sound and network issues

[monere]

hi everyone,

I installed nadia in dual boot with windows and I am having some issues

First of all, how do I install drivers for my PC components? I am mainly interested in making the sound card work as I currently can not hear anything while in Linux (in Windows works fine).

I found some sort of a driver for my sound card that is for Linux but I have no clue what to do with it

Secondly, is there any way for Linux to test whether the network adapter (the network card, NIC, or whatever the hell it is called like) works, better than Windows does?

I have a router offered by my ISP a few weeks ago to replace my obsolete Thompson Speedtouch 330 ADSL modem that I currently use to connect to the internet, and I can't make it (the router) work because apparently the network card/adapter/whatever is faulty (although when I check it in Windows, in "Device Manager" it says that the device functions properly).

So, I was wondering if Linux has a better way of detecting and diagnosing hardware than Windows so that I can locate the issue. I really want to replace the modem with the router but I can't do it as long as I don't know what is wrong and why it won't connect to the internet (actually, why it won't pull IPs from the ISP. A member of the support staff of my ISP came to my house today and made some tests in front of me using his hardware and on his laptop the router detected IPs, which means that my PC is faulty, not the router. More likely, the NIC is damaged or something as I can't think what else could be wrong). And assuming everything was OK would I still have to install drivers or anything in order to connect to the internet (in Linux mode I mean) or just by logging into Linux was enough for it to detect and activate my connection?

Or could you at least tell me how to find Linux drivers for my modem so I can use it until I buy a new network adapter? I really can't find any drivers for Linux since the modem is not being manufactured anymore and the company (including the website obviously) is gone, too.

So, if anyone knows how I can make the sound and network cards work please share the tips! Also, please take me easy as I am still trying to accommodate with the Linux terminology and what each thing (terminals, synaptic, /usr, /bin, brtfs, jfs, and other such things) are for and what they do

Thanks

[Fornhamfred]

Hi

I think that you are making life very difficult by trying to use your speedtouch, however if you want to try this thread may help:

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2002492

Your network connector would normally be installed automatically by Nadia but it may be worth opening a terminal and posting the output here from entering

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lspci

[monere]

Hi

I think that you are making life very difficult by trying to use your speedtouch, however if you want to try this thread may help:

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2002492

Your network connector would normally be installed automatically by Nadia but it may be worth opening a terminal and posting the output here from entering

Code: Select all

lspci

Hi,

I am not trying to use speedtouch per-se, I just have no other option to connect to the internet I told you that I have a router that my ISP gave me a month or so ago but I cant use it because it doesn't take IPs, and I have no idea why it takes no IPs, which is why I assumed it was the network adapter that is at fault for this.

Anyway, I couldn't understand anything from the link you gave me above as I am beginner (read VERY beginner) with Linux and so I have no idea what to do with those instructions and lines of code, where to type them (probably in terminal but there was no clear instructions on what to type exactly) or how to install programs. Yep, I am clueless about how to install programs in Linux, and that's after 3 days of playing with it

Now, about the code you gave me for typing into terminal. I hope that at least I got this one right

Here's what typing "lspci" into terminal and hitting ENTER returned:

