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BrianE
Joined: 26 May 2007
Posts: 9
Location: Canada
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 Posted: Sat 26 May 2007, 07:23 Post subject:
 2.16: onboard sound won't work. (Solved, sorta)
Subject description: Installed audio PCI card, now it works |
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Hello there,
I'm new to Puppy and Linux in general, so it is taking some getting used to how certain things are done. I'm used to Windows and consider myself reasonably competent using that, but am no expert either. I have been browsing this forum for a little while but only a few days ago tried to actually use Puppy. Yes, I know 2.13 is old, but I burned the CD a while ago and didn't get around to trying it out until now. I didn't think it'd be an issue...
So basically my situation is that Puppy seems to be mostly working right, except I can't get the sound working. I installed it to a clean hard drive following the various instructions I found and it seems to boot up fine, surf fine, and displays okay (I am typing this in Puppy using Opera right now). Maybe foolishly though, I neglected to test out sound functionality on the Live-CD first....
The computer is an A64 using the Asus K8V-MX board (VIA K8M800 chipset) and I am trying to use the onboard Realtek ALC655 for sound.
I ran the ALSA Sound Wizard and it seemed to autodetect a VIA82xx chip okay (southbridge is a VT8237 according to my manual). It then proceeded to set it up and says it played a sample sound, after which it seemed to think it worked okay, although I heard nothing.
Sound from Gxine, CDs, and on web pages (YouTube) don't work either.
Speakers work okay (tested with portable player), and the motherboard used to be installed with Windows and we were using the onboard sound then, so that should work too. We did have a sound card installed at some point, but I made sure the AC'97 was enabled in BIOS before I started.
I've tried turning up all the volumes/unmuting in alsamixer and that didn't help.
Even though it was crazy I tried selecting "Legacy ISA" in the Wizard just to see what it did, but I cancelled when I saw none of the hardware choices matched.
This is the output of "lsmod":
| Code: | Module Size Used by
sr_mod 17412 0
ide_cd 40100 0
cdrom 39424 2 sr_mod,ide_cd
snd_pcm_oss 46336 1
snd_mixer_oss 17328 2 snd_pcm_oss
snd_via82xx 27720 2
gameport 14904 1 snd_via82xx
snd_ac97_codec 90448 1 snd_via82xx
snd_ac97_bus 2128 1 snd_ac97_codec
snd_pcm 77592 3 snd_pcm_oss,snd_via82xx,snd_ac97_codec
snd_timer 23540 1 snd_pcm
snd_mpu401_uart 8112 1 snd_via82xx
snd_rawmidi 24064 1 snd_mpu401_uart
snd_seq_device 7996 1 snd_rawmidi
snd 51396 9 snd_pcm_oss, snd_mixer_oss, snd_via82xx, snd_ac97_codec, snd_pcm, snd_timer, snd_mpu401_uart, snd_rawmidi, snd_seq_device
soundcore 9408 3 snd
usb_storage 83904 0
3c59x 43640 0
lp 12520 0
parport_pc 32100 1
parport 35080 2 lp,parport_pc
via_rhine 23416 0
mii 5680 2 3c59x,via_rhine
slamr 434056 0
ungrab_winmodem 2224 0
snd_page_alloc 10008 2 snd_via82xx,snd_pcm
i2c_viapro 8804 0
i2c_core 21408 1 i2c_viapro
amd64_agp 12724 1
agpgart 34608 1 amd64_agp
ehci_hcd 30200 0
uhci_hcd 23356 0
usbcore 126116 4 usb_storage,ehci_hcd,uhci_hcd
nls_iso8859_1 3984 0
nls_cp437 5648 0
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This is the output of "modinfo soundcore" (if it helps - I don't even remember how I learned about this anymore! LOL):
| Code: | filename: /lib/modules/2.6.18.1/kernel/sound/soundcore.ko
description: Core sound module
author: Alan Cox
license: GPL
alias: char-major-14-*
vermagic: 2.6.18.1 mod_unload 486 gcc-3.4
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I read an older thread that mentioned that Tempestuous had helped someone's onboard sound issue with the tip that "PnP OS" should be set to "no" in the BIOS. I tried this just now, re-ran the Wizard, and that didn't work either. That was my last trick so I have just about exhausted anything I could glean from reading piles of existing threads and a few elsewhere as well. It's (very) late, I'm tired, and my head aches from climbing a sheer cliff of a learning curve, so here come the questions:
Do I have to re-install Puppy after turning PnP OS off?
