December 22, 2007

Ubuntu 7.10 Sound on Asus M2NPV-VM Motherboard

Dear Lazyweb:

I am really enjoying my new Linux system, but I can't seem to get the sound working. Perhaps it's a driver issue: all I know is that the aplay -l command gives me the following output:

aplay: device_list: 204: no soundcards found

This is very disappointing, as I was hoping to use this machine to work on a podcasts and screencasts in the new year. I'd be very pleased to find a recipe for fully working audio and digital sound, but at the moment any kind of sound would be a great improvement.

Google searches reveal that this has been an issue with various distributions and releases but so far nobody seems to have published a reliable solution, and I am beginning to doubt that one exists ...

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Steve,
Have you tried:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=3494809

I know that it's a post on dell's vostro but the problem with no soundcard found is the same symptom. I've used this before on other systems to get the sound card working.

Of course, I'm assuming (most likely incorrectly, that you are running ubuntu or variant thereof)

-jeff
jeffh@dundeemt.com

Steve said...

Well, I am in no position to be picky (and it's 12.40am after a rather good party, but all the guests have gone home now, so I will give it a try.)

The recipe recommended:

sudo apt-get install module-assistant (useless cause you already have it if it's not the first time you do the trick)
sudo m-a update
sudo m-a prepare
sudo m-a a-i alsa

Here are my remarks on each one.

> sudo apt-get install module-assistant

Well apparently it's the first time for me, because I see

Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
Suggested packages:
build-essential
The following NEW packages will be installed:
module-assistant
0 upgraded, 1 newly installed, 0 to remove and 17 not upgraded.
Need to get 100kB of archives.
After unpacking 520kB of additional disk space will be used.
Get:1 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com gutsy/universe module-assistant 0.10.11 [100k
B]
Fetched 100kB in 1s (85.9kB/s)
Selecting previously deselected package module-assistant.
(Reading database ... 94508 files and directories currently installed.)
Unpacking module-assistant (from .../module-assistant_0.10.11_all.deb) ...
Setting up module-assist
ant (0.10.11) ...


> sudo m-a update

Updated infos about 85 packages

Well, at least that one seems straightforward :-)

> sudo m-a prepare

Getting source for kernel version: 2.6.22-14-386
apt-get install linux-headers-2.6.22-14-386
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
The following NEW packages will be installed:
linux-headers-2.6.22-14-386
0 upgraded, 1 newly installed, 0 to remove and 17 not upgraded.
Need to get 579kB of archives.
After unpacking 6574kB of additional disk space will be used.
Get:1 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com gutsy-updates/main linux-headers-2.6.22-14-38
6 2.6.22-14.47 [579kB]
Fetched 579kB in 2s (257kB/s)
Selecting previously deselected package linux-headers-2.6.22-14-386.
(Reading database ... 94560 files and directories currently installed.)
Unpacking linux-headers-2.6.22-14-386 (from .../linux-headers-2.6.22-14-386_2.6.
22-14.47_i386.deb) ...
Setting up linux-headers-2.6.22-14-386 (2.6.22-14.47) ...

Creating symlink...
apt-get install build-essential
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
The following extra packages will be installed:
g++ g++-4.1 libc6-dev libstdc++6-4.1-dev linux-libc-dev
Suggested packages:
g++-multilib g++-4.1-multilib gcc-4.1-doc glibc-doc manpages-dev
libstdc++6-4.1-doc
The following NEW packages will be installed:
build-essential g++ g++-4.1 libc6-dev libstdc++6-4.1-dev
linux-libc-dev
0 upgraded, 6 newly installed, 0 to remove and 17 not upgraded.
Need to get 3940kB/7677kB of archives.
After unpacking 31.0MB of additional disk space will be used.
Do you want to continue [Y/n]? y
I answered yes from a combination of ignorance and curiosity: please don't be misled into thinking I am singing along here. Not only have I never heard this tune before, I have a nasty suspicion the words are in a language that's not only foreign but also from another planet, possibly in another solar system. And I'm something of a geek. Heaven alone knows what a first-time Ubuntu user would have made of all this.]

