Re: device: default can't be opened for playback (Device or resource busy)

[Zongorás Miklos <zmiklos@chello.hu>]

I had the same problem.
I did these:

tzx@pc012481:~$ ls -l /dev/dsp*
crw-rw----  1 root audio 14,  3 2006-06-08 13:28 /dev/dsp
crw-rw----  1 root audio 14, 19 2006-06-08 13:28 /dev/dsp1
tzx@pc012481:~$su
pc012481:~$chmod 666 /dev/dsp*
and restart X

another solution: add your users to the audio group


I have a longstanding multiuser problem with aRts.  It happens to me often
that when another user on my host has been using an application that makes
sound, my sound won't work.  If I try to start an application (such as a
movie player) that makes sound, sometimes it will block or hang, and
sometimes it will start but not play movies, or will play movies but
without sound.  So I go to the Control Center to restart the sound server,
and when I try, an error dialog pops up with the following message:

Error while initializing the sound driver:
device: default can't be opened for playback (Device or resource busy)
The sound server will continue, using the null output device.

In the old days I used to be able to find out which application had grabbed
control of the sound device by running 'lsof /dev/dsp'.  That doesn't work
now with aRts, but I don't know what the corresponding device file or
command is.

I know that my other users are the source of the problem, because if I slay
them all then eventually I get my sound server back.  Sometimes I can get
it back by just killing other sound-using applications, but sometimes I
can't and have to slay the users.

All users have "Auto-suspend if idle" turned on and set to 3 seconds.

I'm using ALSA with kernel 2.6.10, a Turtle Beach Santa Cruz sound card
(cs46xx driver), and a bt878 video capture card.

Any help appreciated.
Thanks,
Andrew.

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