2.16: onboard sound won't work. (Solved, sorta)

Problems and successes with specific brands/models of computer audio hardware
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BrianE
Posts: 9
Joined: Sat 26 May 2007, 07:51
Location: Canada

#21 Post by BrianE »

Something is very strange.

Doing some checking, it seems that the VIA VT8237 southbridge includes audio functionality, but there is an actual Realtek ALC655 chip on my motherboard, and I am pretty sure that is what it uses.

I wonder if things are wonky because a normal K8V-MX motherboard uses an ADI sound chip but my OEM (/S) model uses the Realtek chip.... why do I not see any Realtek drivers listed on the ALSA website or in the file modules.pcimap? :?


I went to Realtek's website and downloaded a driver(?) file named realtek-linux-audiopack-4.05f.tar.bz2 (Version 4.05f.... I assumed this was a better idea than the slightly newer one written for 2.2/2.4 kernel?) Got it here btw. But I want to know if I'm barking up the right or wrong tree here before I try to deal with this thing called *.tar.bz2 now.... :shock:

(Is there a more generic existing driver I could try first?)

Thanks.

EDIT: Okay, maybe the two aren't separate after all. Alsamixer calls the VT8237 the "card" and the ALC655 the "chip"... there is talk like this also elsewhere like on the ALSA wiki.

I vaguely recall having to install Realtek drivers to get sound working when I was using this mb with Win XP, so could it be that I need to do the same here?

BrianE
Posts: 9
Joined: Sat 26 May 2007, 07:51
Location: Canada

#22 Post by BrianE »

I tried another distro on this machine (PCLOS) and I couldn't get it to work either....

Am I looking at a hardware problem?

GuestToo
Puppy Master
Posts: 4083
Joined: Wed 04 May 2005, 18:11

#23 Post by GuestToo »

Dunno why you mention "the ac97 codec is the digital to analog convertor"
here or what it means?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ac97

"AC'97 (short for Audio Codec '97) is Intel Corporation's Audio "Codec" standard ... Intel's use of the word audio codec refers to signals being encoded/decoded to/from analog audio from/to digital audio, thus actually a combined audio AD/DA-converter"

GuestToo
Puppy Master
Posts: 4083
Joined: Wed 04 May 2005, 18:11

#24 Post by GuestToo »

it looks like the drivers are installed, and aplay is playing the 2barks.wav file ... i'm not sure why you do not hear the sound

BrianE
Posts: 9
Joined: Sat 26 May 2007, 07:51
Location: Canada

#25 Post by BrianE »

Well I give up... assuming I'm not overlooking anything or there isn't something wrong with ALSA (I really doubt it, but who knows...), then I'm looking at the unlikely possibility that the onboard sound is damaged somehow.

I finally got sound to work with Puppy - AFTER I installed an old Creative Audigy card I got my hands on. Hardly the solution I was after and even this obsolete card is overkill, but at least installing it was a breeze. I had sound working in about 30 seconds!

It's strange though, because everything else on the MB seems to be working fine.... pretty selective, whatever messed up the o/b sound. :?

Anyway, thank you for everyone's help in trying to resolve this. 8)

iscraigh
Posts: 276
Joined: Sun 03 Sep 2006, 05:50

#26 Post by iscraigh »

I don't think it is your mb I have the same sound chip and no success under puppy although it has worked intermittantly. Under Ubuntu it works fine, If you really want to test it use the bootable ubuntu or knoppix disk and see it it works.


Craig

kleung21
Posts: 28
Joined: Sat 18 Nov 2006, 07:11
Location: Toronto, Ontario

Solution

#27 Post by kleung21 »

I cannot claim to have come up with this myself.

Some 18yo on his blog discussed this regarding the MX3230 Gateway laptop.

Seems like it's an issue with the Via sound chip (and yes, it runs a realtek chip for some reason).

Anyways, you have to go into ALSAMIXER and disable the external amplifier option.

don't just turn it down, make sure you switch it off (tab over the EXT amp and hit the <period> key.

Hope that helps. I've managed to get wave files playing now but still can't hear Youtube.

Kevin

User avatar
battleshooter
Posts: 1378
Joined: Wed 14 May 2008, 05:10
Location: Australia

Re: Solution

#28 Post by battleshooter »

kleung21 wrote:I cannot claim to have come up with this myself.

Some 18yo on his blog discussed this regarding the MX3230 Gateway laptop.

Seems like it's an issue with the Via sound chip (and yes, it runs a realtek chip for some reason).

Anyways, you have to go into ALSAMIXER and disable the external amplifier option.

don't just turn it down, make sure you switch it off (tab over the EXT amp and hit the <period> key.

Hope that helps. I've managed to get wave files playing now but still can't hear Youtube.

Kevin
Doesn't bother me you didn't come up with it, saved me last night when I was trying to setup Puppy on a laptop and sound refused to work. Had ago at your solution and... yeehaa! Thanks!

Battleshooter
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sindi
Posts: 1087
Joined: Sun 16 Aug 2009, 13:30
Location: Ann Arbor MI USA

Pup 4.3.1 retro kernel VIA 82xx sound onboard

#29 Post by sindi »

1GHz DFI computer with onboard via 82xx sound. Sound setup worked,
then when I tried to play 2barks.wav got one bark, a bit of silence,
another bark, then did not work again. Disabled onboard sound.
Put in an ISA Vibra 16 and chose legacy sb16, and that worked, once
but not again. Took it out, tried a Creative SB16 which did not work,
and a Crystal ISA which did not work, and a PCI Ensoniq 1371 which produced
only loud static though it worked in another computer with the same
version of Puppy (2.6.21.17 kernel, 4.3.1). lsmod revealed that the
drivers for the VIA chip were still being loaded along with Ensoniq,
and the Crystal driver was NOT being loaded. Did not look for sb16.
Removed all the cards, left onboard sound disabled, rebooted
and the onboard sound worked, several boots in a row.

Onboard sound is still disabled - puppy must ignore that.
Or maybe it needed to be disabled to work?

Could someone add instructions to Setup that you don't need to run it
for sound unless your card is not automatically detected? Maybe running
it messed things up.

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