Should I try turning ACPI off as well? (Tempestuous had said that this shouldn't usually be necessary most of the time....)
The volume control should "ding" when I adjust the volume, right?
I would rather not, but should I re-format everything, try 2.16, and pray that will work?
What now? 
Quite honestly I am surprised how much trouble this is giving me, since I am fairly sure that the ALC655 codec and VT8237 chips are common pieces of hardware.  Of course it's also likely I've done something wrong or have overlooked something obvious (yes, the speakers are plugged in!  ).
Thanks for any replies/further questions.
Brian
Last edited by BrianE on Mon 28 May 2007, 01:07; edited 1 time in total
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jonyo
Joined: 28 Dec 2006
Posts: 2727
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| Posted: Sat 26 May 2007, 10:20 Post subject:
Re: Cannot get onboard sound to work (2.13) |
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| BrianE wrote: | | I would rather not, but should I re-format everything, try 2.16, and pray that will work? |
I haven't gotten anywhere with fixing sound probs. It works or it doesn't. One desktop had no sound with 2.12,3 & 4, then worked on vers 2.15.
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BrianE
Joined: 26 May 2007
Posts: 9
Location: Canada
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| Posted: Sun 27 May 2007, 02:34 Post subject:
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Well that's not encouraging to hear....
I'm currently debating if I should bother trying 2.16 or just stepping up to a (much larger) distro, since this system isn't exactly old. Puppy was/is attractive because it seems capable of offering the functionality I need, and is only about 10% the size of most other distros.
I was just so sure that there must have been some way to fix this problem because I didn't think my hardware is that rare.....
...it would also be disappointing to upgrade to 2.16 and then find out that fixes it because it does not shed any light on the subject and I find that kind of "fix" annoying (the forum is full of stories like that). It's like saying, "Yeah, I finally got rid of that weird vibration in my car - by buying a new one!"
If someone has reason to believe that just switching over to 2.16 really is my best bet for this situation (not just shotgun approach), please let me know.
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jonyo
Joined: 28 Dec 2006
Posts: 2727
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| Posted: Sun 27 May 2007, 08:29 Post subject:
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There are many fixes, I just don't know much about it. Haven't spent any time on sorting out a sound prob, on a particualr machine.
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Flash
Official Dog Handler
Joined: 04 May 2005
Posts: 9847
Location: Arizona USA
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| Posted: Sun 27 May 2007, 10:14 Post subject:
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What's the problem with trying 2.16? You don't have to install it to the hard drive to see if your sound will work. Just burn a live CD of the 2.16 iso, and boot it with "puppy pfix=ram" boot option so it ignores the hard disk drive. It's only a few cents and a few grams of polycarbonate. You can even use a rewritable CD (or DVD) if you have one. (You'll have to erase CD-RW and DVD-RW before burning them, but DVD+RW doesn't need to be erased first.)
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BrianE
Joined: 26 May 2007
Posts: 9
Location: Canada
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| Posted: Sun 27 May 2007, 14:57 Post subject:
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I know, I know.... I guess it's a personal hangup of mine, but I prefer to fix problems knowing what the problem really was, rather than just start replacing things. This is based on the assumption though, that there is something wrong with my particular setup, and that normally it should have worked.....
I also don't like to upgrade things if everything else works, but I didn't know you could still just run a Live CD over the existing install... I'll try that this afternoon if there aren't any other suggestions. Thanks.
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jonyo
Joined: 28 Dec 2006
Posts: 2727
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| Posted: Sun 27 May 2007, 16:07 Post subject:
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Not sure what happens on a HD install, but in a live CD save file to HD setup, if you install an upgrade disk, shortly into the boot, it pauses & you only have
5 SECONDS to at least punch in something..like the 'p' in puppy pfix=ram to stop the boot; otherwise pup continues on to upgrade. 
On one of my setups, from 2.13 (or 4..forget) to 2.15, I realized I did not know how to upgrade so that things remained as they were. Someone mentioned something about dependencies afterwards.
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Béèm
Joined: 21 Nov 2006
Posts: 11782
Location: Brussels IBM Thinkpad R40, 256MB, 20GB, WiFi ipw2100. Frugal Lin'N'Win
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| Posted: Sun 27 May 2007, 16:48 Post subject:
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BrianE,
Just a thought.
