LOW sound SOLVED

jdmeaux1952 · posted: 2014-05-06 23:13

A couple of weeks ago I started noticing that my sound from youTube videos and Clemintine were getting lower and lower. Although I do have the sound settings set to MAX, most of the time the sounds are almost at a whisper. I thought at first I was my hearing going, but windowze 7 blasts me, so it's not my hearing. And this is doing the same in MX-14. (I thought my MX-14-amd64 project was causing the problems, but how can they cross over different partitions?)

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root@MSI:/home/joseph# inxi -F
System: Host: MSI Kernel: 3.7.10-antix.5-486-smp i686 (32 bit) 
Desktop: IceWM 1.3.7 Distro: antiX-13.2_386-full Luddite 4 November 2013
Machine: Mobo: MICRO-STAR model: MS-16D3 version: REV:1.0 serial: BSS-0123456789
Bios: American Megatrends version: E16D3IMR.10B date: 06/01/2010
CPU: Dual core Intel Core i5 CPU M 450 (-HT-MCP-) cache: 3072 KB flags: (lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx) 
Clock Speeds: 1: 1199.00 MHz 2: 1199.00 MHz 3: 1199.00 MHz 4: 1199.00 MHz
Graphics: Card: Intel Core Processor Integrated Graphics Controller 
X.org: 1.15.0 drivers: intel (unloaded: fbdev,vesa) tty size: 134x29 Advanced Data: N/A for root 
Audio: Card: Intel 5 Series/3400 Series High Definition Audio driver: snd_hda_intel 
Sound: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture ver: k3.7.10-antix.5-486-smp
Network: Card-1: Qualcomm Atheros AR9285 Wireless Network Adapter (PCI-Express) driver: ath9k 
IF: wlan0 state: up mac: 74:f0:6d:32:de:66
Card-2: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller driver: r8169 
IF: eth0 state: down mac: 40:61:86:af:d7:2a
Drives: HDD Total Size: 506.1GB (0.9% used) 1: id: /dev/sda model: Hitachi_HTS54505 size: 500.1GB 
2: id: /dev/sdb model: DK23AA size: 6.0GB 
Partition: ID: / size: 12G used: 4.3G (41%) fs: ext4 ID: swap-1 size: 1.16GB used: 0.00GB (0%) fs: swap 
Sensors: System Temperatures: cpu: 40.0C mobo: N/A 
Fan Speeds (in rpm): cpu: N/A 
Info: Processes: 123 Uptime: 56 min Memory: 333.9/3467.0MB Client: Shell (bash) inxi: 1.9.18

As you can see above, I am using alsa. Is there a possibility that this may be the problem in both distros? If so, what other sound programs can I use?

rokytnji · posted: 2014-05-07 00:56

Perhaps your hotkeys for sound were walked upon by the house cat?

I'd check those 1st. I ran into that on my iBM laptops more than once.

BitJam · posted: 2014-05-07 01:04

This is a puzzle. I don't know how or why such a problem would exist on multiple distros yet not on Windows (I'm assuming it is the same machine). For lack of anything better, I suggest you open up alsamixer from the command line and explore all the controls to make sure none of the output controls are set to a low volume. A bunch of arrows on the right side of the screen indicate there are more controls. Use the arrow keys to move over and get to them.

jdmeaux1952 · posted: 2014-05-07 02:36

I already had checked the hotkeys as a problem. My"cat" - all 25 lbs of him - would have broken the laptop stand. And yes, windoze, antiX (32- and 64-bit), MX-14 32-bit, my MX-14 w/64-bit kernel, and a couple of others are ALL on the same computer. On different partitions of course.

I did open alsamixer in a terminal to recheck everything there. Like I said, I have everything MAXED OUT. But it appears it is the antiX based distros that I am having the problem with. NONE OF THE OTHERS. Yes, there are some YT videos where the volume is lower, but not to a whisper like I am having now.

If it was with every OS on my machine, I would suspect a hardware problem, but it is not every OS. It is strictly with the 4 partitions that have an antiX based OS (antiX and MX-14). I can play the same YT video on another machine, and it is LOUD. I tried my LiveCD of antiX 13.2 and LiveCD of MX-14, and have no problem with the sound. (I made sure to try the 2 LiveCDs on my laptop AND on my AMD FX machine see make a comparison.) So it has to be in one of the last updates of a program within the past three weeks.

Maybe it is a mistake to do the apt-get update && apt-get dist-upgrade regularly. The MX Apt Notifier tells me in MX and then when I reboot into antiX, I repeat. I was thinking about re-installing both OS to see if that was it. I think I'll just try antiX 13.2 first and then check them out. If there is no problem with that, but MX-14 is low, then I may have found a bug.

Where can I find on my OS what programs and versions are installed? That will give me a list of what to look at.

BitJam · posted: 2014-05-07 05:52

The following command should give you a list of installed package:

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dpkg --get-selections

Someone else reported a similar problem here:
========= SCRAPER REMOVED AN EMBEDDED LINK HERE ===========
url was:"http://www.linux-archive.org/debian-user/707285-sound-very-very-quiet-debian.html"
linktext was:"Sound very *very* quiet on Debian"
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. A work-around is linked to. Someone suggested that Windows was lowering the volume on the card with a control that alsa does not have access to. This would explain why you have the problem but most people do not.

So you *might* be able to fix it by booting into Windows again and increasing the volume of some control. You might want to write down which controls are available in alsamixer and see if there are any new ones in Windows. If the problem happened before you booted into Windows then this is probably not the solution.

