ABit motherboard with AC97

bmk1st · n00b Joined: 31 May 2002 Posts: 28 Location: Pennsylvania

Hi guys,

I wasn't able to figure how to get sound to work. My motherboard (ABit VH6T with VIA Apollo Pro 133A chipset) has built-in audio (AC97 compliant) So, it should be AC97 codec.

I tried to set up in module and it didn't work right. I thought it was supposed to be snd-ac97_codec. I wasn't sure if it is snd-ac97. So, I tried both and they didn't work.

I tried to search in the forums for any solution. Most of them didn't work. I tried to recompile kernel and didn't see anything related to my motherboard or ac97.

Any idea?

BonezTheGoon · Posted: Tue Jul 16, 2002 7:42 pm Post subject:

If you are trying to use ALSA you should only have sound card support compiled into your kernel, nothing else. Then you should check this ALSA Sound Card Matrix and verify which driver to use.

A quick search on google indicates that you have a VIA 82C686 Southbridge -- Then a quick reference on the above Matrix indicates you should be using the snd-via686a module, which you would load by trying:

BonezTheGoon · Posted: Tue Jul 16, 2002 7:48 pm Post subject:

bmk1st · n00b Joined: 31 May 2002 Posts: 28 Location: Pennsylvania

I'm not sure but it isn't working.

I did what you told me to. I put snd-via686a in modules.autoload and modules.d/aliases. I also chose VIA 82C686 in menuconfig during recompiling the kernel.

I also did emerge Alsa and followed the instruction. I rebooted and during the reboot process, it said in the module, snd-via686a failed to load.

I tried to find via686a and there isn't any. I also tried the command, amixer, and error said no such device.

What else should I try?

BonezTheGoon · Posted: Tue Jul 16, 2002 10:14 pm Post subject:

Well you should not need any support for the VIA 82C686 in your kernel if you are going to use ALSA. The snd-via686a will only be there AFTER you have compiled ALSA as directed in the Desktop Guide. So after you have emerged ALSA you should be able to

BonezTheGoon · Posted: Tue Jul 16, 2002 10:19 pm Post subject:

Well I went to the source, Abit says that you have a VT82C694T northbrodge and a VT82C686B southbridge here on the product page for the Abit VH6T

So that solves that part of the mystery.

Let me know how things are going. Be sure that you followed all the steps of the Desktop Guide replacing the snd-emu10k1 each time it is refered to with your snd-via686a instead. Also be sure that after you emerged ALSA you ran

BonezTheGoon · Posted: Tue Jul 16, 2002 10:22 pm Post subject:

Man I am just tripping over myself today -- blast!! I need to read my own posts better. The Alsa Sound Card Matrix does not have anything for the VIA VT82C686B southbridge (that I can see.) So let me do some more searching to see if anyone has this chipset working with ALSA or Linux for that matter.

Silly me the VIA 82C686 Southbridge is not the same as the VIA 82C686B southbridge -- damned B.

Regards,
BonezTheGoon

BonezTheGoon · Posted: Tue Jul 16, 2002 10:28 pm Post subject:

Well I found two different sources that indicate that ALSA works with this southbridge (82C686B). However, neither one states which driver should be used!!! If you are interested to do the reading on your own (expecially since I haven't been quite right in the head today as evident in this thread) here are the links as I found them via Google.

http://gaugusch.dhs.org/vaio/

http://dominia.org/djao/specs.html

Niether are refering to the Abit board you have, however the chipset is correct (which is the important part!) I guess a different search in google on the Mainboard you have isn't a bad idea. I'll look into it.

Regards,
BonezTheGoon

BonezTheGoon · Posted: Tue Jul 16, 2002 10:35 pm Post subject:

Now I am REALLY confused!!!! As I was searching I found this link (which is kind of broken so I will provide the Google Cached version too)

At any rate in here it indicates that the Abit VH6T has a Realtek ALC100 audio chip. If thats true then you would need to use the als100 driver.

So, try using this:

bmk1st · n00b Joined: 31 May 2002 Posts: 28 Location: Pennsylvania

I tried snd-als100. It didn't work. However, I also tried via686 and it worked!

Now another problem, I need to keep sound stay unmuted after reboot. Doh.

Thank you very much for all your help. I appreciate it.

delta407 · Posted: Wed Jul 17, 2002 12:30 am Post subject:

"rc-update add alsasound default" ought to handle that.
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bmk1st · n00b Joined: 31 May 2002 Posts: 28 Location: Pennsylvania

I used alsactl store and it works fine for me.

For more information on alsactl, type man alsactl

Hope it helps with some problems people have with sounds.

BonezTheGoon · Posted: Wed Jul 17, 2002 1:31 am Post subject:

Good lord! After all that googling and messing with my own head I accidentally lead you to a solution? Man I must be slipping in my old age, normally I could lead someone in meaningless circles for days without making progress. No really though, congrats and thanks for posting your results and what you had to do to get them!!!

Regards,
BonezThe(Very Big)Goon