Re: Sound-HOWTO docs wrong; what next?
Quoting Kent West (westk@nicanor.acu.edu):
>
> > instead of that, got to /dev and execute ./MAKEDEV audio as root. (or
> > use fakeroot)
>
> Okay! Now I have a /dev/sndstat. (Would that really have been too hard
> to put in the HOWTO? Or maybe it depends on the distribution you're
> running?)
It's safe to assume that most HOWTO authors are more likely slackware
etc. than Debian. And they're often a bit dated. I decided to do sound
properly with the 2.2.x kernels and I think the kernel-source is the
best place to read; not just Documentation/sound but odd comments in
drivers/sound too.
> "cat /dev/sndstat" lists several categories, such as "Card config:.
> "Audio devices:", etc, but there's nothing under each category. My guess
> is that my card is not properly configured or there would be info in
> each spot.
Well this "sound card" (actually it's an Intel Tucson mobo) plays CDs,
.au files and records from the microphone, yet sndstat is not fully
populated:
--8<--------
OSS/Free:3.8s2++-971130
Load type: Driver loaded as a module
Kernel: Linux yak 2.2.9 #1 Sat Jun 12 14:32:48 BST 1999 i586
Config options: 0
Installed drivers:
Card config:
Audio devices:
0: MSS audio codec (CS4231) (DUPLEX)
Synth devices:
Midi devices:
0: OPL3-SA (MPU401)
Timers:
0: System clock
1: MSS audio codec (CS4231)
Mixers:
0: MSS audio codec (CS4231)
--8<--------
> > > I've clued in enough to the various posts that I know there's such
> > > commands as lsmod, insmod, rmmod, and modprobe, and I've tinkered around
> > > with them, but haven't had much luck. The lsmod shows: vmnet, vmmon,
> > > binfmt-aout, vfat, and fat. I've tried to "insmod sb" (guessing that
> > > "sb" means "SoundBlaster") and "insmod sound", but there's "no module
> > > found by that name".
If you haven't yet sorted out the support files (like /etc/modutils/...)
you can give insmod a full path and filename, and any options required.
In fact, as I'm on the cusp of 2.0.36 and 2.2.9, I'm handling the
problem of module loading (e.g. only ppa for 2.0, ppa and lp for 2.2)
with brute force, so everything in /etc/modules has a full filename,
and inappropriate versions just fail to load. Thus the example above
has
/lib/modules/2.2.9/misc/soundcore.o
/lib/modules/2.2.9/misc/sound.o
/lib/modules/2.2.9/misc/ad1848.o
/lib/modules/2.2.9/misc/uart401.o
/lib/modules/2.2.9/misc/opl3sa.o io=0x530 irq=10 dma=0 dma2=1 mpu_io=0x330 mpu_irq=7
Identifying the chips was a process of matching the variables mentioned
in the documentation with the BIOS settings in the CMOS screens.
> No. I don't have the documentation in front of me (it's an office
> machine and I'm at home now); it's something like "ESS-blahblah", but I
> "think" it's supposed to be SB-compatible. It's standard fare in a
> Gateway2000 E3000 Pentium-class box. I'm not sure I chose the correct
> settings during the "make menuconfig" portion of all this, but I figured
> I'd make my best guesses and learn from the experience.
If you compile a bunch of guesses as modules, erring on the side of
compiling too much, then you can just play about with insmod/rmmod
(remember the latter only needs the basename, like soundcore) and
put the settings there. That's one of the big advantages of modules,
you don't have to commit yourself. tail -f /var/log/kern.log or watch
xconsole as you load things. Some are silent, but you might see odd
useful messages.
Cheers,
--
Email: d.wright@open.ac.uk Tel: +44 1908 653 739 Fax: +44 1908 655 151
Snail: David Wright, Earth Science Dept., Milton Keynes, England, MK7 6AA
Disclaimer: These addresses are only for reaching me, and do not signify
official stationery. Views expressed here are either my own or plagiarised.
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