Re: alsaconf locks up my system

[Russ Cook <russcook@mbo.net>]

Florian Kulzer wrote:
> On Sun, May 14, 2006 at 13:32:31 -0500, Russ Cook wrote:
>   
> > I'm running a A8N32-SLI Deluxe, with dual core amd64.  My kernel
> > is 2.6.16-1-amd64-k8-smp.  I also run kernel 2.6.14.4.  With either
> > kernel, I have no audio.  I used to have audio until about a week
> > ago, after running apt-get upgrade.  I'm running the 64 bit dist,
> > unstable.  When trying to run XMMS or any other audio or video
> > player, I get no audio.  XMMS tells me it couldn't open audio, and
> > request I check soundcard configured, correct output plugin selected,
> > and no other program is blocking the soundcard.
> >
> > In the past, I could get past this problem by re-running alsaconf.
> > Now however, alsaconf never completes before my X system freezes
> > up.  I can still access my system from another machine using ssh,
> > but all output to the screen is frozen, and the keyboard is 
> > unresponsive.  The mouse pointer still moves across
> > the screen, but nothing responds.
> >
> > Has anyone else had this problem, and can anyone offer hints or
> > suggestions as to the cause and cure?
> >     
>
> I would try to shut down X and run alsaconf from a virtual terminal. If
> this still locks up your machine you can log in with ssh and check which
> process is blocking the CPU with the "top" command. It would then also
> be interesting if killing that process unlocks the computer or not.
> Another thing to try is "/etc/init.d/alsa force-reload".
>
> If alsaconf works when run from the terminal you can use a simple
> application such as "speaker-test" to check your sound. If this is
> successful you can try if it still works when you start X again. This
> should help you to isolate the cause of the problem.
>
>   
Another problem - I used to be able to access a virtual terminal by 
pressing ctl-alt-f2.  This key sequence no longer works.  I'm running
gnome.  How can I temporarily disable X so I can run alsaconf from
a virtual terminal?