Another Freaking ALSA Sound Card Problem!!!!!

[phreaqy]

I am VERY SORRY to bug everybody for another alsa problem. But I cannot fix this. I am running the gentoo-dev-sources (2.6.5-gentoo-r1). I have a SB 16 PCI (ens1371) I know this because i had sound working with mandrake 10 under the 2.6.3 kernel.

I have tried everything from having buit in alsa support in the kernel to making them modules to no alsa in the kernel and compiling from source download from the alsa website. Everytime i do a dmesg I get

ALSA ....
NO SOUNDCARDS FOUND

Also the kernel can't find the ens1371 (or es1371) module to load it (Ir doesn't matter how I install the driver either buitin in the kernel as a module for the kernel or emerged in gentoo or downloaded source from alsa homepage). I try the amixer and i get "can't find the snd_ctrl....". I used the "MAKEDEV.snd" script found in then kernel directory and i have /dev/dsp and all the other required /dev/*. But the kernel can't find them

I followed the gentoo alsa how-to...didn't work. I tried the alsa how to (specific to my card) ...didn't work. I did what people said in the Gentoo Forums...didn't work. I have did the google of googles and have tried everything i can!!! NOTHING WORKS. I love Linux, i really do, but sometimes I wonder.

Mandrake 10 community had no problem with my card. I can reboot back to Mandrake and play sounds. I really like the gentoo distribution, and i have compiled everything so i kind of don't want to drop it just because i cannot get sound working.

Does anybody have any ideas as to what i can do. I guess the only other idea i have is to try a different kernel

PS I really really really don't want to go back to the 2.4 kernel. 2.6 is soo much faster then the 2.4

PPS I also have checked to make sure that the onboard sound is turned off

PPPS I have also tried using alsa 1.0.3 and 1.0.4
_________________
AMD TBIRD 1.33
256 mb RAM
kenel 2.6.7-love2
Soundblaster 16 PCI
Nvidia GeForce 3 Ti

[davecs]

I have the same Gentoo kernel, and my sound is working fine.

Couple of rules, do everything as modules, your sound card is listed under PCI (even if it's onboard, look under PCI sound cards), and should be found by hotplug, I recommend you install hotplug even if you compiled your kernel rather than using genkernel. Have you tried "lsmod" under Mandrake to see what modules have loaded, then ensured they are all checked in your Gentoo kernel build?

One little thing: have you checked for OSS support (not emulation under ALSA, but the section for straight OSS support)? Make sure you don't!

As you are using the 2.6 kernel, you can skip a lot of the stuff in the ALSA guide, as it applies to 2.4 kernels. You only need to emerge alsa-utils, not alsa-drivers. The configuration files tend to set up pretty well with little or no intervention from the user, there is just one line which ensures the driver for your card is used.

I have also used Mandrake 10, I have to say it is a lot slower than Gentoo, so I hope it works out for you!
_________________
Gentoo, PCLOS-pre-81a and Windows 98SE.
Shuttle SN41G2V2
Athlon XP2500+ o/c to 3200+, 2x256Mb Geil Value RAM, FX5200.
Ntlworld cable internet via ethernet
and PC-Chips Desknote Laptop (with PCLOS-pre-81a )

[phreaqy]

Thanks,

I have tried most of what you recomended. But i didn't try the lsmod in Mandrake 10, and i am not sure how the hotplug works, i do have it emerged though. I will read up on it and give it a try.
_________________
AMD TBIRD 1.33
256 mb RAM
kenel 2.6.7-love2
Soundblaster 16 PCI
Nvidia GeForce 3 Ti

[davecs]

Once you have emerged hotplug, just do:

rc-update add hotplug default
_________________
Gentoo, PCLOS-pre-81a and Windows 98SE.
Shuttle SN41G2V2
Athlon XP2500+ o/c to 3200+, 2x256Mb Geil Value RAM, FX5200.
Ntlworld cable internet via ethernet
and PC-Chips Desknote Laptop (with PCLOS-pre-81a )

[phreaqy]

I actually got it working. I had to go to a 2.6.5 kernel (not the 2.6.5-r1)
_________________
AMD TBIRD 1.33
256 mb RAM
kenel 2.6.7-love2
Soundblaster 16 PCI
Nvidia GeForce 3 Ti