Beats Audio Laptop question

I was using Ubuntu 12.04. I've been going off and on with Linux for about 5 or 6 years now. I've even gotten over the fact that one can't really get totally away from Windows if you're a gamer, or in my case, a web designer with the need to use certain windows programs. (Though most of them I can run virtually through Linux, so mostly just gaming and Netflix type stuff).

So, for the first time since I started using Linux, I had intended to stay with it solely, only using Windows "as needed". I'm one of those weird people that think Compiz is just useless fluff, and that Unity gives me a nice, clean interface that I actually enjoy using.

But, then I started playing music. See, I have this kickass laptop (as kickass as one can be without being a Mac, I guess). HP dv7-7020us. It's one of those that has Beats Audio on it, with front speakers, rear speakers and a subwoofer. In Windows, this thing sounds very good for a laptop. In Linux...yeah, not so much. Apparently it's only using some of the speakers. This got me on a tizzy. Instead of just saying "ok, here we go...back to Windows again", I went from Ubuntu to Fedora, to Linux Mint, to something else I can't remember, and now to Zorin OS Core 6, which I actually seem to really enjoy....but ALL of them have the speaker problem. I've tried the Ubuntu forums, but couldn't even get anyone to answer me there, which is unusual because over the years, they've all been pretty helpful.

Is this just a problem that I can't fix? Is there a distro that will work for me? I'm ready to become a full convert, but this particular issue is pretty unacceptable. I spent a mint on this computer for the sound and gaming ability it has...I can't justify less than half the speakers working on it.

Help? Please?

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Help? Please?

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This is going to be a toughy because that Laptop was just released this year and no hackers in kernel.org has probably got ahold of one. It probably uses DRM locked down hardware that the software and vendor only supplies to Windows and the code is locked down like a chastitiy belt.

But. Just to see what is going on.

Go to this site.

Debian HCL; Debian GNU/Linux device driver check & report

Follow the instructions and post here the readout for the soundchip used on that laptop.

Edit: just in case, since you run Ubuntu. I don't know if you know of

http://www.googlubuntu.com/

Me. I use inxi to get info on my gear, (by the way, I am a cheap biker who will not buy new computers. MY money goes towards my motorcycles. Priorities, ya know). :)

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For most others, use(except in Arch or Pardus):

as root: cd /usr/local/bin && wget -Nc smxi.org/inxi && chmod +x inxi

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Installation - inxi - How to install inxi using a variety of methods. - A newer, better system information script for irc, administration, and system troubleshooters. - Google Project Hosting

Just a example from my box that I am posting from on what inxi spits out.

Code:

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$ inxi -h
inxi supports the following options. You can combine them, or list them
one by one: Examples: inxi -v4 -c6 OR inxi -bDc 6
 
