-1.0.16-57.1
alsa-driver-kmp-default-1.0.18.20081224_2.6.25.18_0.2-1.1
alsa-utils-1.0.16-35.1
alsa-tools-1.0.16-47.1
alsaplayer-0.99.80-1.pm.1
alsa-patch-bay-1.0.0-0.pm.2
java-1_6_0-sun-alsa-1.6.0.u10-2.1
alsa-plugins-32bit-1.0.16-57.1
alsa-plugins-maemo-32bit-1.0.16-57.1
alsa-plugins-jack-32bit-1.0.16-57.1
alsa-oss-1.0.15-48.1
alsa-plugins-1.0.16-57.1
alsa-plugins-maemo-1.0.16-57.1
alsa-1.0.16-39.1
alsa-plugins-jack-1.0.16-57.1
alsa-oss-32bit-1.0.15-48.1
alsa-firmware-1.0.16-24.1
alsa-plugins-samplerate-1.0.16-57.1

rpm -qa | grep pulse
alsa-plugins-pulse-32bit-1.0.16-57.1
alsa-plugins-pulse-1.0.16-57.1
libpulse0-32bit-0.9.11-27.1
libpulse0-0.9.11-27.1

rpm -q | libasound2
libasound2-1.0.16-39.1

uname -a
Linux linux-a4r8 2.6.25.18-0.2-default #1 SMP 2008-10-21 16:30:26 +0200 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

cat /etc/modprobe:/sound

options snd slots=snd-hda-intel

u1Nb.bSGbrXaHmp5:82801H (ICH8 Family) HD Audio Controller

alias snd-card-0 snd-hda-intel

and the output of the 2 scripts are as follows
http://www.alsa-project.org/db/?f=0f3734bc1383f98c1611108770eb09d6b66199b6

tsalsa.txt - nopaste.com (beta)

I am fairly new to linux.I request who is helping me, to give step by step instructions.
My wireless network has also been disabled.

Thanks a lot.

2

Did you try going to YaST > Hardware > Sound > Other > Volume and move your slider bars to the right ?

When I look at your mixer output from the two scripts, and you are far from having 100% set on your laptop’s mixer.

I don’t understand why you have done this. It appears you have install many alsa apps, most of which I suspect you do not need, and I have absolutely NO IDEA as to what most of these do, so maybe since you thought them necessary and installed them, you could teach me why ? I do know most of those are NOT install by default (only some).

Also, you have gone and mixed 1.0.18a with 1.0.16 of alsa. Why? If you are going to update alsa, then why not be consistent and update all of your alsa apps ? I can’t understand why you are installing old versions of extra alsa apps with new version of alsa (perhaps you could teach me here also) ?

I note from the script that your Acer Travel Mate 5720 has an ALC268. Now, the ALC268 has various model options that can be applied …

	ALC267/268
	  quanta-il1	Quanta IL1 mini-notebook
	  3stack	3-stack model
	  toshiba	Toshiba A205
	  acer		Acer laptops
	  acer-dmic	Acer laptops with digital-mic
	  acer-aspire	Acer Aspire One
	  dell		Dell OEM laptops (Vostro 1200)
	  zepto		Zepto laptops
	  test		for testing/debugging purpose, almost all controls can
			adjusted.  Appearing only when compiled with
			$CONFIG_SND_DEBUG=y
	  auto		auto-config reading BIOS (default)

So lets say one wished to try the “acer” model option as a configuration setting. Then in your case one would edit their /etc/modprobe.d/sound file to:
options snd slots=snd-hda-intel
options snd-hda-intel model=acer

u1Nb.bSGbrXaHmp5:82801H (ICH8 Family) HD Audio Controller

alias snd-card-0 snd-hda-inteland then restart their alsa sound driver (in a konsole/gnome-terminal) with root permissions with: rcalsasound restart #and then test one’s sound / and adjust mixer settings.