Persuing to fix an old release might not invoke the attention you expect.
Trying the latest one and maybe having the same issue will give you as much satisfaction as you expect and you might have more attention to the issue.
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BrianE
Joined: 26 May 2007
Posts: 9
Location: Canada
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| Posted: Mon 28 May 2007, 01:23 Post subject:
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Well I tried 2.16.1 and that didn't work either. (I did like how the desktop looked though.)
I noticed my MB manual's wording was a bit odd for the AC'97 audio, so just in case I disabled it in BIOS and after that ALSA set it up okay but anything that tried to play a sound crashed, so I changed it back.
I also methodically tried all sorts of different permutations of enabling and changing settings in alsamixer, but nothing helped. I had read somewhere to try enabling everything but the external amp but that didn't work either.
Question: Is the volume control slider supposed to "ding" like it does in Windows? I'm just looking for a quick way to test.
Okay, now what?
Thanks.... (sigh  )
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GuestToo
Puppy Master
Joined: 04 May 2005
Posts: 4078
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| Posted: Mon 28 May 2007, 04:00 Post subject:
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i don't think the volume slider dings
you could try the Ubuntu Comprehensive Sound Problem Guide: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=205449
for example, what sound devices does this list:
aplay -l
what are the results of typing:
scanpci
do you get any error message from this:
aplay /usr/share/audio/2barks.wav
does it do anything if you type:
rmmod snd_via82xx
modprobe snd_via82xx ac97_quirk=0
does trying ac97_quirk=1 (or 2, 3, 4) do anything?
etc etc etc
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Béèm
Joined: 21 Nov 2006
Posts: 11782
Location: Brussels IBM Thinkpad R40, 256MB, 20GB, WiFi ipw2100. Frugal Lin'N'Win
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| Posted: Mon 28 May 2007, 04:31 Post subject:
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I can't be of much help, just to say I have a Thinkpad R40 with AC'97 audio controller.
When I issue: I get | Code: | sh-3.00# lsmod | grep "snd"
snd_mixer_oss 17328 0
snd_intel8x0 32684 0
snd_ac97_codec 90448 1 snd_intel8x0
snd_ac97_bus 2128 1 snd_ac97_codec
snd_pcm 77592 2 snd_intel8x0,snd_ac97_codec
snd_timer 23540 1 snd_pcm
snd 51396 5 snd_mixer_oss,snd_intel8x0,snd_ac97_codec,snd_pcm,snd_timer
soundcore 9408 1 snd
snd_page_alloc 10008 2 snd_intel8x0,snd_pcm
sh-3.00# |
This might give you a clue to see if there is a module missing.
For the volume control.
On the PC are two buttons for sound louder and lower. Pushing the buttons gives a bip each time and this is OS independant.
As for the slider, nor in Windows nor in Puppy I have a sound when I activate it, but I am not sure about which slider you speak.
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GuestToo
Puppy Master
Joined: 04 May 2005
Posts: 4078
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| Posted: Mon 28 May 2007, 05:17 Post subject:
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most sound cards, whether intel or via or onboard or a soundblaster card uses the ac97 codec ... the ac97 codec is the digital to analog convertor
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jonyo
Joined: 28 Dec 2006
Posts: 2727
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| Posted: Mon 28 May 2007, 09:23 Post subject:
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Dunno why you mention "the ac97 codec is the digital to analog convertor"
here or what it means? 
| GuestToo wrote: | | most sound cards, whether intel or via or onboard or a soundblaster card uses the ac97 codec ... the ac97 codec is the digital to analog convertor |
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jonyo
Joined: 28 Dec 2006
Posts: 2727
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| Posted: Mon 28 May 2007, 10:48 Post subject:
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Much easier to sort things out runnin live cd save file, before doing an install.
| BrianE wrote: | | I also don't like to upgrade things if everything else works |
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Flash
Official Dog Handler
Joined: 04 May 2005
Posts: 9847
Location: Arizona USA
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| Posted: Mon 28 May 2007, 11:18 Post subject:
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| jonyo wrote: | ... in a live CD save file to HD setup, if you install an upgrade disk, shortly into the boot, it pauses & you only have
5 SECONDS to at least punch in something..like the 'p' in puppy pfix=ram to stop the boot; otherwise pup continues on to upgrade. ... |
jonyo, "ctrl-p" will pause the boot process indefinitely. You can take your time reading and typing, then resume booting with "enter" 
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