[SOLVED] Corrupt C-Media together with Sound Blaster
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[SOLVED] Corrupt C-Media together with Sound Blaster
Welcome All,
First I would like to say how impressed I am with Linux Mint. I have never seen a Linux so user friendly before. I installed it on 3 computers (2 desktops and 1 laptop) and everything works out of the box. Even Radeon graphics and Intel graphics magically works after first boot. My GeForce card required a driver install, but Mint helped with it - now it is so easy, that even a small child could do it.
I do have one problem with sound however on one of the desktops.
I noticed lots of posts with sound problems, but they didn't help me, so I decided to start a new topic.
This is my situation:
Software: Linux Mint 6 32-bit with all updates (together with Windows XP - dual boot)
Hardware:
Integrated C-Media sound chip - which became damaged long time ago, it gets detected even if I disable it in BIOS. In win xp I had to disable this device
SB Live 5.1 - my second sound card, which I currently use
After installing Mint I had the following symptoms:
Linux itself did not produce sound.
No programs, games, music players, video players produced any sound.
Now the weird thing: Only one application produced sound out of the box: Rhythmbox
I have spent hours trying to configure the sound correctly. In control panel these are the options I can choose:
After trial an error I noticed that only one option produces a Test sound. I hold mouse over this option in the image above.
This is my current configuration:
With this configuration it was possible to hear a bit more sound, but it gets even more weird.
Now I managed to get Audacious to produce sound.
Audacious works only if:
Current Output Plugin: ALSA Output Plugin
Audio Device: hw:1,0
Mixer Card: SB Live 5.1 Dell OEM
So far so good. Maybe MPlayer will also work with the same settings. But no... it does not.
It does however work with other settings:
Audio Driver: OSS
Device: /dev/dsp1
Mixer: /dev/mixer
Mixer Channel: vol
Other applictions still do not work and they usually do not have sound configuration as extensive as MPlayer or Audacious, so I don't know what to do with them.
The weirdest thing of all for me is that with this configuration I can run Multiple MPlayers together with Audacious and all play sound correctly. I thought if something is using OSS, then nothing else can use the sound.
I would be very grateful if someone could explain the strange Linux behaviour and maybe post a possible solution if you have one.
First I would like to say how impressed I am with Linux Mint. I have never seen a Linux so user friendly before. I installed it on 3 computers (2 desktops and 1 laptop) and everything works out of the box. Even Radeon graphics and Intel graphics magically works after first boot. My GeForce card required a driver install, but Mint helped with it - now it is so easy, that even a small child could do it.
I do have one problem with sound however on one of the desktops.
I noticed lots of posts with sound problems, but they didn't help me, so I decided to start a new topic.
This is my situation:
Software: Linux Mint 6 32-bit with all updates (together with Windows XP - dual boot)
Hardware:
Integrated C-Media sound chip - which became damaged long time ago, it gets detected even if I disable it in BIOS. In win xp I had to disable this device
SB Live 5.1 - my second sound card, which I currently use
After installing Mint I had the following symptoms:
Linux itself did not produce sound.
No programs, games, music players, video players produced any sound.
Now the weird thing: Only one application produced sound out of the box: Rhythmbox
I have spent hours trying to configure the sound correctly. In control panel these are the options I can choose:
After trial an error I noticed that only one option produces a Test sound. I hold mouse over this option in the image above.
This is my current configuration:
With this configuration it was possible to hear a bit more sound, but it gets even more weird.
Now I managed to get Audacious to produce sound.
Audacious works only if:
Current Output Plugin: ALSA Output Plugin
Audio Device: hw:1,0
Mixer Card: SB Live 5.1 Dell OEM
So far so good. Maybe MPlayer will also work with the same settings. But no... it does not.
It does however work with other settings:
Audio Driver: OSS
Device: /dev/dsp1
Mixer: /dev/mixer
Mixer Channel: vol
Other applictions still do not work and they usually do not have sound configuration as extensive as MPlayer or Audacious, so I don't know what to do with them.
The weirdest thing of all for me is that with this configuration I can run Multiple MPlayers together with Audacious and all play sound correctly. I thought if something is using OSS, then nothing else can use the sound.
I would be very grateful if someone could explain the strange Linux behaviour and maybe post a possible solution if you have one.
Last edited by LockBot on Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:16 am, edited 2 times in total.
Reason: Topic automatically closed 6 months after creation. New replies are no longer allowed.
Reason: Topic automatically closed 6 months after creation. New replies are no longer allowed.