If “acer” does not work, then try one of the other options instead (such as “3stack” ) and restart alsa sound driver, test sound … etc …

But in truth, because you have a mixed up alsa installation due to an incomplete update to 1.0.18a, its quite possible none of that will work, and you may need to update your alsa consistently first (and not some 1/2 install).

3

I hope you have a wired connection then, else it will be slow to update the remainder of your alsa apps.

4

Hi,

Thanks for the reply.Alsa 1.0.16 was installed as default.Since it didnot work i went in for1.0.18a.Kindly advice me how to upgrade other alsa applications.Also how to remove unwanted applications,which was installed by me just to try out whether sound may improve.Regarding trying Yast>Hardware>Sound>Others>Volume,I did it and i have kept at 100%.Regarding trying model options,please give me step by step instructions on how to edit /etc/modprobe.d/sound file,which i donot understand.Is there any thing else which i should do before attempting to do this.

Thanks a lot.

5

OK, please first give me an update as to where you are? I need specifics, not generalities. :slight_smile: ie the standard:/usr/sbin/alsa-info.shand rpm -qa | grep alsa
rpm -qa | grep pulse
rpm -q padevchooser pavucontrol pavumeter paman paprefs
uname -a
cat /etc/modprobe.d/sound

and confirm (after a reboot) that the speaker test gives no sound ? speaker-test -c2 -l5 -twavcopy and paste the above test into a gnome-terminal or a kde konsole and you should hear a ladies voice saying ‘FRONT LEFT’, ‘FRONT RIGHT’ 5 times .

Are you a KDE3, KDE4, or Gnome user ?

Reference “removal of unwanted applications”, are you refering to the alsa apps ?

6

Hi,

Thank you verymuch for the reply.I am using KDE 3.Regarding removal of applications,i am refering to alsa applications only.I am giving below the details you have asked for.
/usr/sbin/alsa-info.sh
bash: /usr/sbin/alsa-info.sh: No such file or directory

rpm -qa | grep alsa
alsa-plugins-pulse-32bit-1.0.16-57.1
alsa-tools-gui-1.0.16-47.1
alsa-plugins-pulse-1.0.16-57.1
alsa-plugins-samplerate-32bit-1.0.16-57.1
alsa-driver-kmp-default-1.0.18.20081224_2.6.25.18_0.2-1.1
alsa-utils-1.0.16-35.1
alsa-tools-1.0.16-47.1
alsaplayer-0.99.80-1.pm.1
alsa-patch-bay-1.0.0-0.pm.2
java-1_6_0-sun-alsa-1.6.0.u10-2.1
alsa-plugins-32bit-1.0.16-57.1
alsa-plugins-maemo-32bit-1.0.16-57.1
alsa-plugins-jack-32bit-1.0.16-57.1
alsa-oss-1.0.15-48.1
alsa-plugins-1.0.16-57.1
alsa-plugins-maemo-1.0.16-57.1
alsa-1.0.16-39.1
alsa-plugins-jack-1.0.16-57.1
alsa-oss-32bit-1.0.15-48.1
alsa-firmware-1.0.16-24.1
alsa-plugins-samplerate-1.0.16-57.1

rpm -qa | grep pulse
alsa-plugins-pulse-32bit-1.0.16-57.1
alsa-plugins-pulse-1.0.16-57.1
libpulse0-32bit-0.9.11-27.1
libpulse0-0.9.11-27.1

rpm -q padevchooser pavucontrol pavumeter paman paprefs
package padevchooser is not installed
package pavucontrol is not installed
package pavumeter is not installed
package paman is not installed
package paprefs is not installed

uname -a
Linux linux-a4r8 2.6.25.18-0.2-default #1 SMP 2008-10-21 16:30:26 +0200 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

cat /etc/modprobe.d/sound
options snd slots=snd-hda-intel

u1Nb.bSGbrXaHmp5:82801H (ICH8 Family) HD Audio Controller

alias snd-card-0 snd-hda-intel

For speaker test i got the following without any sound
speaker-test 1.0.16

speaker-test: invalid option – ‘1’
Unknown option ‘?’

