Eliteforum - 5-12-2004 at 16:58
I've been playing with Linux on and off for a few years now and finally took the plunge to move to it full time. Only to be left pondering if I
should go back to the MS OS.
The main reason I went back to the MS OS all the other times as every time I've installed Linux (Always been Red Hat) I've never had it
support any of the sound cards I've used.
So, I've just installed Red Hat 9. And you guessed it, I have no sound! And I can't have a PC without being able to enjoy a film or the odd
mp3.
So, after installation, and going through the last checks, it asks me if I want to test the sound card. It seemed to have picked up all the relevant
information. Which I've detailed below.
Vendor: VIA Technologies
Model: VT8233 AC97 Audio Controller
Module: via82cxxx_audio
But when I click "Test Audio" I hear nothing. Is there anyway I can get sound? I'm using a Asus A7VBX-X motherboard, and any help
would be very much appreciated.
And before someone get's smart. Yes, I've checked to see if the speakers are plugged in and powered.. 
Thermal - 5-12-2004 at 17:15
See what errors come up in
/var/log/messages (it's a text file)
This seems to be a common problem with your chipset.
If you feel like hacking this may help:
http://www.alsa-project.org/alsa-doc/doc-php/template.php?mo...
http://www.brandonhutchinson.com/VIA_VT8233_sound_with_Red_H...
[Edited on 6-12-2004 by Thermal]
[Edited on 6-12-2004 by Thermal]
Yes, it can be a pain the first time
Polverone - 5-12-2004 at 21:50
I know you probably don't want to throw more money at the problem, but I have found that certain very cheap soundblaster clones like those using
the Ensoniq ES1371 chipset work very well under Linux. I think I bought mine for $10 back in 1999, though I don't know if that particular chipset
is around in new equipment. Hunt for the cheapest soundcard you can that other people seem to have good luck with in Linux, then use that. It's a
better use of resources than spending hours trying to get your existing hardware to work.
Oh, and this is another sort of smart-ass question, but are you sure the mixer levels are non-zero? Sometimes they get accidentally muted or are muted
by default. Type aumix in a console to check.
Eliteforum - 6-12-2004 at 11:57
I've checked the sound levels and are all at full whack. I'm back on XP at the moment. 
I'm downloading Slackware, and someone suggested that I needed to install something called "alsa" I've no idea what this is, but
I'm told I need to install this before I can use sound?
Quantum - 6-12-2004 at 12:26
I use Slackware and it comes with ALSA.
You must(as root) run 'alsamixer' and then 'alsactl store' to set the settings up.
Adjust the levels up and make sure it works by playing a music while you fidle with it.
Linux is good for you
cyclonite4 - 7-12-2004 at 06:42
alsa is an acronym for "advanced linux sound architecture".
There is one other sound system for linux but i cant remember what it is called... a good way to find the appropriate driver for your sound card is to
run a copy of knoppix (cd bootable linux OS) and watch it as it auto determines the correct drivers for your devices.
Eliteforum - 7-12-2004 at 07:09
I've just downloaded a burnt Slackware v10.0 and I have to say it's got me confused just installing the thing!
I get as far as setting up the keyboard mapping, then it asks me if want to continue with setting up the hard drive. I go on, and I then have to
fdisk or cfdisk. I know how to make a partition and how to set it active, but not a Linux partition.
I've two hard drives plugged into this machine, hence why I can get on the 'net using XP Pro. But I'm in the process of downloading
Partition Magic 8, so I can make a Linux partition via that way. Does anyone know if this will work?
Thanks for the help thus far!
Thermal - 7-12-2004 at 15:58
You've probably taken care of this by now but this may be a big help.
http://www.bitbenderforums.com/vb22/showthread.php?postid=31...
Anyways you need to partition your linux drive with at least 2 partitions, a swap and a main. The swap is type 82 and the main should probably be
ext2 which is type 83
I have no experiance with Partition magic
If you get frusterated with this you could try Debian.
It's much easier to use and imho the best all-around distribution though without the nitty-gritty-ness that makes slackware a favorite.
Eliteforum - 7-12-2004 at 16:45
Haven't sorted it yet, downloaded installed Slackware, yet after installation, I was just left with a command prompt? Is this normal?
I installed the X, and KDE enviroments, as I'm not that handy with the cmd line.
HRH_Prince_Charles - 7-12-2004 at 17:37
I'm not au fait with Slackware, but generally you should type 'startx' to start the X-Window system.
cyclonite4 - 8-12-2004 at 05:13
Assuming you have ample HDD space... you should make the swap a nice size.... on my 20GB comp i used a 1GB swap... went really smooth coupled with 512
RAM
Eliteforum - 8-12-2004 at 05:46
Like this?
[Edited on 8-12-2004 by Eliteforum]
cyclonite4 - 8-12-2004 at 07:42
not bad 
it'll do for now 