Media change: please insert the disc labeled
'Ubuntu-Server 7.10 _Gutsy Gibbon_ - Release i386 (20071016)'
in the drive '/cdrom/' and press enter

This one gets me every time, it's just so Microsoft, if you know what I mean. I have a 160 GB drive and you couldn't even be bothered to copy this stuff from the CD? If the server room was on another continent rather than just down in the basement I would now be really pissed. As it is I broke a toe earlier today and my foot is hurting like a bastard, so it really isn't the message I most wanted to see right now ... but I manfully struggle downstairs and put the freaking CD into the drive.

Get:1 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com gutsy-updates/main linux-libc-dev 2.6.22-14.4
7 [653kB]
Get:2 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com gutsy-updates/main libc6-dev 2.6.1-1ubuntu10
[3287kB]
Fetched 3940kB in 2m24s (27.2kB/s)
Selecting previously deselected package linux-libc-dev.
(Reading database ... 99376 files and directories currently installed.)
Unpacking linux-libc-dev (from .../linux-libc-dev_2.6.22-14.47_i386.deb) ...
Selecting previously deselected package libc6-dev.
Unpacking libc6-dev (from .../libc6-dev_2.6.1-1ubuntu10_i386.deb) ...
Selecting previously deselected package libstdc++6-4.1-dev.
Unpacking libstdc++6-4.1-dev (from .../libstdc++6-4.1-dev_4.1.2-16ubuntu2_i386.d
eb) ...
Selecting previously deselected package g++-4.1.
Unpacking g++-4.1 (from .../g++-4.1_4.1.2-16ubuntu2_i386.deb) ...
Selecting previously deselected package g++.
Unpacking g++ (from .../g++_4.1.2-9ubuntu2_i386.deb) ...
Selecting previously deselected package build-essential.
Unpacking build-essential (from .../build-essential_11.3ubuntu1_i386.deb) ...
Setting up linux-libc-dev (2.6.22-14.47) ...
Setting up libc6-dev (2.6.1-1ubuntu10) ...
Setting up libstdc++6-4.1-dev (4.1.2-16ubuntu2) ...
Setting up g++-4.1 (4.1.2-16ubuntu2) ...
Setting up g++ (4:4.1.2-9ubuntu2) ...

Setting up build-essential (11.3ubuntu1) ...

sudo m-a a-i alsa

[This one was the killer, but I suspect whatever command I triggered wasn't expecting to be running in a ssh window triggered from Cygwin, because at one point the window was displaying something like the following (modulo blog mangling):

â"?â"?â"?â"?â"?â"?â"?â"?â"?â"☼ Building alsa-source, step 1, please wait... â"oâ











0%

â"?â"?â"?â"?â"?â"?â"?â"?â"?â"?â"?â"?â"?â"?â"?â"?â"?â"?â"?â"?â"?â"?â"?â"?â"?â"?â"
"?â"?â"?â"?â
"?â"?â"?â"?â"?â"?â"?â"?â"?â"?â"?â"?â"?â"?â"?

However, something seems to have happened. At this point it appears that the limits of Cygwin terminal emulation have been reached. Some of the output has been lost, but I see at the bottom of my window an output reading


The following NEW packages will be installed:
alsa-source debconf-utils debhelper gettext html2text
intltool-debian po-debconf
0 upgraded, 7 newly installed, 0 to remove and 17 not upgraded.
Need to get 2834kB/5192kB of archives.
After unpacking 11.8MB of additional disk space will be used.
Get:1 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com gutsy/universe alsa-source 1.0.14
834kB]
Fetched 2834kB in 3s (756kB/s)
Preconfiguring packages ...
Selecting previously deselected package html2text.
(Reading database ... 101061 files and directories currently install
Unpacking html2text (from .../html2text_1.3.2a-3build1_i386.deb) ...
Selecting previously deselected package gettext.
Unpacking gettext (from .../gettext_0.16.1-2ubuntu3_i386.deb) ...
Selecting previously deselected package intltool-debian.
Unpacking intltool-debian (from .../intltool-debian_0.35.0+20060710.
..
Selecting previously deselected package po-debconf.
Unpacking po-debconf (from .../po-debconf_1.0.9_all.deb) ...
Selecting previously deselected package debhelper.
Unpacking debhelper (from .../debhelper_5.0.51ubuntu3_all.deb) ...
Selecting previously deselected package debconf-utils.
Unpacking debconf-utils (from .../debconf-utils_1.5.14ubuntu1_all.de
Selecting previously deselected package alsa-source.
Unpacking alsa-source (from .../alsa-source_1.0.14-1ubuntu2_all.deb)
Setting up html2text (1.3.2a-3build1) ...

