[SOLVED] struggling with alsa

[thane]

In TC 5.0, downloaded alsaconf.tcz. Tried "sudo alsaconf" from a terminal. Got the dreaded "No supported PnP or PCI card found" message. Tried the probe legacy option. Got the "No legacy drivers are available" message. speaker-test returned "cannot find card 0".

Based on some things I saw on the web, did an lspci command and found audio device is nVidia Corporation MCP61 High Definition Audio (rev a2), kernel module sna-hda-intel.

Updated /etc/modprobe.conf file (which was empty except for comments) with "options snd-hda-intel model=auto", added the file to filetool.lst, and rebooted. No effect.

Appreciate any advice, even if it makes me look dumb. Thanks.

Note: was using OSS under TC 4.x which worked, but thought I'd try alsa. Possibly I tried alsa under 4.x and had similar problems (can't remember). If/when OSS becomes available in TC 5.0 I'll try it as well.

[Juanito]

I discovered that just loading the alsa extension with tc-5.x on my machine is enough to have sound working (no need for alsaconf or alsasound start) - did you try that?

[thane]

OK, commented out my "fix" in /etc/modprobe.conf and re-booted. Tried speaker-test without running alsaconf or alsasound start, and it looks like it passes the speaker test (which it didn't after I ran alsaconf). Downloaded alsamixergui and fiddled with various volume controls, but sound is totally muted. Not sure of my sound source though (YouTube video played through Firefox + flash).

[Juanito]

It "looks" like it passes the speaker test, or it "sounds" like it passes the speaker test? 

You'd probably be better testing further with alsamixer (tab along and un-mute anything with an "m" showing) and a local *wav file.

[thane]

OK, it works. Did like you suggested with alsamixer, and also plugged headphones into the rear speaker jacks instead of the front ones (will have to investigate further why the front ones don't appear to work now, think I unmuted and raised volumes on everything).

Thanks for your help!

[Juanito]

Good 

I wouldn't recommend it due to the bloat factor, but in case you're interested, pulseaudio/pavucontrol make it a lot easier to switch between sound input/outputs - speakers to headphones to bluetooth headset and back again, especially with newer hardware.