If you start inxi with no arguments, it will show the short form.
The following options if used without -F, -b, or -v will show just the complete line(s):
A,C,D,G,I,M,N,P,S,f,i,n,o,p,l,u,r,s,t - you can use these alone or together to show
just the line(s) you want to see.
If you use them with -v [level], -b or -F, it will show the full output for that line
along with the output for the chosen verbosity level.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Output Control Options:
-A  Show Audio/sound card information.
-b  Shows basic output, short form. Like inxi -v 2, only minus hard disk names.
-c  Available color schemes. Scheme number is required. Color selectors run a color selector option
    prior to inxi starting which lets you set the config file value for the selection.
    Supported color schemes: 0-32 Example: inxi -c 11
    Color selectors for each type display (NOTE: irc and global only show safe color set):
    94 - Console, out of X
    95 - Terminal, running in X - like xTerm
    96 - Gui IRC, running in X - like Xchat, Quassel, Konversation etc.
    97 - Console IRC running in X - like irssi in xTerm
    98 - Console IRC not in  X
    99 - Global - Overrides/removes all settings. Setting specific removes global.
-C  Show full CPU output, including per CPU clockspeed.
-d  Shows optical drive data. Same as -Dd. With -x, adds features line to output. -xx adds a few more features.
-D  Show full hard Disk info, not only model, ie: /dev/sda ST380817AS 80.0GB. See also -x and -xx.
-f  Show all cpu flags used, not just the short list. Not shown with -F to avoid spamming.
-F  Show Full output for inxi. Includes all Upper Case line letters, plus -s and -n.
    Does not show extra verbose options like -x -d -f -u -l -o -p -t -r unless you use that argument.
-G  Show Graphic card information (card, x type, resolution, glx renderer, version).
-i  Show Wan IP address, and shows local interfaces (requires ifconfig network tool). Same as -Nni
    Not shown with -F for user security reasons, you shouldn't paste your local/wan IP.
-I  Show Information: processes, uptime, memory, irc client, inxi version.
-l  Show partition labels. Default: short partition -P. For full -p output, use: -pl (or -plu).
-M  Show machine data. Motherboard, Bios, and if present, System Builder (Like Lenovo).
    Older systems/kernels without the required /sys data can use dmidecode instead, run as root.
-n  Show Advanced Network card information. Same as -Nn. Shows interface, speed, mac id, state, etc.
-N  Show Network card information. With -x, shows PCI BusID, Port number.
-o  Show unmounted partition information (includes UUID and LABEL if available).
    Shows file system type if you have file installed, if you are root OR if you have
    added to /etc/sudoers (sudo v. 1.7 or newer): <username> ALL = NOPASSWD: /usr/bin/file (sample)
-p  Show full partition information (-P plus all other detected partitions).
-P  Show Partition information (shows what -v 4 would show, but without extra data).
    Shows, if detected: / /boot /home /tmp /usr /var. Use -p to see all mounted partitions.
-r  Show distro repository data. Currently supported repo types: APT; PACMAN; PISI; YUM.
-R  Show RAID data. Shows RAID devices, states, levels, and components, and extra data with -x/-xx
    If device is resyncing, shows resync progress line as well.
-s  Show sensors output (if sensors installed/configured): mobo/cpu/gpu temp; detected fan speeds.
    Gpu temp only for Fglrx/Nvidia drivers. Nvidia shows screen number for > 1 screens.
-S  Show System information: host name, kernel, desktop environment (if in X), distro
-t  Show processes. Requires extra options: c (cpu) m (memory) cm (cpu+memory). If followed by numbers 1-20,
    shows that number of processes for each type (default: 5; if in irc, max: 5): -t cm10
    Make sure to have no space between letters and numbers (-t cm10 - right, -t cm 10 - wrong).
-u  Show partition UUIDs. Default: short partition -P. For full -p output, use: -pu (or -plu).
-v  Script verbosity levels. Verbosity level number is required. Should not be used with -b or -F
    Supported levels: 0-7 Example: inxi -v 4
    0 - Short output, same as: inxi
    1 - Basic verbose, -S + basic CPU + -G + basic Disk + -I.
    2 - Adds networking card (-N), Machine (-M) data, shows basic hard disk data (names only),
        and, if present, basic raid (devices only, and if inactive, notes that). similar to: inxi -b
    3 - Adds advanced CPU (-C), network (-n) data, and switches on -x advanced data option.
    4 - Adds partition size/filled data (-P) for (if present):/, /home, /var/, /boot
        Shows full disk data (-D).
    5 - Adds audio card (-A); sensors (-s), partition label (-l) and UUID (-u), short form of optical drives,
        standard raid data (-R).
    6 - Adds data types: full partition (-p), unmounted partition (-o), optical drive (-d), full raid; triggers -xx.
    7 - Adds network IP data (-i); triggers -xxx.
-x  Show extra data (only works with verbose or line output, not short form):
    -C - bogomips on Cpu;
    -d - Adds items to features line of optical drive; adds rev version to optical drive.
    -D - Hdd temp with disk data if you have hddtemp installed, if you are root OR if you have added to
        /etc/sudoers (sudo v. 1.7 or newer): <username> ALL = NOPASSWD: /usr/sbin/hddtemp (sample)
    -G - Direct rendering status for Graphics (in X).
    -G - (for single gpu, nvidia driver) screen number gpu is running on.
    -i - Show IPv6 as well for LAN interface (IF) devices.
    -I - Show system GCC, default. With -xx, also show other installed GCC versions.
    -N -A - Adds version/port(s)/driver version (if available) for Network/Audio;
    -N -A -G - Network, audio, graphics, shows PCI Bus ID/Usb ID number of card;
    -R - Shows component raid id. Adds second RAID Info line: raid level; report on drives (like 5/5);
        blocks; chunk size; bitmap (if present). Resync line, shows blocks synced/total blocks.
    -S - Desktop toolkit if avaliable (GNOME/XFCE/KDE only); Kernel gcc version
    -t - Adds memory use output to cpu (-xt c), and cpu use to memory (-xt m).
-xx Show extra, extra data (only works with verbose or line output, not short form):
    -D - Adds disk serial number.
    -I - Adds other detected installed gcc versions to primary gcc output (if present).
    -M - Adds chassis information, if any data for that is available.
    -R - Adds superblock (if present); algorythm, U data. Adds system info line (kernel support,
        read ahead, raid events). Adds if present, unused device line. Resync line, shows progress bar.
    -S - Adds display manager (dm) to desktop output, if in X (like kdm, gdm3, lightdm).
    -xx -@ <11-14> - Automatically uploads debugger data tar.gz file to ftp.techpatterns.com.
-xxx Show extra, extra, extra data (only works with verbose or line output, not short form):
    -S - Adds panel/shell information to desktop output, if in X (like gnome-shell, cinnamon, mate-panel).
-z  Adds security filters for IP addresses, Mac, and user home directory name. Default on for irc clients.
-Z  Absolute override for output filters. Useful for debugging networking issues in irc for example.
 
