No Sound

[EddieT64]

I am running a 2.6.17 version kernel on a Dell Optiplex GXi 166 mHZ desktop. After I <modprobe snd-cs4236> to attempt to get the sound to work and test All the Alsa stuff works..ie alsa mixer and the juicer comes up and correctly sees my CD in the drive and then starts playing the first track. I get absolutely no sound. I know to check that nothing is muted in alsa mixer. I attempted to run alsa.conf but got 'permission denied'. Can I pass parameters to the driver when I issue the modprobe snd-cs4236, and if so, how do I know what parameters to pass and what their settings should be. This problem is frustrating to say the least. Please help somebody!!!!

[fingal]

Hi - were you root when you tried to run alsa-conf? To log in as root:

su
<password>

Apologies if you already know this.

[EddieT64]

Yes, I am logged in as root when trying to run Alsa-conf.

[fingal]

Hello again - so is your CD drive connected up to your sound card? Usually there's a small cable for this ...

If you type lspci does the driver show up associated with your sound card? I'm not sure what's going on with alsa.conf ... That used to be a pretty good way to set things up.

[EddieT64]

I don't see the driver associated with my sound card when I typ 'lspci' as root. I don't even see anything associated with my sound card. I see the other pci devices such as bus controllers etc. I know that harddrake doesn't probe for ISA pnp devices.

[fingal]

Hmm not easy ... Do you have onboard sound apart from your main card? If so have you tried disabling it? I suspect the answer is no and no, but worth a try.

Perhaps read this.

You might also try: cat /proc/asound/modules && cat /proc/asound/cards

See if you get much interesting output.

[danvds3]

Hmm... Could be a sound-card with certain features. Have you got an old sound card or even a seperate sound card? What model is it?

I also know that mandriva one has strange things about it to do with logging on and off. It seems to disable 3D effects and sound on certain usernames. (I know what i'm doing so don't lecture me) - its a glitch. It also happens when you log out and log in a different username. It sometimes doesn't even log out, it just freezes. Could this be your problem?

[EddieT64]

The only sound card that I have is the cs4236 chip. It's an onboard sound chip that is attached to the ISA bus. It's not being picked up at all. I am researching into getting into 'alsa.conf'. I was previously being told that I don't have permission to run the command. I will post my results of attempting to obtain permission to run it lator. I believe the key is running the configuration command for the alsa drivers. Thanks for your inputs.

[danvds3]

Sounds like a non-compatible old card to me. Have you tried it with other distros?

Tip: Sound cards are very cheap nowadays, so maybe you should think about getting a newer PCI sound card.

Also, not to point out the obvious, but have you checked the wires in your PC and for the actual speakers? (I know i've done that mistake before - forgot to plug it into the back, lol).

Also, carry on trying to get the current one to work if you can, as it's pointless buying a new one if the current one works!