Alsa with DSL-N
Forum: DSL-N
Topic: Alsa with DSL-N
started by: Juanito
Posted by Juanito on Mar. 17 2007,11:34
I've added the asla boot option to DSL-N and have alsa.dsl and gnu-utils loaded on boot. The alsa autoconfig message comes up during the boot sequence, but the alsa drivers do not load for my sound card.I tried the "alsaconf" command from a terminal window - the configuration found my sound card (Intel 82801DB/DBL/DBM AC'97 Audio integrated on the motherboard) and gave a message that all loaded OK - but no snd modules were loaded.
I tried the "rmmod" command on snd and snd_mixer_oss - the only two modules loaded on boot - and re-tried "alsaconf" with the same result.
Then I tried:
# modprobe snd_intel8x0
sh: line 1: /lib/alsa/modprobe-post-install: No such file or directory
FATAL: Error running install command for snd_intel8x0
# lsmod
snd_intel8x0 30528 0
snd_ac97_codec 72312 1 snd_intel8x0
snd_pcm_oss 47264 0
snd_mixer_oss 18304 1 snd_pcm_oss
snd_pcm 77316 3 snd_intel8x0,snd_ac97_codec,snd_pcm_oss
snd_timer 23556 1 snd_pcm
snd 46820 6 snd_intel8x0,snd_ac97_codec,snd_pcm_oss,snd_mixer_oss,snd_pcm,snd_timer
snd_page_alloc 11268 2 snd_intel8x0,snd_pcm
soundcore 11104 1 snd
...
# amixer
amixer: Mixer attach default error: No such file or directory
Finally, I noticed the "alsa setup" item on the right-click menu, tried this and the sound started working.
After re-booting, no matter what I do, I cannot get the sound to work - did anyone else have the same problem?
Posted by Juanito on Mar. 31 2007,16:39
Still on the trail of making this work, I noticed that the alsa sound drivers exist in DSL-N without loading alsa.dsl.If I copy the following files from the Knoppix 4.0.2 CD, then I can modprobe snd-intel8x0 without errors:
/lib/alsa/modprobe-post-install
/etc/alsa/modprobe-post-install.d/alsa-utils
/etc/init.d/alsa-utils
However, if I try to play music with xmms.dsl the graphic equaliser display moves but there is no sound - I presume the sound is muted but I cannot find a way to un-mute without alsamixer.
Is there a way to un-mute the sound without loading alsa?
Posted by Juanito on April 03 2007,12:15
So, continuing my own private post 
...I listed the contents of the alsa and xmms extensions in the DSL-N repository (I'm guessing they started off in the DSL repository) and then overwrote them with files of the same/similar name from the Knoppix 4.0.2 iso to create new extensions but without the snd modules which are already in DSL-N.
Next I noted which files were created by Clacker's (?) snddevices script in the alsa extension and which files were created by alsaconf and added them to the new alsa extension.
Now, if I load the new extensions and issue the following commands:
| Code Sample |
| # rmmod -f snd # rmmod -f snd_mixer_oss # rmmod -f snd [for some reason I have to do this twice] # modprobe snd-intel8x0 |
Everthing seems to work except:
1. I have to run xmms or mplayer as root or I get "permissions" errors.
2. I have to run alsamixer to un-mute the sound.
Note that if I run alsaconf instead of loading the files created by alsaconf, then the mixer settings are already un-muted - the downside to this is that I have to answer "OK" 3-4 times.
All this leaves two questions:
1. Would changing permissions using alsaconf -d (default 0666) avoid the need to run xmms/mplayer as root? If so, what should be used?
2. Is there a way to run alsaconf "unattended" - I guess this is what Roberts did via his alsa boot code in DSL?