No Sound on Gateway Laptop

Problems and successes with specific brands/models of computer audio hardware
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Turk Nailik
Posts: 10
Joined: Tue 04 Aug 2009, 01:39

No Sound on Gateway Laptop

#1 Post by Turk Nailik »

I used the Alsa Sound Wizard.

It found:
INTEL 18X0 8086:24C5 (REV3)
LEGACY PROBE: LEGACY ISA (NON-PNP) CHIPS
USB-AUDIO OVERRIDE: USB SOUND DEVICE
AOA OVERRIDE: APPLE ONBOARD AUDIO

I choose the Intel 80X0 and selected yes.

Configuring snd - intel 18X0
Please answer yes.....

I choose Yes

OK, sound driver is configured.

I choose Yes

The mixer is set up now for playing
Shall I play a sound sample now?

I choose Yes, a box appears, and it seems to be trying to play something. I have checked sGmixer to make sure everything is set correctly and I have checked the speaker icon on the bottom right corner of the screen. Everything seems OK.

I have re-booted and re-looked at everything, but I have not been able to get the sound to work.

Roy
Posts: 451
Joined: Wed 31 Dec 2008, 18:31

#2 Post by Roy »

Turk Nailik,

I am just another end-user, not a programmer, but have run into the same problem while trying to install Puppy (frugal) onto a friend's Gateway 7305GZ computer. I tried Puppy 4.12-Retro and a couple of other versions....

Puppy-4.1-k2.6.25.16-seamonkey is what we eventually used; sound worked out-of-the-box on that particular distribution. While I am sure that this does not solve the problem with the version you are using -- you failed to mention which one -- it is a work-around or a starting place for someone with more knowledge than I to start troubleshooting with.

(My friend's Alsa sound wizard shows the same hardware / options as those you have posted.)

The Alsamixer can be accessed via the desktop "console" icon. Left click on it, and type "alsamixer" (without the ""). Then hit Enter on your keyboard. Your keyboard's Tab will change the View from Playback to Capture and [All] successively. Right and left arrow keys will highlight different columns. "MM" at the bottom of a column indicates that function is muted. Press "m" (again, without the "") on your keyboard to unmute your highlighted selection.

Make sure that you go to Menu > Multimedia > sGmixer audio mixer and adjust sound levels there. The sound level in gxine (Puppy 4.1's desktop "play" icon) must also be adjusted for proper volume.


-Roy
Last edited by Roy on Wed 05 Aug 2009, 11:53, edited 1 time in total.

Turk Nailik
Posts: 10
Joined: Tue 04 Aug 2009, 01:39

No Sound on Gateway Laptop

#3 Post by Turk Nailik »

Roy, Thank you for the response.
I found the alsamixer and set everything to M (as opposed to MM) and sent the levels for 100.
I went back into gmixer am made sure everything is OK.
I also checked the volume in the bar on the bottom of the screen and in youtube.
Still no sound.....

Sorry about not mentioning the version of Puppy. From the Menu Help it says Puppy 4.2 released April 2009.

Turk Nailik
Posts: 10
Joined: Tue 04 Aug 2009, 01:39

No Sound on Gateway Laptop

#4 Post by Turk Nailik »

Oh yeah, some other things:
Seamonkey: 1.1.15
Bon Echo: 2.0.0.7

pup2learn222
Posts: 25
Joined: Wed 23 Aug 2006, 02:20

No Sound on Gateway Laptop

#5 Post by pup2learn222 »

The Alsamixer can be accessed via the desktop "console" icon.
Have you try the headphone jack, my acer has the icon & no sound unless I plug into head phone jack. If you do get sound it has something to do with alsa but I am not sure, I am a novice by all means to some of the folk here.But that may help others to help fix your problem & or get the next version with it patched,who knows....

I am curious maybe a alsa bug or missing drivers or maybe something with kernel, I will let you know when I get mine fixed.

Roy
Posts: 451
Joined: Wed 31 Dec 2008, 18:31

#6 Post by Roy »

You know, checking for sound out of your headphone jack would be a good idea -- might give a clue as to what we need to do next.

On my own Dell mini 9, for example, sound was reported to come from the headphone jack (by other forum users -- I have no earphones available) but nothing would come from the netbook's speakers. The fix was to edit /etc/modprobe.conf by adding a line at the very bottom of the text file:

Code: Select all

options snd-hda-intel index=0 model=dell
I've seen a lot of posts by Acer users who had to add the same line, except that they used "acer" in place of "dell". There is a post about this somewhere by Tempestuous about different sound cards and options in the Puppy Forum.

Turk Nailik, I wonder what would happen if you added this line to the bottom of your /etc/modprobe.conf file:

Code: Select all

options snd-hda-intel model=auto
Just reboot after you save the change and close the file. If your sound works following the reboot, let us know. If your sound does not come back, that line is easy enough to delete....

