Member Avatar for veledrom

Hi,
I have Ubuntu 8. Sound doesn't work. I have Realtek HD. This what i have done before but not working.

sudo vi /etc/rc.local
add “modprobe snd-sb16″ (before exit 0)
write and quit
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  • Latest Post Latest Post by jbennet

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Short expert checklist and context tied to the thread: reported a Realtek HD card and suggested a BIOS update. Firmware changes can affect hardware enumeration, but flashing carries risk and should be a last resort. Many Realtek codecs work with the kernel's ALSA snd-hda-intel stack; common failure points on older Ubuntu releases are: the kernel never detected the card, channels are muted in the mixer, PulseAudio/Sound settings are pointing to the wrong device, or the kernel/ALSA versions lack the correct codec probe.

Useful diagnostics (run these on the machine and read the outputs for clues):

aplay -l
lspci -nnk | grep -A2 -i audio
cat /proc/asound/cards
lsmod | grep '^snd'
dmesg | egrep -i 'snd|hda|alsa'
alsamixer

What to look for: if aplay -l says no cards, the kernel didn’t detect the device; lspci shows the audio hardware and which driver is in use; lsmod shows loaded sound modules; dmesg reveals probe/codec errors; alsamixer lets one unmute channels (muted channels show as MM and toggle with M, F6 selects the card).

Common fixes and cautions: unmute and raise levels in alsamixer and test with speaker-test -c2. If the kernel detects the card but audio is silent, try restarting ALSA and PulseAudio (use the distribution’s alsa-utils script and pulseaudio -k). If the codec is probed incorrectly, find the codec name with

cat /proc/asound/card*/codec* | grep Codec

and, if documented for that codec, add an options snd-hda-intel model=... line to /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf (use the ALSA model list for the exact value). If the kernel/ALSA in Ubuntu 8 is too old, a newer kernel or the ALSA backports/kernel updates (packaged for the distro) typically fixes support better than ad-hoc vendor installers. BIOS flashing and vendor drivers can help but carry risk; prefer stepwise software diagnosis and consider upgrading from Ubuntu 8 for long-term compatibility.

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Member Avatar for jbennet

You may need to update your BIOS

I had sigmatel HD audio on an intel chipset in a dell PC, and to get sound to work in linux (and vista too, oddly) i needed to update the BIOS.

Check the board manufacturers site. Exercise caution with regards to flashing the BIOS. Best to read up on it beforehand, and only apply it if the release notes state that it will fix sound detection.

Member Avatar for veledrom

Oooo, i did it once and killed my previous board. Lets not listen to the music then.

Member Avatar for jbennet

Its generally faiely safe. Just make sure you dont shut off the PC during the process.

Bad news is you will generally need to be running windows to do the flash

Member Avatar for veledrom

If i am brave enough i will do. Ithink there is a live bios update in Asus's site for me.

Member Avatar for jbennet

As I said, ensure that thats what you actually need. It was the solution for me but maybe not for you.

perhaps ask on the ubuntu forums?

Member Avatar for veledrom

i have just updated my bios via live asus update. I formatted my PC. When i install all the drivers for mainboard, i have seen a folder called "Linux". Guess what was in there. Driver of Realtek for Linux.
I will try it later.

Member Avatar for jbennet

Sweet. Give it a go, but it should be built into the newest kernel already.

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