Re: I am now totally confused about modules

[bsamuels@datamansys.co.uk]

David Z Maze <dmaze@MIT.EDU> wrote:

> bsamuels  <bsamuels@datamansys.co.uk> writes:
> BS> I have also noticed the follow errors in the log when I play a CD:
> BS> 
> BS> Aug 22 10:45:56 modprobe: modprobe: Can't locate module sound-slot-0
> BS> Aug 22 10:45:56 modprobe: modprobe: Can't locate module sound-service-0-3
> 
> Hmm, that's odd.  (Those messages would be produced by the 'soundcore' 
> module loading.)
> 
> BS> I am using the Emu drivers for my Sound Blaster Live 1024 Player
> BS> and see the following in the logs after booting:
> BS> 
> BS> Aug 22 10:52:09 kernel: Creative EMU10K1 PCI Audio Driver, version 0.6,
> BS> 10:37:10 Aug 22 2000
> BS> Aug 22 10:52:09 kernel: emu10k1: EMU10K1 rev 8 model 0x8027 found, IO at
> BS> 0x6800-0x681f, IRQ 12
> 
> Most likely the modules are listed in /etc/modules, and are loaded by
> the system explicitly at boot time (rather than at runtime by the
> module autoloader).

No - /etc/modules is empty.

> BS> If I unload the sound modules manually they do not show in the
> BS> list produced by lsmod but if I play a CD sound still works!!!
> 
> Sure.  <shrug>  On PCs, the audio output from the CD-ROM gets tied
> directly into the sound card, goes through the sound card's mixer, and 
> gets fed to the audio output.  This is all in hardware; the normal
> software sound card driver is completely irrelevant for playing CDs.
> (For that matter, it's entirely possible that your CD-ROM drive has a
> headphone jack on the front; you could disconnect the CD-ROM from your 
> sound card and still have audio CD functionality work normally.)

I didn't realise that.

> BS> I have now run out of ideas.  I'm mystified why sound should work
> BS> whether or not the sound/emu modules are loaded.
> 
> Have you tried actual "sound" (as opposed to CD audio)?  Try, for
> example, finding a .au file, and catting it to /dev/audio.  Do you get 
> output then?

I have now tried that and, yes, it only outputs when the sound modules are loaded.  However I
have managed to find a midi file and as I have KMidi I thought to try it.  It says 'cannot
access /dev/sequencer' so I tried to cat the file to /dev/sequencer and I get 'no such
device'.  The device is there and it has the same ownership/mode as other audio devices.  I
tried re-making the audio devices with MAKEDEV.  MAKEDEV listed the devices as they were
created including /dev/sequencer but I still get the message 'no such device'.

I'm a tiny bit closer in that I know that the sound modules do have some effect but there are
still more problems than answers.

Barry Samuels