Thanks and i am waiting for the reply.

7

This script was included as part of 1.0.17 of alsa. If it does not run after you note an update to 1.0.18a of alsa, it suggests your installed alsa update was not correct.

This confirms what the failure of the script indicated. You still have an incomplete alsa configuration. You have a mix of 1.0.15, 1.0.16, and 1.0.18 versions, which IMHO is a problem. You need to fix that.

OK, this is not needed for KDE but its useful for Gnome.

Bad syntax ! Please copy and paste the test, do not retype. I think you mixed up a “1” with a “l” (small “L” ).

So, to fix your problem, with your PC connected to the internet, please open a konsole, type “su” (not quotes) to get root permissions (enter root password when prompted) and then COPY and PASTE the following into the konsole one at a time, in sequence :

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

zypper install alsa alsa-utils alsa-tools alsa-tools-gui alsa-firmware alsa-plugins-maemo alsa-plugins-pulse-32bit alsa-plugins-jack alsa-plugins-pulse alsa-plugins-jack-32bit alsa-plugins-maemo-32bit alsa-plugins-32bit alsa-plugins-samplerate-32bit alsa-oss alsa-oss-32bit alsa-plugins alsa-plugins-samplerate libasound2 

zypper rr multimedia 

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

zypper install alsa-driver-kmp-default 

zypper rr multimedia

then reboot and adjust your mixer and test your sound using the speaker-test I indicated earlier. ie COPY and PASTE:speaker-test -c2 -l5 -twav
You have a 64-bit PC, and so I can not precisely tell you what alsa apps to remove (as I do not have such a PC). That is also why the 2nd command is so incredibly long. I had to address each of your installed alsa apps, 1/2 of which are not needed. Anyway, you will eventually need to get an openSUSE-11.0 64-bit PC user, who is running KDE3, to tell you. But there is a risk that your having too many also apps will cause more problems than they will solve.

Let me know if your sound works after the update and after a reboot. If after the update (and the necessary reboot) your sound still does not work, then please run the diagnostic script (with your PC connected to the internet) to provide more information: /usr/sbin/alsa-info.sh and post the URL here (ONLY the URL, not the rest of the info on the konsole). With that information, we can also look at doing an edit to your /etc/modprobe.d/sound file.

8

Hi,

Thanks for the quick guidance. I have done all the upgrades and still the volume is feeble.I had gone through Yast and adjusted the control at 100%.I am giving you the details of the script
http://www.alsa-project.org/db/?f=67035194fcf78cb8b0b07484b2699bed799211aa

Once again thanks for the efforts.

9

OK, thanks for the script output. Can you also provide the output of:
rpm -qa | grep alsaI want to perform a version check on your alsa update.

Now, I note from the script that your Acer Travel Mate 5720 has an ALC268. The ALC268 has various model options that can be applied from the ALSA-Configuration.txt file for 1.0.18a of alsa:

	ALC267/268
	  quanta-il1	Quanta IL1 mini-notebook
	  3stack	3-stack model
	  toshiba	Toshiba A205
	  acer		Acer laptops
	  acer-dmic	Acer laptops with digital-mic
	  acer-aspire	Acer Aspire One
	  dell		Dell OEM laptops (Vostro 1200)
	  zepto		Zepto laptops
	  test		for testing/debugging purpose, almost all controls can
			adjusted.  Appearing only when compiled with
			$CONFIG_SND_DEBUG=y
	  auto		auto-config reading BIOS (default)

So lets say one wished to try the “acer” model option as a configuration setting. Then in your case one would edit their /etc/modprobe.d/sound file to:
options snd slots=snd-hda-intel
options snd-hda-intel model=acer

u1Nb.bSGbrXaHmp5:82801H (ICH8 Family) HD Audio Controller

alias snd-card-0 snd-hda-inteland then restart their alsa sound driver (in a konsole/gnome-terminal) with root permissions with: rcalsasound restart #and then test one’s sound / and adjust mixer settings.