Re: Corrupt C-Media together with Sound Blaster
Let's see if we can get rid of that Cmedia card
Run lsmod in a terminal and post it here (right click to copy)
If we can identify a module specifically for cmedia we can blacklist it. I don't know if it solves anything, but it will certainly help
Run lsmod in a terminal and post it here (right click to copy)
If we can identify a module specifically for cmedia we can blacklist it. I don't know if it solves anything, but it will certainly help
Re: Corrupt C-Media together with Sound Blaster
Code: Select all
Module Size Used by
af_packet 25728 2
binfmt_misc 16904 1
bridge 56980 0
stp 10628 1 bridge
rfcomm 44432 0
bnep 20480 2
sco 18308 2
l2cap 30464 6 rfcomm,bnep
bluetooth 61924 6 rfcomm,bnep,sco,l2cap
ppdev 15620 0
cpufreq_powersave 9856 0
cpufreq_stats 13188 0
cpufreq_userspace 11396 0
cpufreq_conservative 14600 0
cpufreq_ondemand 14988 0
freq_table 12672 2 cpufreq_stats,cpufreq_ondemand
sbs 19464 0
pci_slot 12552 0
sbshc 13440 1 sbs
wmi 14504 0
video 25104 0
output 11008 1 video
container 11520 0
battery 18436 0
iptable_filter 10752 0
ip_tables 19600 1 iptable_filter
x_tables 22916 1 ip_tables
ac 12292 0
lp 17156 0
joydev 18368 0
evdev 17696 11
snd_emu10k1_synth 14464 0
snd_emux_synth 41344 1 snd_emu10k1_synth
snd_seq_virmidi 13568 1 snd_emux_synth
snd_seq_midi_emul 14592 1 snd_emux_synth
snd_cmipci 42400 3
snd_opl3_lib 18560 1 snd_cmipci
snd_emu10k1 146208 3 snd_emu10k1_synth
snd_mpu401_uart 15360 1 snd_cmipci
snd_ac97_codec 111652 1 snd_emu10k1
snd_seq_dummy 10884 0
serio_raw 13444 0
ac97_bus 9856 1 snd_ac97_codec
psmouse 45200 0
snd_pcm_oss 46848 0
snd_mixer_oss 22784 1 snd_pcm_oss
snd_pcm 83204 4 snd_cmipci,snd_emu10k1,snd_ac97_codec,snd_pcm_oss
snd_page_alloc 16136 2 snd_emu10k1,snd_pcm
snd_util_mem 12416 2 snd_emux_synth,snd_emu10k1
snd_hwdep 15236 3 snd_emux_synth,snd_opl3_lib,snd_emu10k1
snd_seq_oss 38528 0
parport_pc 39204 1
parport 42604 3 ppdev,lp,parport_pc
snd_seq_midi 14336 0
snd_rawmidi 29824 4 snd_seq_virmidi,snd_emu10k1,snd_mpu401_uart,snd_seq_midi
nvidia 6909268 36
snd_seq_midi_event 15232 3 snd_seq_virmidi,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi
i2c_viapro 15764 0
snd_seq 57776 9 snd_emux_synth,snd_seq_virmidi,snd_seq_midi_emul,snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi,snd_seq_midi_event
pcspkr 10624 0
i2c_core 31892 2 nvidia,i2c_viapro
via_ircc 32020 0
snd_timer 29960 4 snd_opl3_lib,snd_emu10k1,snd_pcm,snd_seq
snd_seq_device 15116 9 snd_emu10k1_synth,snd_emux_synth,snd_opl3_lib,snd_emu10k1,snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq
snd 63268 26 snd_emux_synth,snd_seq_virmidi,snd_cmipci,snd_opl3_lib,snd_emu10k1,snd_mpu401_uart,snd_ac97_codec,snd_pcm_oss,snd_mixer_oss,snd_pcm,snd_hwdep,snd_seq_oss,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq,snd_timer,snd_seq_device
button 14224 0
emu10k1_gp 10880 0
irda 199612 1 via_ircc
via_agp 16256 1
crc_ccitt 10112 1 irda
gameport 19468 3 snd_cmipci,emu10k1_gp
soundcore 15328 1 snd
agpgart 42184 2 nvidia,via_agp
shpchp 37908 0
pci_hotplug 35236 1 shpchp
ext3 133384 1
jbd 55444 1 ext3
mbcache 16004 1 ext3
sr_mod 22212 0
cdrom 43168 1 sr_mod
sd_mod 42264 3
crc_t10dif 9984 1 sd_mod
sg 39732 0
usbhid 35840 0
hid 50560 1 usbhid
pata_via 16132 2
pata_acpi 12160 0
ata_generic 12932 0
libata 177312 3 pata_via,pata_acpi,ata_generic
via_rhine 30216 0
mii 13440 1 via_rhine
uhci_hcd 30736 0
ehci_hcd 43276 0
scsi_mod 155212 4 sr_mod,sd_mod,sg,libata
dock 16656 1 libata
usbcore 148848 4 usbhid,uhci_hcd,ehci_hcd
r8169 35972 0
thermal 23708 0
processor 42156 2 thermal
fan 12548 0
fbcon 47648 0
tileblit 10880 1 fbcon
font 16512 1 fbcon
bitblit 13824 1 fbcon
softcursor 9984 1 bitblit
fuse 60828 3
Re: Corrupt C-Media together with Sound Blaster
snd_ac97_codec
that's a module that is exclusively used by the Cmedia card - it is AC97
You could try to blacklist it
As you can see it's used by snd_emu10k1 which is used by snd_emu10k1_synth - modules I also recognise as AC97
Try this and see if it makes any difference
If it's a sound disaster you can edit the blacklist file and remove or better comment out the line
If it gets better
and add the two other modules
I can't experiment with this as I don't have any AC97 sound
that's a module that is exclusively used by the Cmedia card - it is AC97
You could try to blacklist it
As you can see it's used by snd_emu10k1 which is used by snd_emu10k1_synth - modules I also recognise as AC97
