Sound problems with 2.6 kernel

Tsuki · Posted: Thu Jun 03, 2004 5:00 pm Post subject: Sound problems with 2.6 kernel

Linux newbie alert, I'm afraid!

I've just upgraded to the 2.6.5 kernel, and I'm having problems with my sound. I've compiled all the new ALSA stuff into the kernel, and I didn't see a sound-related problem on boot-up.

However, upon starting KDE I get white noise from my speakers, and this error:

li1_getoo · l33t Joined: 20 Oct 2002 Posts: 661 Location: Queens , NY

did u

teutzz · Guru Joined: 22 Apr 2004 Posts: 333 Location: .ro

try dmix
and try to use esd as arts output, not alsa (even if you have configured dmix software mixing with alsa)
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Tsuki · Posted: Fri Jun 04, 2004 7:18 pm Post subject:

I've just tried following through the guide, and hit a problem. Everything goes fine up until the point where it says to run amixer.

Just running "amixer" on its own produces no output for me, and the next step - "amixer set Master 100 unmute" produces the error "amixer: Unable to find simple control 'Master',0".

Any ideas?

Support for my sound card is enabled in my kernel (2.6.5-gentoo-r1), alsa-utils are installed and alsasound is running.

li1_getoo · l33t Joined: 20 Oct 2002 Posts: 661 Location: Queens , NY

run this

Tsuki · Posted: Fri Jun 04, 2004 7:47 pm Post subject:

seventhguardian · Posted: Fri Jun 04, 2004 8:32 pm Post subject:

Try not to start alsasound and check it out..

Tsuki · Posted: Fri Jun 04, 2004 9:28 pm Post subject:

No difference with alsasound stopped, I'm afraid...

If it helps things at all, running alsamixer rather than amixer reports "No mixer elems found" - although I guess that's just the equivalent of amixer reporting nothing anyway.

seventhguardian · Posted: Fri Jun 04, 2004 10:23 pm Post subject:

Hi again!

From reading your first post with more attention, it seems to me that the problem isn't with alsa, but with artsd (the kde's sound-server)!

What I think it is trying to say is that the "default device" (your soundcard) isn't present.. isn't being detected. So it uses the "null" device (a "dummy" device that serves as a "drain-hole" for the sound). My guess is that either arts or your soundcard aren't configured the right way...

Check out the kernel configuration, and try to compile everything related to sound in the kernel (not in modules)....

Also read the "desktop configuration guide" http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/desktop.xml

good luck!

Tsuki · Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2004 12:39 pm Post subject:

Hmm... still not having any luck I'm afraid, so I've changed back to OSS and everything seems to be working fine. I guess that'll do for now ^_^;

Tsuki · Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2004 6:42 am Post subject:

More odd goings-on I'm afraid. After switching back to just using OSS, I'm getting sound and that fine - but for some reason, something I've changed causes kcontrol to lock up every time I try and access the Sound System section. Oddly this only happens for me (running it as root, for example, is fine).

Any ideas? Since it only started doing this since I messed around with sound settings in the kernel, I assume it's something that I did wrong...

Decibels · Veteran Joined: 16 Aug 2002 Posts: 1630 Location: U.S.A.

Had to problem myself and couldn't seem to stop it with alsamixer (maybe didn't try hard enough), but with Aumix, found that the "Digital1" was the culprit.
Knocked that down to Zero and noise went away. Then saved the settings.
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