-Roy

Roy
Posts: 451
Joined: Wed 31 Dec 2008, 18:31

#7 Post by Roy »

Turk Nailik,

I had some time on my hands and decided to borrow my buddy's Gateway laptop for further investigation into your problem. Looking over the forums, it would seem that the bios manufacturer sometimes follows the "model=" many of us have been adding to our etc/modprobe.config files....

So I Googled my buddy's Gateway® 7305GZ Notebook, and found this: https://support.gateway.com/s/Mobile/Ga ... 4sp3.shtml
(To save extra browsing, it shows this particular laptops BIOS as: Phoenix BIOS)

I ran a Puppy 4.1.2 CD on my buddy's computer, added this to his etc/modprobe.config file:

Code: Select all

options snd-hda-intel model=phoenix
did the cntrl-alt-backspace out of X, restarted X by typing "xwin" (without the ""), reset levels in Multimedia>sGmixer and cli's alsamixer ...

...and had SOUND!

-Roy

P.S. - Notice that I did NOT run the Alsa Sound Wizard after saving the modified modprobe.config file.

Turk Nailik
Posts: 10
Joined: Tue 04 Aug 2009, 01:39

No Sound on Gateway Laptop

#8 Post by Turk Nailik »

Roy, I am a Novice, with all capital letters! I would do what you suggested, but how do I get to the etc/modprobe.config to add the line text you suggested?

Roy
Posts: 451
Joined: Wed 31 Dec 2008, 18:31

Sound issues

#9 Post by Roy »

Turk Nailik,

No worries -- so am I. In fact, everyone on this forum was a novice at some time....

On your desktop, left click on the House icon labeled as file.

A directory will pop up showing ~ in the upper left corner; this is your root directory.

Left click on the Arrow icon that points up.

You are now up one level in the directory tree; this directory is labeled as /

Left click on the file folder icon labeled etc.

The pop-up window now shows a larger directory labeled as /etc

Scroll down in this directory -- below the file folder icons. (Notice that things are listed in alphabetical order.) You will see an icon labeled as modprobe.conf

Right click on the modprobe.conf icon; two new pop-ups appear. Put your mouse pointer over File 'modprobe.conf' in the left pop-up window, and look for the Open As Text option in the right side window...

Put your mouse pointer on the Open As Text option and left click once; a text file, labeled as modprobe.conf-/etc opens up.

Scroll all the way to the very bottom of this file. This file works just like any other text file; put your text cursor (mine looks like a Capital I) at the end of the last line of text and hit Enter on your keyboard. You are now ready to type in some new text.

Type the following line:
options snd-hda-intel model=phoenix

Move your mouse cursor up to the the left hand corner of that file window and select file (left click). Notice the option Save shows in the drop down menu.

Put your cursor over the Save option and left click.

Congratulations! You have just edited your /etc/modprobe.conf file!

Close all of the pop-up windows by left clicking on the X in each window pane.

Now we need to restart some of your computer's processes. The easiest and surest way to do this is to simply reboot your computer, making sure to save what ever it wants to save.

---------------------

After your computer restarts, slect Menu > Multimedia > sGmixer. Write down what those levels are set at by default, then start changing the settings. You can play with these as freely as the volume knob of your radio -- you are not going to break anything! I have turned Vol, Pcm, Pcm2 and a few others up to maximum (100). As a bit of a novice myself, I have not investigated what each one controls, but PCM seems to be used by a lot of movie files.

Going back to your desktop, left click on the Television >_ icon labeled console. A pop-up window appears, showing # in the upper left corner. Your cursor is just to the right of # waiting for you to start typing.

Type the following:
alsamixer

Hit Enter on your keyboard. You will use your keyoard's Tab key and arrows to navigate this menu. Hit Tab a few times and see what it does. Hit your arrow keys a few times to see what they do -- but remember where things started from!

If you see MM at the bottom of a column, that function is Muted. Pushing m on your keyboard will un-mute that selected function, changing the MM to something that looks more like 00. I keep my Master and PCM pretty close to the maximum levels. When you are done with alsamixer, hit the Esc key on your computer's keyboard. This takes you back to the Command Line Interface (#). Type exit and hit your keyboard's Enter key.

There are two remaining places to control sound. One is located inside your video player (desktop icon labeled as Play) and the other is selected by right clicking on the speaker icon located in your desktop's bottom tray.

-Roy

Forum members: Please feel free to correct any mistakes or mistatements I might have made here; I would much rather be corrected than give faulty information.
Last edited by Roy on Wed 09 Sep 2009, 04:25, edited 2 times in total.