If “acer” does not work, then try one of the other options instead (such as “3stack” ) and restart alsa sound driver, test sound … etc …

Note that when you start some applications, the PCM level may automatically fall to a low setting. Hence each time you start a multimedia application, you should check the PCM setting. Also note that for some hardware audio codecs, the alsa driver volume control is not very linear, and one gets the most audio volume increase only in the top percentages of the volume level.

10

Hi,

I am posting the output of the above scrip
rpm -qa | grep alsa
alsa-plugins-jack-32bit-1.0.18.git20081122-1.10
alsa-tools-1.0.18.git20081201-1.3
alsa-driver-kmp-default-1.0.18.20081228_2.6.25.18_0.2-2.1
alsa-firmware-1.0.17.git20081202-2.1
alsa-oss-1.0.17.git20080715-2.29
alsa-plugins-samplerate-1.0.18.git20081122-1.10
alsaplayer-0.99.80-1.pm.1
alsa-patch-bay-1.0.0-0.pm.2
java-1_6_0-sun-alsa-1.6.0.u10-2.1
alsa-plugins-samplerate-32bit-1.0.18.git20081122-1.10
alsa-tools-gui-1.0.18.git20081201-1.3
alsa-plugins-maemo-1.0.18.git20081122-1.10
alsa-oss-32bit-1.0.17.git20080715-2.30
alsa-1.0.18.git20081212-1.1
alsa-plugins-maemo-32bit-1.0.18.git20081122-1.10
alsa-plugins-1.0.18.git20081122-1.10
alsa-plugins-jack-1.0.18.git20081122-1.10
alsa-plugins-32bit-1.0.18.git20081122-1.10
alsa-utils-1.0.18.git20081122-1.6
alsa-plugins-pulse-32bit-1.0.18.git20081122-1.10
alsa-plugins-pulse-1.0.18.git20081122-1.10
I will just wait for your comments before further proceeding.
Thanks

11

OK, that looks like a successful update of alsa. :slight_smile: … please now restart your PC, test your audio, and carry one with the suggestions in my previous post with respect to iterative edits (and test) to your /etc/modprobe.d/sound file.

12

Please also note this:

13

Hi,

You should guide me to edit the file,as i am new to this

Thanks

14

I should? Ok :slight_smile: …

OK, now wrt to your problem, … please note this post of mine from above:

The /etc/modprobe.d/sound file requires one edit with root permissions. In the case of KDE, you can edit that file by typing:kdesu kwrite /etc/modprobe.d/sound
and type the root password when prompted. And then CAREFULLY edit the file as I indicated in the above quote.

Again, PLEASE NOTE, as I have already noted twice,

Note that when you start some applications, the PCM level may automatically fall to a low setting. Hence each time you start a multimedia application, you should check the PCM setting. Also note that for some hardware audio codecs, the alsa driver volume control is not very linear, and one gets the most audio volume increase only in the top percentages of the volume level.
Good luck!

15

Hi,

Thanks a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooootttttttttttttttttttt
for the excellent guidance given to me.It really works perfectly well.As i am new to Linux ,I will be disturbing you quite often, please bear with me .

Once again thanks a lot.I really enjoy working with linux.lol!

16

<Speaker> property inside the mixer settings should be maxed if you have a laptop and the sound is either very low from the speakers or it doesnt sound at all. Thats assuming <headphones> alternative work.

17

I had similar problem with ‘feeble sound’ but with a Toshiba Satellite L300D-202 laptop. It has the ALC268 chipset(?). The advice for setting the model option hit the nail on the head for me. For the record my

cat /etc/modprobe.d/sound

output:-

options snd-hda-intel model=toshiba
options snd slots=snd-hda-intel
# 5Dex.inF+KHo6Y65:SBx00 Azalia (Intel HDA)
alias snd-card-0 snd-hda-intel

Thanks oldcpu!
:):slight_smile:

PS. I even forgive your sarcastic attitude :wink: but am surprised newbie ramesh persevered. Maybe it just went over his head, I get the impression English isn’t his first language…

18

Thanks. … Glad to read you got some benefit from this thread.