Additional Options:
-h --help      This help menu.
-H            This help menu, plus developer options. Do not use dev options in normal operation!
--recommends  Checks inxi application dependencies + recommends, and directories, then shows
              what package(s) you need to install to add support for that feature.
-U            Auto-update script. Will also install/update man page. Note: if you installed as root, you
              must be root to update, otherwise user is fine. Man page installs require root user mode.
-V --version  inxi version information. Prints information then exits.
 
Debugging Options:
-%  Overrides defective or corrupted data.
-@  Triggers debugger output. Requires debugging level 1-14 (8-10 - logging of data).
    Less than 8 just triggers inxi debugger output on screen.
    1-7  - On screen debugger output
    8    - Basic logging
    9    - Full file/sys info logging
    10  - Color logging.
    The following create a tar.gz file of system data, plus collecting the inxi output to file:
    To automatically upload debugger data tar.gz file to ftp.techpatterns.com: inxi -xx@ <11-14>
    For alternate ftp upload locations: Example: inxi -! ftp.yourserver.com/incoming -xx@ 14
    11 - With data file of xiin read of /sys.
    12 - With xorg conf and log data, xrandr, xprop, xdpyinfo, glxinfo etc.
    13 - With data from dev, disks, partitions, etc., plus xiin data file.
    14 - Everything, full data collection.

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So on my box

Code:

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$ inxi -A
Audio:    Card: Intel 82801BA/BAM AC'97 Audio Controller driver: Intel ICH Sound: ALSA ver: 1.0.23

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Full readout showing everything and filtering my isp info from the net.

