topic title: ALSA doesn't work
Posts: 8
paraquat
Joined: 13 Sep 2011
#1
Hello all.

By way of introduction, I was a happy Ubuntu user until the systemd coup, and now I'm looking elsewhere. I've used antiX in years past and liked it, and since it's remained systemd-free, that's a big attraction. So I'm back.

Version 15V is great, except I have no sound on my desktop machine. On my laptop, antiX is also installed, and ALSA works great. It's only the desktop machine that has a problem.

On this same desktop machine, I have a multi-boot setup, and one of the installed distros is Slackware, which also uses ALSA, and it just worked without any fiddling on my part. So I know my hardware is compatible with ALSA.

OK, before asking this question I read everything online I could find about ALSA. Here is what I've done so far...

Ran alsamixer. The default card - HDA Intel HDMI - gives dismal-looking results. Here is a screenshot:


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OK, I hit F6 and changed cards. Things look much better with the HDA Intel PCH device. Screenshot:


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url was:"http://outsideinn.tw/blogs/linux/alsamixer1.jpg"
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But still no sound.

I have a USB plug-in headphone that I seldom use, but I gave that a try. It was plug-and-play detected. Screenshot:


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url was:"http://outsideinn.tw/blogs/linux/alsamixer2.jpg"
linktext was:"http://outsideinn.tw/blogs/linux/alsamixer2.jpg"
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Still no sound. Well, I did notice that if I turn on the microphone, I can hear my own voice (through the headphones) when I speak. But playing music or video with any of my apps only produces silence.

I'm aware that the logged-in user must be a member of the"audio" group. I checked that, and yes, I am a member. Finally, out of frustration, I even changed /dev/snd so that it had the most permissive permissions possible:

chmod -R 777 /dev/snd

Maybe that wasn't wise, but it made no difference. Anyway, after a reboot, /dev/snd reverts to its original permission level.

I've looked into my Slackware installation to see if I could glean some knowledge from that, since it works so well. But I haven't figured out the solution yet.

All suggestions are welcome. Thanks to everyone in advance.

cheers,
P.
Posts: 2,238
dolphin_oracle
Joined: 16 Dec 2007
#2
i suspect that all of your audio output is being directed to the HDMI and that you are using regular speakers. In the Control Control center there is a"Select Sound Card" utility shown on the Hardware tab. Select the sound card you wish to use, which I assume is the HDA Intel PCH device.
Posts: 8
paraquat
Joined: 13 Sep 2011

02 Sep 2015, 15:16 #3

dolphin_oracle wrote:i suspect that all of your audio output is being directed to the HDMI and that you are using regular speakers. In the Control Control center there is a"Select Sound Card" utility shown on the Hardware tab. Select the sound card you wish to use, which I assume is the HDA Intel PCH device.
Wow, it worked. A simple solution staring me in the face. Only an idiot couldn't see it.

Guilty as charged.

I am forever in your debt!

cheers,
P.