No sound from VT8233/A/8235/8237, Advice?

[binarydemon]

Hi,

Running TinyCore 9 x86.  alsa.tcz, alsa-config.tcz, alsa-modules-4.14.10-tinycore.tcz, alsa-plugins.tcz, alsaequal.tcz, and alsamixergui.tcz installed - but it simply doesnt detect the soundcard.

lspci-
00:11.5 Multimedia audio controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8233/A/8235/8237 AC97 Audio Controller (rev 60)

aplay -l
\aplay: device_list:272: no soundcards found....

The service alsasound doesnt start automatically, I'm guessing because it didnt find any soundcards.

Googling makes it seem like I need to do install the module snd-via82xx,  I tried modprobe snd-via82xx but it didnt work.

I tried blacklisting snd-hda-intel but nothing changed, I suspect that advice is more for systems with multiple sound cards.

I tried OSS but that was the same result, nothing detected.

Advice?

[coreplayer2]

Welcome binarydemon

First read the instructions in the alsa.tcz info file

[binarydemon]

On a hunch, I tried some older versions of TC and the alsa snd-via82xx detection works fine up to Tinycore 7.2.  So I'm guessing it's either a bug or it was obsoleted from newer kernels. It's a shame regressing Tinycore isn't as simple as upgrading it, but this is an acceptable workaround for me.

[curaga]

ALSA drivers do regress from time to time. Downgrading TC should be the exact same procedure as upgrading though: replace kernel and initrd, upgrade extensions, update deps.

edit: I think it's possible to run the older kernel with 9.x too, so you'd have access to newer apps. Download the modules with 7.x (tce-load -w original-modules-KERNEL) or via a browser, remaster the /lib/modules/4... directory into the 9.x initrd.

[binarydemon]

Thanks for the advice, I’ll do some testing. With some luck maybe TC 9.x will work with the 7.2 Alsa tcz’s.

[Lewis]

I almost gave up on Tinycore because I had the same problem. The very same problem on audio so I went to USB audio and fixed the problem.

[Rich]

Hi binarydemon
I just upgrade a machine to TC9 and struggled with Alsa myself. Unlike TC4, there is no  alsaconf  command to configure your
hardware. After some searching on the forum I found the following command:

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alsactl initAfter that I had sound.

[binarydemon]

Thanks Rich, that might prove useful.

[Lewis]

Thanks Rich. I tried the alsactl init and it fixed the problem. Now I can use zmixer I compiled under Debian and retrovol for the tray. With USB I could only use alsamixer.

[Rich]

Hi Lewis
Glad to hear it worked for you too. If anyone else has trouble setting up ALSA, these are the steps that worked for me:

 1. Install alsa-config.tcz
 2. Install alsa.tcz
 3. Install alsamixergui.tcz (optional)
 4. Set the volume control on the front of the speaker about 1/3 of the way up
 5. Run:

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alsactl init    This produced a slight thump as the card was found and initialized. That command
    also unmuted the speakers and set the mixer volumes at sane levels.
 6. Run:

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speaker-test [-Ddefault:1] -c2 -t wav -l1    If all went well, you should hear the phrases  "Front Left"  and  "Front Right"  from
    your left and right speakers respectively.
 7. Run:

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sudo alsactl store 8. Run:

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echo alsactl restore >> /opt/bootlocal.sh 9. Run:

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echo usr/local/etc/alsa/asound.state >> /opt/.filetool.lst10. Run a backup to save your setup.

[Lewis]

Thanks again. I set up my system with JWM to mimick Puppy Linux. JWM has an execute on init within the .jwmrc file is where I put the alsctl command. I also added xload to  JWM. 

I have the original book on Damn Small Linux and had been a fan for years even when the project died. So I also ported over ideas from DSL. I run with JWM, Openbox, or Fluxbox with either the ROX desktop or idesk.

I need a better understanding of the boot sequence. I know about bootlocal, I used to use  .xnitrc  with Debian, so what is the relationship between bootlocal and .profile?

[polikuo]

what is the relationship between bootlocal and .profile?

/opt/bootlocal.sh is executed as root for system management. (before user log-in)
~/.profile is executed as user (tc) when logging in.
~/.X.d/any_scripts are executed as user (tc) when the X server starts.

[Lewis]

OK. Thank you.