Code:

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$ inxi -Fxz
System:    Host: biker Kernel: 2.6.36-1-mepis-smp i686 (32 bit, gcc: 4.4.5)
          Desktop: IceWM 1.3.7 Distro: antiX-M11-686 Jayaben Desai 24 April 2011
Machine:  System: IBM product: 679421U
          Mobo: IBM model: IBM Bios: IBM version: 20KT46AUS date: 06/04/2004
CPU:      Single core Intel Pentium 4 CPU (-UP-) cache: 256 KB flags: (sse sse2) bmips: 3587.55 clocked at 1793.778 MHz
Graphics:  Card: nVidia NV6 [Vanta/Vanta LT] bus-ID: 01:00.0
          X.Org: 1.9.5 drivers: vesa,nouveau (unloaded: fbdev,nv) Resolution: 1024x768@0.0hz
          GLX Renderer: Rasterizer GLX Version: 2.1 Mesa 7.10 Direct Rendering: Yes
Audio:    Card: Intel 82801BA/BAM AC'97 Audio Controller driver: Intel ICH ports: 1c00 1840 bus-ID: 00:1f.5
          Sound: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture ver: 1.0.23
Network:  Card: Intel 82801BA/BAM/CA/CAM Ethernet Controller driver: e100 ver: 3.5.24-k2-NAPI port: 2000 bus-ID: 02:08.0
          IF: eth0 state: up speed: 100 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter>
Drives:    HDD Total Size: 100.1GB (2.6% used) 1: id: /dev/sda model: SAMSUNG_SV6003H size: 60.1GB
          2: id: /dev/sdb model: IC35L040AVVA07 size: 40.0GB
Partition: ID: / size: 31G used: 2.5G (9%) fs: auto ID: swap-1 size: 0.81GB used: 0.00GB (0%) fs: swap
Sensors:  System Temperatures: cpu: 29.0C mobo: N/A
          Fan Speeds (in rpm): cpu: N/A
Info:      Processes: 87 Uptime: 1:38 Memory: 223.9/1135.1MB Runlevel: 5 Gcc sys: 4.5.2 Client: Shell inxi: 1.8.14

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Like I said. I don't know if we can help you on such a new laptop. It takes the kernel developers a bit of time to catch up with new hard ware that is released and the hardware is locked down also.

Thanks for your response. Here is the readout from that first site you gave me. I don't quite understand the inxi stuff, though I did try it, with no success.

PCI ID Works? Vendor Device Driver Kernel
80860154 Intel Corporation 3rd Gen Core processor DRAM Controller
80860166 Yes Intel Corporation 3rd Gen Core processor Graphics Controller i915 v3.0.0-
80861e31 Intel Corporation 7 Series Chipset Family USB xHCI Host Controller
80861e3a Intel Corporation 7 Series Chipset Family MEI Controller #1
80861e2d Intel Corporation 7 Series Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller #2
80861e20 Yes Intel Corporation 7 Series Chipset Family High Definition Audio Controller snd-hda-intel v3.0.0-
80861e10 Intel Corporation 7 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 1
80861e12 Intel Corporation 7 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 2
80861e16 Intel Corporation 7 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 4
80861e1a Intel Corporation 7 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 6
80861e26 Intel Corporation 7 Series Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller #1
80861e57 Yes Intel Corporation HM77 Express Chipset LPC Controller iTCO_wdt v2.6.39-
8086282a Yes Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile SATA Controller [RAID mode] ahci v2.6.25-
80861e22 Yes Intel Corporation 7 Series Chipset Family SMBus Controller i2c-i801 v3.0.0-
10ec5229 Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTS5229 PCI Express Card Reader
80860887 Yes Intel Corporation Centrino Wireless-N 2230 iwlwifi v2.6.39-
10ec8168 Yes Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8111/8168B PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet controller r8169 v2.6.25-

Does any of this help?

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80861e20 Yes Intel Corporation 7 Series Chipset Family High Definition Audio Controller snd-hda-intel v3.0.0-

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Yeah it helps. The Yes there says the sound chip is working OK. So all that you need to do is adjust mixer settings in Ubuntu 12.04LTS to get the full features out of your sound card. Unfortunately. I don't run Ubuntu 12.04. My Avatar shows what I run mostly.

Sounds to me like you need a Ubuntu Manual maybe on how to work your operating system to adjust pulse audio settings for your HP.

Ubuntu Precise -

Edit: Found this also.

That is the best I can do for you. Happy Trails, Rok