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00:00.0 Host bridge: NVIDIA Corporation C55 Host Bridge (rev a2)
00:00.1 RAM memory: NVIDIA Corporation C55 Memory Controller (rev a1)
00:00.2 RAM memory: NVIDIA Corporation C55 Memory Controller (rev a1)
00:00.3 RAM memory: NVIDIA Corporation C55 Memory Controller (rev a1)
00:00.4 RAM memory: NVIDIA Corporation C55 Memory Controller (rev a1)
00:00.5 RAM memory: NVIDIA Corporation C55 Memory Controller (rev a2)
00:00.6 RAM memory: NVIDIA Corporation C55 Memory Controller (rev a1)
00:00.7 RAM memory: NVIDIA Corporation C55 Memory Controller (rev a1)
00:01.0 RAM memory: NVIDIA Corporation C55 Memory Controller (rev a1)
00:01.1 RAM memory: NVIDIA Corporation C55 Memory Controller (rev a1)
00:01.2 RAM memory: NVIDIA Corporation C55 Memory Controller (rev a1)
00:01.3 RAM memory: NVIDIA Corporation C55 Memory Controller (rev a1)
00:01.4 RAM memory: NVIDIA Corporation C55 Memory Controller (rev a1)
00:01.5 RAM memory: NVIDIA Corporation C55 Memory Controller (rev a1)
00:01.6 RAM memory: NVIDIA Corporation C55 Memory Controller (rev a1)
00:02.0 RAM memory: NVIDIA Corporation C55 Memory Controller (rev a1)
00:02.1 RAM memory: NVIDIA Corporation C55 Memory Controller (rev a1)
00:02.2 RAM memory: NVIDIA Corporation C55 Memory Controller (rev a1)
00:03.0 PCI bridge: NVIDIA Corporation C55 PCI Express bridge (rev a1)
00:07.0 PCI bridge: NVIDIA Corporation C55 PCI Express bridge (rev a1)
00:09.0 RAM memory: NVIDIA Corporation MCP51 Host Bridge (rev a2)
00:0a.0 ISA bridge: NVIDIA Corporation MCP51 LPC Bridge (rev a3)
00:0a.1 SMBus: NVIDIA Corporation MCP51 SMBus (rev a3)
00:0a.2 RAM memory: NVIDIA Corporation MCP51 Memory Controller 0 (rev a3)
00:0b.0 USB controller: NVIDIA Corporation MCP51 USB Controller (rev a3)
00:0b.1 USB controller: NVIDIA Corporation MCP51 USB Controller (rev a3)
00:0d.0 IDE interface: NVIDIA Corporation MCP51 IDE (rev a1)
00:0e.0 IDE interface: NVIDIA Corporation MCP51 Serial ATA Controller (rev a1)
00:0f.0 IDE interface: NVIDIA Corporation MCP51 Serial ATA Controller (rev a1)
00:10.0 PCI bridge: NVIDIA Corporation MCP51 PCI Bridge (rev a2)
00:10.1 Audio device: NVIDIA Corporation MCP51 High Definition Audio (rev a2)
00:14.0 Bridge: NVIDIA Corporation MCP51 Ethernet Controller (rev a3)
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] nee ATI RV730 PRO [Radeon HD 4650]
01:00.1 Audio device: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] nee ATI RV710/730 HDMI Audio [Radeon HD 4000 series]
02:00.0 SATA controller: JMicron Technology Corp. JMB360 AHCI Controller (rev 02)
03:06.0 Multimedia audio controller: Creative Labs CA0106 Soundblaster
03:07.0 Multimedia video controller: Internext Compression Inc iTVC16 (CX23416) Video Decoder (rev 01)
03:08.0 FireWire (IEEE 1394): VIA Technologies, Inc. VT6306/7/8 [Fire II(M)] IEEE 1394 OHCI Controller (rev c0)

Also - unrelated to our subject - I have 5 partitions on my hard drive that are displayed on the desktop (inside Linux I mean) and when I hover the mouse over any of these partitions it says "Removable Volume, Not Mounted Yet". That "removable" word worries me since I am not really sure that I formatted and partitioned the drive correctly when I installed Mint 14.

So, can I ask you why it says "removable" and why it also says "not mounted"? What if I accidentally delete one of those icons on the desktop? Does it affect the correspondent partition as well? Please let me know cause I am concerned. I have Windows XP installed on this computer and I don't want to lose any OS installation or any files as I have no backup drive to backup 400 GB of data.

Thanks and let's solve this internet issue once and for all, cause I can't stand being at the mercy of Windows anymore.

Oh, and one more thing: you forgot - in case you intended to provide tips for this issue to begin with - to tell me about the sound card. Why can't I hear any sound? Where do I get drivers for Linux for my sound card?

I have Linux Mint 14 (Nadia) Xfce x64 and sound card is Creative Soundblaster Xfi Xtreme Audio I think. Actually, I am not sure about the Xtreme part of it but everything else is accurate

And also the PC is P5N-E SLI (MotherBoard) Intel Core2 Quad Duo 2,4Ghz (CPU) HDD is Seagate (476 or 478 GB) I think, and RAM is 2GB. In case any of these matters (I saw on many threads people posting their computer configurations even though there was no reason for that)

[DeRaza360]

This probably doesn't apply here, but have you gone into your sound settings and messed with the controls? After clicking the sound icon in the panel and clicking sound settings, the are many sound cards and options for said sound cards you can change. The 'Built-In Audio Analogue Stereo (Pulseaudio)' may be set completely down, and this could cause every sound not to produce. The setting is not reflected in your main audio controls.

[monere]

This probably doesn't apply here, but have you gone into your sound settings and messed with the controls? After clicking the sound icon in the panel and clicking sound settings, the are many sound cards and options for said sound cards you can change. The 'Built-In Audio Analogue Stereo (Pulseaudio)' may be set completely down, and this could cause every sound not to produce. The setting is not reflected in your main audio controls.

Ye, I tried this but I can't really guarantee I picked that one exact option as never dealing with these before I didn't know what each of them were and to me they all looked more or less the same

Oh well, I will pick that one specific option again but I have a feeling it wont work.

Will post here after I've tried it

EDIT: Tried and failed. I picked every single option in that menu while keeping banshee opened and playing at all times. None of the options produced any sound at all, everything seems to work fine, except there is no sound.

What about the network adapter/internet connection? How can I find out if the device that connects my computer to the internet is good or faulty?