Turk Nailik
Posts: 10
Joined: Tue 04 Aug 2009, 01:39

#10 Post by Turk Nailik »

Roy, I tried the earphone - no sound. I also tried your directions (they were very clear!) but to no avail. Line 167 is what I added. I have also tried (just to try something):
167 options snd-hda-intel model=phoenix
167 options snd-hda-intel index=0 model=phoenix
167 options snd-hda-intel model=gateway
167 options snd-hda-intel index=0 model=gateway
167 options snd-hda-intel model=auto
167 options snd-hda-intel index=0 model=auto

Here are the last few lines of modprobe.conf:

157 install slamr modprobe --ignore-install ungrab-winmodem ; modprobe --ignore-install slamr
158 alias char-major-243 slusb
159
160 # --- BEGIN: Generated by ALSACONF, do not edit. ---
161 # --- ALSACONF version 1.0.16 ---
162 alias sound-slot-0 snd-intel8x0
163 # --- END: Generated by ALSACONF, do not edit. ---
164
165 alias snd-card-0 snd-intel8x0m
166 alias sound-slot-0 snd-intel8x0m
167 options snd-hda-intel index=0 model=phoenix

Roy
Posts: 451
Joined: Wed 31 Dec 2008, 18:31

#11 Post by Roy »

Turk Nailik,

I am 99% convinced that we are on the right track for your machine, but keep in mind that I am not a pro at this either....

Let's take this one step at a time:

First, go back to your /etc/modprobe.conf file and open it as a text file.

Go down to the bottom, and tell me if this is still there

Code: Select all

167 options snd-hda-intel index=0 model=phoenix
If it is still there, close the file and report back to me.

If it is NOT there, type

Code: Select all

options snd-hda-intel model=phoenix
on line 167 and -- making sure that you save the file -- report back to me.

Do not do anything else until we are ready for the next step.

CAUTION: Running the Alsa sound wizard after adding a line will delete the added line from the file. Do NOT use the Alsa sound wizard after saving your modified /etc/modprobe.conf file!

-Roy

Turk Nailik
Posts: 10
Joined: Tue 04 Aug 2009, 01:39

No Sound on Gateway Laptop

#12 Post by Turk Nailik »

Roy, You asked:

"First, go back to your /etc/modprobe.conf file and open it as a text file.
Go down to the bottom, and tell me if this is still there
Code:
167 options snd-hda-intel index=0 model=phoenix
If it is still there, close the file and report back to me."

It is still there.

Roy
Posts: 451
Joined: Wed 31 Dec 2008, 18:31

#13 Post by Roy »

Turk Nailik,

Okay, that is what we intended to happen. We are going to be testing for sound at each step of the way as we troubleshoot, so here is what I want you to do next:

Right click on your Trash icon, and look at the pop-up window. Do you see 'Empty the Trash'? Move your mouse pointer up to that and left click on it. A new Confirm Delete pop-up window appears in the middle of your screen with the option to Delete or Cancel. Left click on Delete. If sound is working, we will hear a dog's bark. Did you hear any sound?

I want you to do one more thing for me, Turk Nailik. In the lower right corner of your screen, there is a 'Blinky' that shows up when you are connected to the internet. I want you to send me a picture of that Blinky so that I can better understand which version of Puppy 4.2 you are using.

You can do this by going to the lower left corner Menu > Graphic > mtPaint-snapshot screen capture. After you select mtPaint-snapshot screen capture, just hit enter. A new mtPaint photo then fills your screen; Save this picture file by using the upper left corner File > Save As...

Please give that file a name you can remember and attach that .png file to your next forum post. It may help me to help you.

In the meantime, I am going to attach something to this post for you to look at -- but must use the forum's edit function to do it later from a different computer.

Don't give up, Turk Nailik. We will get sound on your machine!

-Roy

EDIT: Your sGmixer and Alsamixer setting should look something like those shown in the attachment. (This screenshot does not show the blinky because there is no internet connection configured on the machine.)

I also need to know how you have Puppy Linux installed.
- Frugal (boot from CD with save file on hard drive)?
- USB (boot from USB with a save file on the USB)?
- Full (boots from hard drive and stores all data within the system)?

Turk Nailik
Posts: 10
Joined: Tue 04 Aug 2009, 01:39

No Sound on Gateway Laptop

#14 Post by Turk Nailik »

Right now I am booting from a CD, when I get more adventurous I will try the full load!

The trash did not bark.

I attached the screen shot, but I am not sure what a Blinky is. I am attached (wireless) through the internet.

