Can't install sound card driver

[kwatson512]

Hi,

Sorry for all the newbie questions, but I'm lost. I just installed Mint on a Dell XPS400 machine with a Creative SB X-Fi sound card. I found a linux driver on the Creative website (ALSA-compliant), but can't figure out how to install it. The instructions say run the following command in terminal:

./installer

When I do that it says "No such file or directory."

I tried "sudo ./installer" and got "command not found" (after I entered my password).

An alternative they provide says try

.installer --with-alsainc=<ALSA_include_directory>

*ALSA Source Tree

But I just don't understand linux command syntax well enough to know what to do. Is there a particular place I'm supposed to put the driver? how do you navigate there in Terminal? Do you have to issue commands from the same directory (like Windows)?

Please help.
Ken

[Husse]

You have to install build-essentials to compile
http://www.linuxmint.com/forum/viewtopi ... =90&t=9234
and you must (like in DOS/Win) be in the same folder
You use cd to change folder in the terminal, but in Mint you can right click and open a terminal - very handy
I don't know if you should use sudo or not - depends on what the installer does

[kwatson512]

Thanks for the help so far. I installed build-essentials, and then opened a terminal in the folder containing the ALSA files for my sound card. Following the instructions, I was able to initiate the installation, but it hung up at "config.status: creating Makefile.conf". The line above that is "configure: creating ./config.status"

This is a fairly long script. After waiting about 20 minutes, I interrupted the process with ^C, and it displayed the following:

make: *** [install] Interrupt

Should I start it again and just let it go? How long? Or is something wrong with the script?

Thanks,
Ken

[newW2]

kwatson512,
I assume the driver you refer to was a compressed source package with one of the following extentions(.tar, .tar.gz, .tgz, .tar.bz,). And once un-tared or extracted the file the Readme file provided the instructions. Is that correct?
There are a couple of how to install from source links here and here that you may, or may not have read. Perhaps they will help. Post back if you are still having fun.

[kwatson512]

Yes, it's a custom installer from Creative wrapped up in a "XFi_Drv_Linux_US-1.18.tar.gz" tarball. I found it here. I was able to extract it into a single folder on my desktop (and extract the list of drivers inside that), and then open a terminal in that folder and execute the command recommended in the readme file. When that executes, it has a couple of stops that require intervention (it presents the license agreement and requires a Yes or No response to continue or stop). The problem is that after all that, it just hangs up at the "creating Makefile.conf" command. There's no indication whether it's waiting on a nonexistent dependency. I believe Mint Daryna comes with ALSA support, so I'm not sure what is causing the installer to not work.

I have done a manual install, following the same procedure you pointed to, but I'm not sure if that will work in this case, and don't have a firm grasp on the syntax.

Is there a list of commands anyone can recommend to try to make this work manually? I might just go out and get another sound card that's supported by Linux. Any recommendations? I write and arrange music on the computer, so need an onboard synthesizer for playback. However, we only have a 2.1 speaker setup, so I don't need whiz-bang surround sound or gaming support.

Thanks,
Ken

[newW2]

Yes mint has ALSA support. You can verify that under control center --> multimedia.
Could post the Readme, that would be great. I'm also wondering if you used sudo in the shell script command that you were instructed to execute. Also where that command was launched from. I ask that question because you said:

...(and extract the list of drivers inside that), and then open a terminal in that folder and execute the command recommended in the readme file.

So, what folder you are in and the command you issue are important.
I would assume the steps you took to be as follows:

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tar -zxvf /path_to_the_tarball

note on path_to_the_tarball. From what you said it is on the desktop - you can drag the tarball file to the terminal cli where you entered the sudo command and it will add the path for you. Hit enter.
This will extract the tarball. Again in the terminal cd to the extracted folder. As before the easy way out is to enter cd and drag the newly extracted folder to the cli and hit enter. You are now in the extracted folder. Now enter:

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sudo and the shell script that the Readme said you should run

This is really what I expect you have done already, so if not try that and lets see what happens. Pay particular attention to any errors you get. Write them down if you can, so someone can help you out if further help is needed.

[kwatson512]

Well, not exactly. I double-clicked the tarball and Mint offered me a menu, from which I chose "extract" and the desktop as the location. Then I went into that folder and opened a terminal there from which to execute commands.