Also, why do some programs in Linux Mint crash at times? It happened once to my Xfburn CD-Burner 3 days ago when I wanted to burn a CD so I can see how good Xfburn is when compared to its Windows brothers (it works but it's slow like a snail, even when choosing max speed which doesn't go beyond x3-4). I put everything on the blank CD, and after I clicked "Burn on CD" the program closed unexpectedly and I had to start it all over again.

And yesterday (2 or 3 times) and today (once, a few minutes ago) Banshee also closed unexpectedly when I had it import my music into it. It just closed on its own

Are these program crashes frequent with Linux or is it just my case?

[Fornhamfred]

Sorry for the delay, are you still trying to sort this out?

If so your ethernet controller is listed in the output you posted as NVIDIA Corporation MCP51 Ethernet Controller (rev a3).
I am looking into this and have found some posts relating to connection problems, in the mean time could you put the following into a terminal and post the output.

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sudo ifconfig

[monere]

Sorry for the delay, are you still trying to sort this out?

If so your ethernet controller is listed in the output you posted as NVIDIA Corporation MCP51 Ethernet Controller (rev a3).
I am looking into this and have found some posts relating to connection problems, in the mean time could you put the following into a terminal and post the output.

Code: Select all

sudo ifconfig

Hi and no problem

I managed to connect to the internet by getting a new router and making the necessary connections. And now everything is PERFECT in this regard

The only issue that left unsolved on this specific thread is the sound card. I have no sound at all and I don't know where the problem is. Based on the readings I found in Google and other's people issues on various forums who also happen to have the same Linux version as mine (Mint 14 x64 Xfce) I am beginning to think it's the x64 thingy that is causing the sound problems. But I can't say for sure cause I know soooo very little about Linux.

Anyway, thanks for your help and if you have any idea of what might solve the "no sound" issue feel free to share it. Meanwhile I will go and install another distro (this time a 32 bits one) and see if results are different.

Cheers!

PS: I did type the code into the terminal as you said and I will post the results below just for your own record, but the internet connectivity issue is solved:

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eth0      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:1a:92:65:d7:38 
          inet addr:192.168.1.2  Bcast:192.168.1.255  Mask:255.255.255.0
          inet6 addr: fe80::21a:92ff:fe65:d738/64 Scope:Link
          UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:26957 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:25071 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
          RX bytes:25534313 (25.5 MB)  TX bytes:3351456 (3.3 MB)

lo        Link encap:Local Loopback 
          inet addr:127.0.0.1  Mask:255.0.0.0
          inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
          UP LOOPBACK RUNNING  MTU:16436  Metric:1
          RX packets:3340 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:3340 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
          RX bytes:332226 (332.2 KB)  TX bytes:332226 (332.2 KB)

[Fornhamfred]

Glad to hear that you have resolved your connection problem. The output you posted shows that you are connected on Ethernet connection eth0. Your old modem would probably have shown eth0 with no IP address.

With regard to the sound, do not give up. If you run your live cd of 14XFCE do you get any sound and if so check in control
centre to see what settings are selected under sound. Also this thread may be of help.http://www.linuxandlife.com/2012/05/no- ... -maya.html

I had a lot of trouble getting the sound working on my new machine which is running Mint LMDE 64. Pulse audio has a controller which pavucontrol. If you go to package manager and enter pavucontrol it will bring up the package, right click it and select install and then apply. You should find an entry under preferences Pulse audio volume control. If not put in pavucontrol in a terminal and enter. You may find that the output device entry for your sound card is muted.

[monere]

@ Fornhamfred

Thanks for the tips but I think they won't help anymore as I just installed Ubuntu 12.04 x32 and I managed to make the sound work in Ubuntu (yes, I had no sound in Ubuntu as well) by using a new sound card. After more searching in Google and on forums I found out that my sound card was too crappy and that none of the Linux versions recognizes and/or supports it and that also none of the folks who had the same card ever made it to work jsut because Linux doesn't recongize it. The card was Creative Soundblaster Xfi Xtreme Audio btw (which apparently seemed to be in fact an Auda.. something, or Audigity or something like that model, and this model-name switch seems to be the reason Linux didn't recongnize it)....

Anyway, I replaced it with a 15 old (maybe even older) sound card that I unplugged from an old, full of dust computer I had sitting in the basement and now the sound works (under Ubuntu only)

Well, it didn't work right away. I had to first go to BIOS and disable the onboard sound card (assuming I have one, which I probaly have but never knew about it anyway, lol). So, with these being said and done (aka onboard sound card disabled in BIOS and current - crappy - sound card replaced with an ancient but working one) I finally managed to get the sound function under Ubuntu 12.04.

As for Mint, still no sound, not even with the new card and settings. I really don't know what Mint doesn't like about my PC