Supposedly this is doable but I have now tried every option I have found on the web.
The soundcard is: (from lspci)
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) High Definition Audio Controller (rev 01)
The full information from lshw is
description: Audio device
product: 82801G (ICH7 Family) High Definition Audio Controller
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 1b
bus info: pci@00:1b.0
version: 01
width: 64 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: bus_master cap_list
configuration: driver=HDA Intel
resources: iomemory:dfffc000-dfffffff irq:20
This is a Dell Inspiron E1505 running Debian testing with a self-compiled kernel.
I have alsa-base and alsa-utils installed.
After much reading, I have learned that it is very important for me to have the latest version of alsa. I tried both compiling it in the kernel (versions 2.6.12, 2.6.15.7, 2.6.17, 2.6.17.7, and 2.6.18-rc2). The reason I tried various versions of the kernel is that there were reports that the driver in the 2.6.16 kernel did not work properly. The modules I included were:
amphipilis:/home/psyche# modprobe -l
/lib/modules/2.6.18-rc2/kernel/sound/pci/hda/snd-hda-intel.ko
/lib/modules/2.6.18-rc2/kernel/sound/pci/hda/snd-hda-codec.ko
/lib/modules/2.6.18-rc2/kernel/sound/oss/i810_audio.ko
/lib/modules/2.6.18-rc2/kernel/sound/oss/ac97_codec.ko
/lib/modules/2.6.18-rc2/kernel/sound/core/snd.ko
/lib/modules/2.6.18-rc2/kernel/sound/core/snd-timer.ko
/lib/modules/2.6.18-rc2/kernel/sound/core/snd-rtctimer.ko
/lib/modules/2.6.18-rc2/kernel/sound/core/snd-pcm.ko
/lib/modules/2.6.18-rc2/kernel/sound/core/snd-page-alloc.ko
/lib/modules/2.6.18-rc2/kernel/sound/core/seq/snd-seq.ko
/lib/modules/2.6.18-rc2/kernel/sound/core/seq/snd-seq-midi-event.ko
/lib/modules/2.6.18-rc2/kernel/sound/core/seq/snd-seq-device.ko
/lib/modules/2.6.18-rc2/kernel/sound/core/seq/oss/snd-seq-oss.ko
/lib/modules/2.6.18-rc2/kernel/sound/core/oss/snd-pcm-oss.ko
/lib/modules/2.6.18-rc2/kernel/sound/core/oss/snd-mixer-oss.ko
/lib/modules/2.6.18-rc2/kernel/net/xfrm/xfrm_user.ko
At the recommendation of http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=63089 I added the following line to /etc/modules.conf
0ptions snd_hda_intel model=3stack
The best so far appears to be the 2.6.18-rc2 kernel, although I haven't tried again with the 2.6.17 or 2.6.17.7 since adding the line to /etc/modules.conf. At least it sees the module, which is a major improvement over not seeing the module. However, when I try to start something which uses sound, I get error messages saying that the sound card can't be initialized. I haven't found anything which actually gets the sound card to work.
I know I have to try to turn on the sound with the alsamixer. I use the GUI. The GUI has a lot fewer options than the older version, but it still has an un-mute button. I also tried other volume control panels I had.
I also tried compiling alsa from the source, both from the debian package alsa-source and from the downloaded source from the alsa website (alsa-driver-1.0.9rc4a). I configure with the command
./configure --with-debug=full --with-cards=hda-intel --with-kernel=/usr/src/linux-2.6.18-rc2
When I try to compile with "make" it aborts. Below are the last few lines of the output:
In file included from /usr/src/modules/alsa-driver/drivers/portman2x4.c:1:
/usr/src/modules/alsa-driver/drivers/portman2x4-kernel.c: At top level:
/usr/src/modules/alsa-driver/drivers/portman2x4-kernel.c:51: error: syntax error before string constant
/usr/src/modules/alsa-driver/drivers/portman2x4-kernel.c:51: warning: type defaults to 'int' in declaration of '__MODULE_INFO'
/usr/src/modules/alsa-driver/drivers/portman2x4-kernel.c:51: warning: function declaration isn't a prototype
/usr/src/modules/alsa-driver/drivers/portman2x4-kernel.c:51: warning: data definition has no type or storage class
/usr/src/modules/alsa-driver/drivers/portman2x4-kernel.c:52: error: syntax error before string constant
/usr/src/modules/alsa-driver/drivers/portman2x4-kernel.c:52: warning: type defaults to 'int' in declaration of '__MODULE_INFO'
/usr/src/modules/alsa-driver/drivers/portman2x4-kernel.c:52: warning: function declaration isn't a prototype
/usr/src/modules/alsa-driver/drivers/portman2x4-kernel.c:52: warning: data definition has no type or storage class
/usr/src/modules/alsa-driver/drivers/portman2x4-kernel.c:53: error: syntax error before string constant
/usr/src/modules/alsa-driver/drivers/portman2x4-kernel.c:53: warning: type defaults to 'int' in declaration of '__MODULE_INFO'
/usr/src/modules/alsa-driver/drivers/portman2x4-kernel.c:53: warning: function declaration isn't a prototype
/usr/src/modules/alsa-driver/drivers/portman2x4-kernel.c:53: warning: data definition has no type or storage class
/usr/src/modules/alsa-driver/drivers/portman2x4-kernel.c:60: error: syntax error before 'int'
/usr/src/modules/alsa-driver/drivers/portman2x4-kernel.c:61: error: syntax error before string constant
/usr/src/modules/alsa-driver/drivers/portman2x4-kernel.c:61: warning: type defaults to 'int' in declaration of '__MODULE_INFO'
/usr/src/modules/alsa-driver/drivers/portman2x4-kernel.c:61: warning: function declaration isn't a prototype
