snd_hda: Default mixer channel is PCM instead of Front

Also, just to add, there is no master volume. Every other sound card I've dealt with has a specific 'master' volume control.

lspci:
0000:00:1b.0 0403: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) High Definition Audio
Controller (rev 02)
        Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI]: Unknown device 0094
        Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 74
        Memory at c8000000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16K]
        Capabilities: <available only to root>

[4296308.793000] hda_codec: Unknown model for ALC882, trying auto-probe from BIOS...

I get that when snd-intel-hda is inserted... thought it may be significant.

The decision to use 'Front' versus 'Master' is an upstream decision. It would be extremely unwise to deviate from upstream in this regard. In fact, the alsa-utils initscript was modified to handle this difference from AC97 sound devices. It is known that 'Front' is used to control the volume and not 'PCM'.

The new kernel (2.6.15-23.35) may "fix" the "unknown model" message depending on your pci id. The message is merely informative and is not significant.

Ok... then volume control programs like GNOME's mixer-applet and KDE's kmix
should use front also. I honestly couldn't care whether it's called 'Front'
or 'Master', as long as my volume mixer controls the right channel!

Is it an ALSA or GNOME+KDE bug that the mixers grab PCM (which shows up as
the first mixing channel, Front second) instead of Front?

On 5/17/06, Daniel T Chen <email address hidden> wrote:
>
> The decision to use 'Front' versus 'Master' is an upstream decision. It
> would be extremely unwise to deviate from upstream in this regard. In
> fact, the alsa-utils initscript was modified to handle this difference
> from AC97 sound devices. It is known that 'Front' is used to control the
> volume and not 'PCM'.
>
> The new kernel (2.6.15-23.35) may "fix" the "unknown model" message
> depending on your pci id. The message is merely informative and is not
> significant.
>
> ** Changed in: alsa-utils (Ubuntu)
> Sourcepackagename: alsa-utils => linux-source-2.6.15
> Severity: Normal => Wishlist
> Status: Unconfirmed => Confirmed
>
> --
> snd_hda: Default mixer channel is PCM instead of Front
> https://launchpad.net/bugs/45167
>

this has to be an alsa bug. I have the same laptop, and this bug is the main thing keeping me from running linux full time. When i did a fresh install of flight 6, i had to change the volume control panel in Gnome to use front instead of PCM, but that doesnt fix the hardware buttons on the laptop, they still control PCM.

I can confirm that the same problem occurs in Edgy. However, after updating my ALSA modules to the latest RC (1.1.13rc1, I believe?), I was pleasantly surprised to find that PCM is now capable of fully controlling the volume.

Browsing through the changelog, it mentions a bugfix for my laptop (Acer with ALC883 codec). Over at the forums, there are 3 or 4 Acer laptop owners reporting a problem where they do not get any sound on Dapper or Edgy, but after upgrading to the latest Alsa RC, they get sound.

So, if Edgy (at least), and hopefully Dapper can get this Alsa fix backported, that would close this problem.

Is this a duplicate of bug #45167?

This is bug 45167.... :)

On 9/26/06, John Dong <email address hidden> wrote:
> This is bug 45167.... :)

Is that a yes?
/me ducks and hides under a rock until Edgy is released.

I am assigning this bug to the 'ubuntu-audio' per their bug policy. For future reference you can learn more about their bug policy at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/KernelTeamBugPolicies .

It unfortunately appears that this bug report has not yet been resolved. Does this issue still exist in the Hardy Heron 8.04 LTS release? If so, the Intrepid Ibex 8.10 Alpha2 is also targeted for release Thursday. It will appear at the following when available: http://www.ubuntu.com/testing/intrepid/alpha2 and contains the the actively developed 2.6.26 Ubuntu kernel. It would be great if you could test this upcoming release via a LiveCD and verify if the issue still exists. If so, please include the appropriate debugging information as outlined at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DebuggingSoundProblems . Thanks in advance.

Assigning to me as per https://wiki.ubuntu.com/KernelTeamBugPolicies

angel12 said:
"this has to be an alsa bug. I have the same laptop, and this bug is the main thing keeping me from running linux full time. When i did a fresh install of flight 6, i had to change the volume control panel in Gnome to use front instead of PCM, but that doesnt fix the hardware buttons on the laptop, they still control PCM."

In current versions of Ubuntu, can you not make the hardware controls use Front instead of PCM by changing the selected channel in System -> Preferences -> Sound to Front?

The Ubuntu Kernel Team is planning to move to the 2.6.27 kernel for the upcoming Intrepid Ibex 8.10 release. As a result, the kernel team would appreciate it if you could please test this newer 2.6.27 Ubuntu kernel. There are one of two ways you should be able to test:

1) If you are comfortable installing packages on your own, the linux-image-2.6.27-* package is currently available for you to install and test.

--or--

2) The upcoming Alpha5 for Intrepid Ibex 8.10 will contain this newer 2.6.27 Ubuntu kernel. Alpha5 is set to be released Thursday Sept 4. Please watch http://www.ubuntu.com/testing for Alpha5 to be announced. You should then be able to test via a LiveCD.

Please let us know immediately if this newer 2.6.27 kernel resolves the bug reported here or if the issue remains. More importantly, please open a new bug report for each new bug/regression introduced by the 2.6.27 kernel and tag the bug report with 'linux-2.6.27'. Also, please specifically note if the issue does or does not appear in the 2.6.26 kernel. Thanks again, we really appreicate your help and feedback.

Unfortunately this bug report is being closed because we received no response to the last inquiry for information. However, the Intrepid Ibex 8.10 Beta release was most recently announced - http://www.ubuntu.com/testing/intrepid/beta . If you are able to confirm this is still an issue with this most recent release please feel free to reopen this report. To reopen the bug report you can click on the current status, under the Status column, and change the Status back to "New". Thanks.