Try this and see if it makes any difference
Code: Select all
echo "blacklist snd_ac97_codec | sudo tee -a /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist
If it gets better
Code: Select all
gksu gedit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist
I can't experiment with this as I don't have any AC97 sound
Re: Corrupt C-Media together with Sound Blaster
I blacklisted snd_ac97_codec, but the module was loaded anyway after restart and nothing changed.
After that I also blacklisted snd_emu10k1 and snd_emu10k1_synth. After reboot none of these modules were loaded, but it just got worse.
All c-media options in control panel were still there. On the other hand sound blaster options were gone except one (SB Alsa [not connected]). After that it was impossible to produce any sound.
After that I also blacklisted snd_emu10k1 and snd_emu10k1_synth. After reboot none of these modules were loaded, but it just got worse.
All c-media options in control panel were still there. On the other hand sound blaster options were gone except one (SB Alsa [not connected]). After that it was impossible to produce any sound.
Re: Corrupt C-Media together with Sound Blaster
Hmm... Have you tried reflashing your BIOS? That issue with C-Media being impossible to be disabled seems more like a BIOS problem than anything else.
Re: Corrupt C-Media together with Sound Blaster
I have been using this bios for about 3 years and everything was ok. Suddenly under xp I started to have random crashes, sometimes after 15 s and sometimes after 15 min. After long analysis I discovered it was that c-media card. After turning it off everything was ok again. That c-media was working ok for quite a long time with the bios I have and the drivers I have.
Anyway leaving alone this c-media. Why Mint cannot use my Sound Blaster as default? In control panel I choose SB and I test it with the test button. And it works. The only problem is that Mint and majority of programs choose not to use it as default.
Anyway leaving alone this c-media. Why Mint cannot use my Sound Blaster as default? In control panel I choose SB and I test it with the test button. And it works. The only problem is that Mint and majority of programs choose not to use it as default.
Re: Corrupt C-Media together with Sound Blaster
OK, I've re-read your problem all over again and I think you blacklisted the wrong module. You should have blacklisted snd_cmipci instead of snd_ac97_codec.
I have SB Live 5.1 DE on one of my computers (on-board sound is disabled in BIOS and never gets detected by Mint) and I see snd_ac97_codec loaded there as well. And based on this page, we can see that snd_cmipci is the module needed by your CMI8738 (Model 55) card. Further, as per information on another page, we now know that you should also remove snd_emu10k1 and snd_emu10k1_synth from your /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.
I have SB Live 5.1 DE on one of my computers (on-board sound is disabled in BIOS and never gets detected by Mint) and I see snd_ac97_codec loaded there as well. And based on this page, we can see that snd_cmipci is the module needed by your CMI8738 (Model 55) card. Further, as per information on another page, we now know that you should also remove snd_emu10k1 and snd_emu10k1_synth from your /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.
Re: Corrupt C-Media together with Sound Blaster
SOLVED
Solution:
Add the following line to /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist :
This disabled the c-media module. After reboot everything magically works. I finally have sound in every application and can also hear Mint sounds, like the login sound, etc. C-media entries in control panel are gone; only Sound Blaster entries remain.
I would like to thank everyone who tried to help me.
Special thanks to you garda for posting the correct solution.
Solution:
Add the following line to /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist :
Code: Select all
blacklist snd_cmipci
I would like to thank everyone who tried to help me.
Special thanks to you garda for posting the correct solution.
Re: Corrupt C-Media together with Sound Blaster
Great!
It was Husse who pointed you in the right direction and he would have come up with the same clue himself--I only did it earlier.
It was Husse who pointed you in the right direction and he would have come up with the same clue himself--I only did it earlier.