Turk Nailik
Posts: 10
Joined: Tue 04 Aug 2009, 01:39

No Sound on Gateway Laptop

#15 Post by Turk Nailik »

Roy,
I was looking at your screen shot of sgmixer and mine (attached) and yours has a speaker line, while mine does not. Also, your sgmixer is labeled "Conexant id 30" while mine is called "Analog Devices AD 1981B"

Do I need a newer (maybe older) copy of sgmixer?

Just an idea.....

Roy
Posts: 451
Joined: Wed 31 Dec 2008, 18:31

#16 Post by Roy »

Turk Nailik,

There are a couple of different versions of Puppy 4.20 with the most visual difference being the "blinky" icon -- yours looks like a small television screen located in the lower right bar of your screen. I believe that tells me that you are using the "official" 4.20 release. I was using a derivative that has a few differences in it, but that's nothing we need to worry about yet. I also tried the official 4.20 on my buddy's machine and -- sound worked out of the box (until I ran the Alsa Sound Wizard, anyway).

The Alsa Sound Wizard changes your /etc/modprobe.conf file and I believe that is what caused our sound to "break" on these two Gateway machines. Of course, we still have to prove that to ourselves!

Before we do anything drastic, though, I want you to do a few more things for me. Boot from your LIVE CD, but as soon as you see the boot screen with this

Code: Select all

Puppy will boot automatically in 8 seconds...
boot:
I want you to type

Code: Select all

puppy pfix=ram
and hit your keyboard's Enter key.

This causes Puppy to ignore your hard drive save file and acts like a fresh installation. After you see the desktop and calendar appear, I want you to reset (maximize) the sound levels -- using only sGmixer from the Menu and Alsamixer from the Console. Please, DO NOT RUN ALSA SOUND WIZARD this time.

Empty the trash, try you tube, play a CD -- test your out-of-the-box sound. Open the desktop Play icon and maximize sound there, too. Do you have sound?

If the answer is yes, I want you to copy the /etc/modprobe.conf file to a USB stick or another place on your computer's hard drive -- in sda2, perhaps? Shutdown Puppy 4.2 in the normal way but -- when it asks

Code: Select all

<SAVE TO FILE>  <SAVE TO CD> <DO NOT SAVE>
select <DO NOT SAVE>

If you do not have sound... well, either way, post back to me.

In my earlier days, I would simply start fresh from this point -- but I see you have Bon Echo added and we will try to keep those things when we fix this....

-Roy

Turk Nailik
Posts: 10
Joined: Tue 04 Aug 2009, 01:39

No Sound on Gateway Laptop

#17 Post by Turk Nailik »

Roy.
I did the things you asked, but no sound. I have re-booted using Windows and the sound works fine, but back on puppy no sound.

Also, don't be concerned about Bon Echo, I can always re-load it and anything else I have loaded.

User avatar
Patriot
Posts: 733
Joined: Thu 15 Jan 2009, 19:04

Re: No Sound on Gateway Laptop

#18 Post by Patriot »

Hmmm .....
Turk Nailik wrote:..... From the Menu Help it says Puppy 4.2 released April 2009.
I believe the time is right to ask you to try upgrading alsa drivers. Go here and give it ride ...

No, I'm just another muggle who have absolutely no idea how the " Peskipiksi Pesternomi " spell should work ...

Rgds

Roy
Posts: 451
Joined: Wed 31 Dec 2008, 18:31

#19 Post by Roy »

Patriot, I am inclined to agree. Upgrading Alsa via your .pet might be the best solution. BTW, your .pet was another successful solution to the sound issues I have experienced with my Dell Mini-9, eliminating the need to add anything to Boxpup 413's /etc/modprobe.conf.

I have been experimenting with the 4.20-variations of Puppy on my buddy's Gateway 7305 laptop and have found sound to work out-of-the box; even bringing up the ALSA WIZARD screen breaks the sound output, requiring the deletion of that frugal pup_save file or the possible replacement of the corrupted /etc/modprobe.conf file.

Turk Nailik, what is the model number of your particular laptop? I am not sure why sound would work on my end, but not on yours... but then, Gateway is sorta' famous for outsourcing and building with whatever parts were available at the time of order. Sounds like I am rambling, here. Sorry, but I am running out of ideas.

If my buddy's Gateway and yours do have the same hardware, the best advice I can come up with to date is:

Turk Nailik wrote:
I used the Alsa Sound Wizard.
Don't do that.

-Roy

Turk Nailik
Posts: 10
Joined: Tue 04 Aug 2009, 01:39

No Sound on Gateway Laptop

#20 Post by Turk Nailik »

Gateway MX3560
http://support.gateway.com/s/Mobile/Gat ... 85nv.shtml

I tried to download the .pet files by clicking of Patriot's files. They seemed to download, but during the install the computer froze. I waited about 5 to 10 minutes then hard booted. I then tried the settings on sgmixer and alsamixer - and alas no sound...

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