/usr/src/modules/alsa-driver/drivers/portman2x4-kernel.c:61: warning: data definition has no type or storage class
/usr/src/modules/alsa-driver/drivers/portman2x4-kernel.c:62: error: syntax error before '(' token
/usr/src/modules/alsa-driver/drivers/portman2x4-kernel.c:63: error: syntax error before string constant
/usr/src/modules/alsa-driver/drivers/portman2x4-kernel.c:63: warning: type defaults to 'int' in declaration of '__MODULE_INFO'
/usr/src/modules/alsa-driver/drivers/portman2x4-kernel.c:63: warning: function declaration isn't a prototype
/usr/src/modules/alsa-driver/drivers/portman2x4-kernel.c:63: warning: data definition has no type or storage class
/usr/src/modules/alsa-driver/drivers/portman2x4-kernel.c:64: error: syntax error before '(' token
/usr/src/modules/alsa-driver/drivers/portman2x4-kernel.c:65: error: syntax error before string constant
/usr/src/modules/alsa-driver/drivers/portman2x4-kernel.c:65: warning: type defaults to 'int' in declaration of '__MODULE_INFO'
/usr/src/modules/alsa-driver/drivers/portman2x4-kernel.c:65: warning: function declaration isn't a prototype
/usr/src/modules/alsa-driver/drivers/portman2x4-kernel.c:65: warning: data definition has no type or storage class
make[4]: *** [/usr/src/modules/alsa-driver/drivers/portman2x4.o] Error 1
make[3]: *** [/usr/src/modules/alsa-driver/drivers] Error 2
make[2]: *** [_module_/usr/src/modules/alsa-driver] Error 2
make[1]: *** [modules] Error 2
make[1]: Leaving directory `/usr/src/linux-2.6.17'
make: *** [compile] Error 2
I can get beeps, for instance when I try to tab complete.
I am out of ideas. I have already spent way too much time on this. I've tried dozens of things which are supposed to work but none of them have. Please help!!!
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"The GUI has a lot fewer options than the older version"
Have you compiled the alsa modules as modules?
Have you run alsaconf?
"The GUI has a lot fewer options than the older version"
Are you sure that the mixer "show" your soundcard and not a tv-card. If you use Alsamixer in the terminal, without GUI, you can see the name of the card in the upper left corner.
1. Yes, I compiled alsa as
1. Yes, I compiled alsa as modules
2. I have no command alsaconf in my normal paths. Is it somewhere unusual? I never did get alsa to compile outside of the kernel - I still have problems compiling it from the source directly - if the configure script in the alsa source directory is what you're talking about. So I'm using alsa compiled as a module with the kernel.
3. Yes I see the right card correctly but I guess I didn't set up the options on the module correctly since /etc/modules.conf is automatically generated. The problem is, I can't figure out which program automatically generates it. The card shows up right (although I'm not sure the chipset is right - I have no idea)
│ Card: HDA Intel ││ Chip: SigmaTel STAC9200
(By the way, this does also show up in the GUI)
thanks
Christine
here are some more details
This is what it says when I try to run something which should use the soundcard (alsaplayer)
amphipilis:/usr/src/intel-ipw3945-1.0.0/ipw3945-1.0.0# /usr/bin/alsaplayer
ALSA lib pcm_dmix.c:862:(snd_pcm_dmix_open) unable to open slave
snd_pcm_open: Device or resource busy (default)
Failed to initialize plugin!
Failed to register plugin: /usr/lib/alsaplayer/output/libalsa_out.so
Failed to load output plugin "alsa". Trying defaults.
ALSA lib pcm_dmix.c:862:(snd_pcm_dmix_open) unable to open slave
snd_pcm_open: Device or resource busy (default)
Failed to initialize plugin!
/usr/lib/alsaplayer/output/libalsa_out.so failed to load
/dev/dsp: Device or resource busy
Failed to initialize plugin!
/usr/lib/alsaplayer/output/libesound_out.so failed to load
NOTE: THIS IS THE NULL PLUGIN. YOU WILL NOT HEAR SOUND!!
Solved - alsaconf worked
I ran alsaconf.
What confused me is that it was not in /usr/bin and if I tried tab completing "alsa" it didn't show up as one of the options. Then I did "locate alsa | less" and saw there was a man page and just tried typing alsaconf anyways and it ran.
Thank you very much.
Christine
Before you do too much, just
Before you do too much, just make sure you got the correct driver identified. Use "lspci -n" to get a list of VendorID:ProductID strings, and match the bus number to your audio controller (via the output of the -v option). The audio chip's VendorID is 8086 (Intel), so the number would be something like 8086:XXXX. From there it's easier to find out whether the drivers exist or not.
the driver was right
That wasn't the problem. Oh believe me I checked that the driver was right. The problem was that alsa either changed significantly since my last install or it just worked out of the box before, cuz I'd never had to run alsaconf before.
And it's working now so I know I have the right driver.
Well, it wouldn't be unusual
Well, it wouldn't be unusual for a setup script to be screwed up. Since I usually use 'unstable' on my machine at home, I had great fun when udev/hotplug/discover were all fighting over who gets to set up the hardware. There was also the time when '}' was used instead of ')' in a script and X wouldn't work at all...