Original tarball is "XFiDrv_Linux_US-1.18.tar.gz"

It extracts to a folder: "XFiDrv_Linux_US-1.18"

Inside that are five things:
installer
License.txt
Readme.txt
XFiDrv_Linux_US-1.18.tar.bz2

This tarball extracts to a folder called "drivers" which has 16 files in it:
arch
AUTHORS
ChangeLog
configure
creative.tar.gz
ctsound
file_structure
globalrules.mk
include
install-sh
Makefile
Makefile.build
Makefile.conf.in
NEWS
README
src

I can't read any of those, even selecting "Show Hidden Files".

I just tried to attach the readme.txt file and failed twice. First, I got an error saying "the extension txt is not allowed." Second time I renamed the file to just "readme" and got an error saying "the extension is not allowed." I'd love to attach the file so you can see it, but don't even know how to do that. Linux is making me feel like a real moron today.

What am I doing wrong?
Ken

[newW2]

Did a google search on this driver. Can't see taht you are doing anything wrong. I does however, look like many people have had fun with this driver, and some say that ALSA support doesn't work.
Seems installing the OSS driver worked for this guy.
See if these links help fix your problem. Sorry that's all I can offer. Maybe one of the other members have installed this driver and have it working and they will rescue us both.

[kwatson512]

Thanks so much, but I only got a partial solution here. I installed the OSS driver and now have system sounds, but videos (flash, etc.) have no sound. I rebooted after all the installations. When I click on the volume control and ask to set up volume it says "No volume control GStreamer plugins and/or devices found."

Also, I can't delete the XFiDrv_Linux_US.1.18 folder. Even as root, it says it's a directory and can't be deleted.

I may be going out to buy a new sound card. Recommendations?

Ken

[kwatson512]

By the way, where are sound files stored in linux? I'd like to have new mail announce with something other than the dull system beep and can't find any wav files. (Maybe I don't know how to browse.)

Ken

[newW2]

One piece at a time I guess. Here's what our friends at Ubuntu tell us about the volume. This tweak installs an applet.
It says:
"You should now be able to launch ossxmix by selecting the volume control from the applications, sound and video menu."

I have on-board sound, so not much help there.

[kwatson512]

Unfortunately, that applet is for AMD64, and I have an Intel Pentium D processor.

Any other thoughts?
Ken

[newW2]

On-board audio disabled in bios?

[Husse]

Seems problem solving goes on without me
Just a note - unfortunately you can't attach a text file in phpBB
Instead copy the entire text and paste it as Code

[kwatson512]

Well, thanks to Husse and newW2 I have partial success. I now have start-up and shut-down sound, and can play CDs and DVDs. However, my volume control still has a red x in it and doesn't work and I there is no sound from streaming video (flash).

Here are the relevant results from the commands from the comprehensive guide to sound problems:

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$ aplay -l


********************   WARNING   *******************************
Warning! aplay uses ALSA emulation instead of the native OSS API
****************************************************************

**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 1: snd_ctl_card_info_get_id [Sound Blaster X-Fi], device 0: OSS ID [Sound Blaster X-Fi output]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: OSS subname
card 1: snd_ctl_card_info_get_id [Sound Blaster X-Fi], device 1: OSS ID [Sound Blaster X-Fi input]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: OSS subname

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$ lspci -v
05:04.0 Multimedia audio controller: Creative Labs SB X-Fi
        Subsystem: Creative Labs X-Fi XtremeMusic
        Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 64, IRQ 16
        I/O ports at bce0 [size=32]
        Memory at f9600000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=2M]
        Memory at f4000000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=64M]
        Capabilities: <access denied>

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$ sudo modprobe snd-
[sudo] password for kwatson512:
FATAL: Module snd_ not found.

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$ alsamixer


********************   WARNING   *******************************
Warning! alsamixer uses ALSA emulation instead of the native OSS API
****************************************************************

snd_mixer_set_callback()
No mixer elems found

So is there anything I can do to get full functionality out of this sound card?

Also, I tried to follow the link posted by newW2, but it didn't work. Here is what was returned.