Another approach would be to add options to the snd_hda_intel module:

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url was:"http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1043568"
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You should also make sure that no oss module have been loaded. Do:

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lsmod | grep oss

If any oss modules are loaded, see if you can unload them.

jdmeaux1952 · posted: 2014-05-07 14:55

Thanks, Bitjam. I shall see and try to figure it out. I'll report back later.

jdmeaux1952 · posted: 2014-05-09 15:36

I have already posted this at MEPIS Community. I first tried the LiveCD to see if the videos were indeed a problem. I made a note of which videos I watched to I could duplicate them after a re-install. Most videos were playing at the"normal" volumes. We all know that there are some videos that the sound is very low. I made sure that every sound control I could find on the DE and Terminal was turned up to MAX.

I re-installed antiX 13.2 - amd64 on the same partition as before. I did not update anything after the install so give me a starting point. I used Iceweasel to view the same videos on YT. Sound is at"normal" levels. The videos that had good sound sounded okay. Those with low volume sounded low. Again, all controls for sound were at MAX. It appears the stock install was okay.

I rebooted and went to MX-14. This was already installed, and were I was having a problem before. In Qupzilla I viewed the same videos as previously. Again as before, the sound levels were low, exactly as when I first reported the problem. So my assumption here is that at some point a program installed during an update effected the sound levels.

I have used my laptop hotkeys to make sure the volume was at MAX. I checked aslamixer to be sure that the MAIN, HEADPHONES, and SPEAKER levels were at MAX (both from the gui desktop and terminal). NOW I have antiX playing good sound, and MX playing low sound levels. I have used the laptop speakers, and my stereo amplifier and speakers. (With 500 watts, the external speakers will boost up the sound to distortion levels easily.) The external speakers will bring the sound volume to a good level, but the laptop speakers will not.

My next step is to compare the list of installed programs between both distros Once I have identified the common files, I will update antiX and see what happens. I'll report back later.

rokytnji · posted: 2014-05-09 16:51

So my assumption here is that at some point a program installed during an update effected the sound levels.

There is a log in /var for dist-upgrades. I have used it before to go over anything I might have missed.

Poke around in /var (I am not on my AntiX netbook right now to show where) and see if you can find it.

fatmac · posted: 2014-05-09 17:12

Check PCM & Front in alsamixer as well as Master, Headphone, & Speaker.
(Just to be sure.)

Eino · posted: 2014-05-09 20:34

Usually the issue is caused by the sound cards preamp being too low.
and the mixer dose not have a preamp control.
My notes on the subject are too old to really help, for adding the preamp control.

Eino · posted: 2014-05-10 01:14

Here is a solved link in archlinux. with the same Issue.

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jdmeaux1952 · posted: 2014-05-10 13:31

Thanks Eino. At this point I have been trying to figure if it is a software problem. I have traced it down to possibly one of these software updates;

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gstreamer0.10-alsa:i386              0.10.36-1.1                        i386         GStreamer plugin for ALSA
gstreamer0.10-ffmpeg:i386            0.10.13-5                          i386         FFmpeg plugin for GStreamer
gstreamer0.10-gconf:i386             0.10.31-3+nmu1                     i386         GStreamer plugin for getting the sink/source information from GConf

gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad:i386       0.10.23-7.1                        i386         GStreamer plugins from the"bad" set
gstreamer0.10-plugins-base:i386      0.10.36-1.1                        i386         GStreamer plugins from the"base" set
gstreamer0.10-plugins-good:i386      0.10.31-3+nmu1                     i386         GStreamer plugins from the"good" set
gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly:i386      0.10.19-2+b2                       i386         GStreamer plugins from the"ugly" set

libgstreamer-plugins-bad0.10-0:i386  0.10.23-7.1                        i386         GStreamer development files for libraries from the"bad" set
libgstreamer-plugins-base0.10-0:i386 0.10.36-1.1                        i386         GStreamer libraries from the"base" set
libgstreamer0.10-0:i386              0.10.36-1.2                        i386         Core GStreamer libraries and elements

libmms0:i386                         0.6.2-3                            i386         MMS stream protocol library - shared library

These strictly deal with the sound.

Another user was having similar problems, and has learned it was Chrome that was interfering. Once Chrome was deleted and Chromium was installed, the problem disappeared. I am referencing to these posts at Mepis:

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url was:"http://www.forum.mepiscommunity.org/viewtopic.php?f=94&t=36177"
linktext was:"http://www.forum.mepiscommunity.org/vie ... 94&t=36177"
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Right now I have re-installed antiX 13.2 with the"stock" kernel for 64 bit. Next will be to apt-get dist-upgrade and see what happens with the sound.

anticapitalista · posted: 2014-05-10 14:42

You might get better results with pulseaudio.

Eino · posted: 2014-05-10 17:24

OK I see now, Sometimes when you have Windoze, installed along side of a Linux distribution.
Windows will control the preamp turning it low during shutdown. Hence the hardware control is low during the Linux bootup. It dose not happen often enough for justifying adding a preamp control in ALSA.
But I wish they would.

jdmeaux1952 · posted: 2014-05-11 11:00

Anti suggested pulseaudio instead of alsa. I tried that in MX-14, and that solved the problem. Sound levels back to :normal". I then did the same with antiX 13.2 64 bit and that also worked. Problem solced. Don't understand why, but I got"normal" sound levels.