Setting up gettext (0.16.1-2ubuntu3) ...

Setting up intltool-debian (0.35.0+20060710.1) ...
Setting up po-debconf (1.0.9) ...
Setting up debhelper (5.0.51ubuntu3) ...
Setting up debconf-utils (1.5.14ubuntu1) ...

Setting up alsa-source (1.0.14-1ubuntu2) ...

Processing triggers for libc6 ...
ldconfig deferred processing now taking place

Updated infos about 1 packages
unpack
Extracting the package tarball, /usr/src/alsa-driver.tar.bz2, please
"/usr/share/modass/packages/default.sh" build KVERS=2.6.22-14-386 KS
linux-headers-2.6.22-14-386 KDREV=2.6.22-14.47 kdist_image
Done with /usr/src/alsa-modules-2.6.22-14-386_1.0.14-1ubuntu2+2.6.22-14.47_i386.
deb .
dpkg -Ei /usr/src/alsa-modules-2.6.22-14-386_1.0.14-1ubuntu2+2.6.22-14.47_i386.d
eb
Selecting previously deselected package alsa-modules-2.6.22-14-386.
(Reading database ... 101609 files and directories currently installed.)
Unpacking alsa-modules-2.6.22-14-386 (from .../alsa-modules-2.6.22-14-386_1.0.14
-1ubuntu2+2.6.22-14.47_i386.deb) ...
Setting up alsa-modules-2.6.22-14-386 (1.0.14-1ubuntu2+2.6.22-14.47) ...
You should now stop all applications using sound devices
and reload all ALSA sound modules.

which would be excellent advice if one knew how to follow it. What the heck, nothing critical is running on the server and a reboot should solve the problem, right? Or is this just Windows-style thinking?

sudo reboot
sholden@houseboy:~$ sudo reboot
[sudo] password for sholden:

Broadcast message from sholden@houseboy
(/dev/pts/2) at 20:34 ...

The system is going down for reboot NOW!
sholden@houseboy:~$ Connection to houseboy closed by remote host.
Connection to houseboy closed.

sholden@bigboy ~/pydev/cygPython

Rats. Now I have to go downstairs to take out the bloody CD that the install procedure insisted I run from here. Oh well, in for a penny, in for a pound. Down to the fricking basement again to remove the CD, tell it to boot from disk, and ssh in again ...

sholden@houseboy:~$ aplay -l
**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 0: AD198x Analog [AD198x Analog]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 0: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 1: AD198x Digital [AD198x Digital]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
sholden@houseboy:~$

Cool! Obviously my system is more sound-capable than it was. But it's late, and sleep is more important than further investigation right now. But at first glance it looks like I owe jeffh a sincere vote of thanks. More later. Possibly even in a podcast! Module assistant would seem to be well worth knowing about. Thanks, lazyweb!

Waldemar said...

You may want to remove CDROM from sources.list. See:
Repositories/Ubuntu

Unknown said...

Hi,
I'm a user of the same motherboard. I haven't had much problems with sound in Debian. You might want to try adding this:
options snd-hda-intel position_fix=1 model=3stack

to /etc/modprobe/alsa.base

Steve said...

Waldemar: Thanks, that fixed the CD-ROM issue, so no more walks down to the basement!

Domas: I've added the options line you suggested, and will report back next time I've tried the sound. The file is actually in the /etc/modprobe.d directory.

It's great to have this help--it saves a lot of time.

Steve said...

Well, still no joy. I have followed all advice received so far, but the mic input remains obstinately flat.

What's even more annoying is the discovery that I can actually hear the microphone in my headphones as sidetone, so obviously something is seeing the microphone input and echoing it back to the output.

If only I knew what it was!

Anonymous said...

Don't know if you are still looking for a solution, but this worked for me:

http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=2962637&postcount=7

balak

Steve said...

@anonymous: thanks, but since the GUI alsamixer on gutsy doesn't even have a file menu this link didn't do me any good. Still looking ...