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$gzip /usr/lib/gstreamer-0.10/libgstossaudio.so mv libgstossaudio.so /usr/lib/gstreamer-0.10/
gzip: /usr/lib/gstreamer-0.10/libgstossaudio.so: No such file or directory
gzip: mv: No such file or directory
gzip: libgstossaudio.so: No such file or directory
gzip: /usr/lib/gstreamer-0.10/ is a directory -- ignored

I think I'm close, but am too much of a newbie to get over these last two hurdles. Any suggestions?

[Husse]

This code does not look right

$gzip /usr/lib/gstreamer-0.10/libgstossaudio.so mv libgstossaudio.so /usr/lib/gstreamer-0.10/
gzip: /usr/lib/gstreamer-0.10/libgstossaudio.so: No such file or directory
gzip: mv: No such file or directory
gzip: libgstossaudio.so: No such file or directory
gzip: /usr/lib/gstreamer-0.10/ is a directory -- ignored

I have not checked the original post, but this is not right - try again

[newW2]

Just wondering ... when you executed step 4:

4) Now go back to the shell and type
Code:
sudo modprobe snd-

Did you do the following?
"Now, press the TAB key BEFORE pressing the ENTER key to see a list of modules. Try to find the module that matches the driver you found in step 3."

[kwatson512]

Well, maybe I should have left well enough alone. I upgraded (fresh install) from Daryna to Elyssa, hoping that the SoundBlaster XFi problem might have been solved automagically. The fix I used in Daryna (OSS instead of ALSA) hasn't worked for me in Elyssa.

I went through as much of the comprehensive guide to sound problems (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=205449) as I could, and when that failed I tried the OSS route instead of ALSA.

The OSS driver fails to install, because it either fails to recognize the package or says I don't have permission. The recommendation in the oss-install instructions are to <Ctrl><Alt><F1> and logon as root at the console to execute the dpkg script. I can't logon as root at the console, and I'm not sure how Mint implements that. I did not establish a root password when I installed Mint, and can accomplish all I need to do (usually) using sudo or gksu.

The ALSA driver install package must be flawed. It goes through its steps and then says "Installation Unsuccessful."

Here are the results of several commands for those that might have a clue. I'm stumped (not too hard for this almost-noob).

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aplay -l
aplay: device_list:205: no soundcards found...

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lspci -v
05:04.0 Multimedia audio controller: Creative Labs SB X-Fi
	Subsystem: Creative Labs X-Fi XtremeMusic
	Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 64, IRQ 11
	I/O ports at bce0 [size=32]
	Memory at f9600000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=2M]
	Memory at f4000000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=64M]
	Capabilities: <access denied>

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sudo modprobe snd-
FATAL: Module snd_ not found.

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./installer

(from inside the XFiDrv_Linux_US-1.18 folder)

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checking for gcc... gcc
checking for C compiler default output file name... a.out
checking whether the C compiler works... yes
checking whether we are cross compiling... no
checking for suffix of executables... 
checking for suffix of object files... o
checking whether we are using the GNU C compiler... yes
checking whether gcc accepts -g... yes
checking for gcc option to accept ANSI C... none needed
checking for ranlib... ranlib
checking for a BSD-compatible install... /usr/bin/install -c
checking how to run the C preprocessor... gcc -E
checking for egrep... grep -E
checking for ANSI C header files... yes
checking for an ANSI C-conforming const... yes
checking for inline... inline
checking whether time.h and sys/time.h may both be included... yes
checking whether gcc needs -traditional... no
checking for current directory... /opt/Creative/XFiDrv_Linux_US-1.18/drivers
checking cross compile... 
checking for directory with kernel source... /lib/modules/2.6.24-16-generic/build
checking for directory with kernel build... 
checking for directory with ALSA include files... /lib/modules/2.6.24-16-generic/build/include
checking for kernel linux/version.h... yes
checking for kernel linux/autoconf.h... yes
checking for kernel version... 2.6.24-16-generic
checking for GCC version... Kernel compiler:  Used compiler: gcc (GCC) 4.2.3 (Ubuntu 4.2.3-2ubuntu7)