I really do try not to be too sarcastic, … but sometimes human nature gets the better of me. Often it takes me a VERY long time to both research and reply to these threads, and that significant effort definitely takes its toll on me, and hence my “human response” at times. This is volunteer work. I have a full time job. I have other hobbies. And I do like to spend quality time (away from the computer) with my wife, … so my patience does get thin sometimes. …

… I’m looking forward to the day when someone (besides myself) can provide the detailed level of support on sound that I believe is necessary … there are openSUSE forum members out there with the knowledge on sound (and indeed better knowledge than me on sound), BUT, and this is a BIG BUT, the effort is significant to help users with sound hiccups. Often one ends up teaching Linux basics. After 11+ years as a Linux user, my patience is no longer what it once was when it comes to teaching basics.

Reference my comments about the excessive installed alsa apps (in one of the above posts) , … in truth, I really would like to learn what all the extra apps are for … and not just some technical description (as I have read those), but a real life user explanation that they installed additional alsa application “a” for this reason, and “b” for this reason, and what was the benefit “c” and “d” that they specifically got from the installation of the additional alsa apps.

I’m certain there are users out there who can contribute that, if they only would.

But in the most part, I suspect users add extra unnecessary alsa apps with no real understanding as to what they do, and my concern is always that extra unnecessary apps can cause even more problems. Again, its an area where I would really like to improve my knowledge.

19

Did you ever see the scary block diagram http://fluoblog.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/pulseaudio-diagram.png

I have to admit when I did I just thought wtf I appreciate what it is trying to do but PA is adding extra complexity to make an already complex subject supposedly less complex. I admire the ideas but worry about the implementation of it. Then you have kde devs less than favorable about it, aseigo: i will not drink the koolaide.

I think you may be the lead troubleshooter on audio for a little while yet Oldcpu :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

20

Yes, I have seen that link. I think its a good sketch, but I wonder how much of that is theoretical and how much actually works?

I had not seen that blog discussion … That is an excellent discussion in that blog about pulse audio, … especially at the end when one of the Red Hat packagers start to put some facts in to help sort the FUD from the serious issues. Its possible to learn a lot by reading it.

For example, it makes reference to a good presentation here (a presentation in PDF format): http://foss.in/2007/register/slides/The_PulseAudio_Sound_Server_353.pdf
where the goals of pulse audio are discussed, plus the major limitations of the current sound implementation (without pulse) are discussed.

One post in the blog also references an article talking about some of the implementation problems with pulse: Development [LWN.net] although even that article has some inaccuracies, as it suggests that flash and skype are truly broken for pulse audio (at the time of the article) while a Red Hat packager notes otherwise.

But I think a sad part about Pulse Audio is that the only way to get people to test pulse audio is to release it (which sad but true, much like KDE4) which has meant similar (possibly much worse) reception than KDE4 got. (With my having typed that, I’m not advocating that approach. Look at me re: KDE4. I don’t criticize KDE4, … rather I don’t use KDE4 and instead I just use KDE-3.5.10 and I stay out of the KDE4 debate most of the time … ).

My view is I hope significant development and bug fixing continues on pulse, to sort the problems. I suspect it may be a year or more before pulse meets enough of its goals before the majority of Linux users prefer using pulse over the old sound systems …

I need to give this wiki (that I wrote) some thought: Sound-concepts - openSUSE to see if I can improve it. The last entry to that wiki was in Dec-2008, and no one but me has provided any input to it , but I found writing it taught me a lot about Linux sound … Pulse, if finally implemented properly, could change it all.

Plus, I need to improve the audio troubleshooting guides’ very limited pulse audio section: SDB:AudioTroubleshooting - openSUSE A difficulty I have is typically my sound “just works” and hence I don’t encounter most the problems that other users encounter, and that makes it more difficult for me to write and improve on the troubleshooting guide(s)