Re: [Alsa-user] No sound when logged in, despite sound at login screen

[stan <st...@co...>]

On Mon, 07 May 2007 21:40:23 -0400
"B. Chaloux" <win...@gm...> wrote:

> I (just today) installed a new kernel for Linux to rememdy a few
> sound problems requiring
> higher resolution timers than the default Ubuntu 6.10 kernel
> offerred. Everything, to
> the best of my knowledge, went smoothly, and I installed the
> 1.0.14rc4 version of the
> necessary ALSA modules, considering that I compiled nothing more than 
> the basic sound
> options (no ALSA, no OSS) into the kernel.  (The modules were the 
> driver, libs,
> utilities, and oss.)
> 
> The reason I installed the most recent ones instead of, say, 1.0.13
> or lower was that all
> of the previous ones that I tried failed on the make procedure, at 
> roughly the same
> spots.  1.0.14rc4, however, configured and installed fine.  I loaded
> the snd_emu10k1,
> snd_intel8x0, snd_pcm_oss, snd_mixer_oss, and snd_seq_oss, after
> which both my internal
> Intel soundcard and PCMCIA Soundblaster Audigy 2 ZS were recognized
> by the system.  (I've
> also included those modules in /etc/modules, and they load on each
> startup.)
> 
> My issue is that I get sound in the login screen, and the speakers
> make their usual pop
> during both startup and shutdown at the Ubuntu splash, but as soon as
> I log in, in either
> kernel (2.6.21.1, patched with the real-time preemption patch, and 
> 2.6.17.11-generic,
> which I was using with sound just fine before), sound disappears.  I
> can use alsamixer
> fine and adjust the sound, as well as the gui utilities provided by 
> Ubuntu, but no sound
> is produced in any application or situation (it disappears even
> before one reaches the
> jingle for logging in).  All I know is that in the terminal, whenever
> I perform most
> operations (regardless of if it's audio or just a gedit <insert file 
> here>) I get the
> following messages :
> 
> ALSA lib confmisc.c:1286:(snd_func_refer) Unable to find definition
> 'defaults.pcm.dmix.device'
> ALSA lib conf.c:3510:(_snd_config_evaluate) function snd_func_refer 
> returned error: No
> such file or directory
> ALSA lib conf.c:3982:(snd_config_expand) Evaluate error: No such file
> or directory
> ALSA lib pcm.c:2144:(snd_pcm_open_noupdate) Unknown PCM default
> 
> Those don't change regardless of the operation, and I haven't 
> encountered any different
> ones either.  As for further information, well, all I know is what's 
> given by running
> aadebug, as was suggested in the alsa troubleshooting section of the 
> wiki.  I've attached
> the file with the output from the utility for convenience ; just a 
> simple text file.
> 
> Preferably, I'd like to get sound working soon-ish, and I appreciate
> any help that can be
> given.  I'll also probably post a similar message to the Ubuntu
> forums to see if anybody
> from there can help.
> 
> ~B. L. Chaloux

It sounds like there is no definition for defaults.
To see all of the named devices that alsa knows about use 
aplay -lLv.  
Also try aplay -D hwplug:0,0 some.wav.  If it plays, alsa
is working, you have an incompatibility in your configuration.  This
can usually be fixed by altering the asound.state or adding
an .asoundrc in your home directory.  If this is the case, you can
search online, or ask here.  I probably won't be able to help as I am
just learning this myself.