*** NO PREDEFINED KERNEL COMPILER IS DETECTED
*** Assuming the same compiler is used with the current system compiler.

*** Please make sure that the same compiler version was used for building kernel.

checking for built-in ALSA... no
checking for existing ALSA module... no
checking to modify of kernel linux/kmod.h... no
checking for kernel linux/compiler.h... yes
checking for kernel linux/pm.h... yes
checking for kernel linux/spinlock.h... yes
checking for kernel linux/irq.h... yes
checking for kernel linux/threads.h... yes
checking for kernel linux/rwsem.h... yes
checking for kernel linux/gameport.h... yes
checking for kernel linux/devfs_fs_kernel.h... no
Creating a dummy <linux/devfs_fs_kernel.h>...
checking for kernel linux/highmem.h... yes
checking for kernel linux/workqueue.h... yes
checking for kernel linux/dma-mapping.h... yes
checking for kernel asm/hw_irq.h... yes
checking for kernel linux/device.h... yes
checking for kernel linux/platform_device.h... yes
checking for kernel linux/jiffies.h... yes
checking for kernel linux/compat.h... yes
checking for kernel linux/adb.h... yes
checking for kernel linux/cuda.h... yes
checking for kernel linux/pmu.h... yes
checking for kernel linux/moduleparam.h... yes
checking for kernel linux/syscalls.h... yes
checking for kernel linux/firmware.h... yes
checking for kernel linux/err.h... yes
checking for kernel linux/bitmap.h... yes
checking for kernel linux/mutex.h... yes
checking for kernel module symbol versions... yes
checking for PCI support in kernel... yes
checking for I2C driver in kernel... module
checking for firmware loader... yes
checking for input subsystem in kernel... yes
checking for directory to store kernel modules... /lib/modules/2.6.24-16-generic/kernel/sound
checking for ISA support in kernel... yes
checking for processor type... i586
checking for ISA DMA API... yes
checking for SMP... yes
checking for Video device support in kernel... yes
checking for strlcpy... no
checking for snprintf... no
checking for vsnprintf... no
checking for scnprintf... no
checking for sscanf... no
checking for vmalloc_to_page... no
checking for old kmod... yes
checking for PDE... no
checking for pci_set_consistent_dma_mask... no
checking for pci_dev_present... no
checking for msleep... no
checking for msecs_to_jiffies... no
checking for tty->count is the atomic type... no
checking for video_get_drvdata... no
checking for io_remap_pfn_range... no
checking for new io_remap_page_range... no
checking for kcalloc... no
checking for kstrdup... no
checking for kzalloc... no
checking for create_workqueue with flags... no
checking for saved_config_space in pci_dev... no
checking for register_sound_special_device... no
checking for RTC callback support in kernel... no
checking for HPET support... yes
checking for Procfs support... yes
checking for class_simple... no
checking for old driver suspend/resume callbacks... no
checking for removal of page-reservation for nopage/mmap... no
checking for nested class_device... no
checking for new unlocked/compat_ioctl... no
configure: creating ./config.status
config.status: creating Makefile.conf
make: *** [all] Error 2
make: *** [install] Error 2
Installation Unsuccessful

Running on a Dell XPS 400 Desktop machine with Intel Dual Pentium D processor at 2.80GHz, 4GB RAM, dual-boot with WinXP.

[kwatson512]

NewW2, I'm still having difficulty. Your post of Apr 27 got me going before, so I hope you or someone can help me figure this out now. The ALSA driver never worked for me then, but the OSS one did. Now I have rolled back to Daryna (fresh install) to try to get sound working again. When I installed Elyssa, I lost sound, so now I'm trying to get back to where I was before. Only this time I can't install the OSS package.

The first step worked fine:

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sudo apt-get install build-essential libesd0 esound oss-compat

But when I downloaded the driver package from here, and then tried to install it, the installer didn't recognize the package. Here's what I got:

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kwatson512@kwatson512-mint:~$ sudo dpkg -l '/home/kwatson512/Desktop/oss-linux-4.0-1016_i386.deb' 
[sudo] password for kwatson512:
No packages found matching /home/kwatson512/Desktop/oss-linux-4.0-1016_i386.deb.
kwatson512@kwatson512-mint:~$

I also tried Ctrl-Alt-F1 and logging in as root in Console, but got the same result.

Stumped again.

[newW2]

Try double-clicking the .deb file you downloaded and selecting install.