Headphone jack does not work in NC1502

[sammydlm]

The headphone jack on my Everex Stepnote NC1502 does not work in Ubuntu 7.10. The speaker works fine, but when I plug in the headphones, the sound just stops. Here is the output of aplay -l:

**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: VT82xx [HDA VIA VT82xx], device 0: VT1708 Analog [VT1708 Analog]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0

[Shang Wu (shangwu)]

Have you tried it on the 8.04 yet?

[Shang Wu (shangwu)]

You seems to be using the same chipset as the following thread, would you be interested in testing that out?

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=556217

[sammydlm (sammydlm)]

Yes, I upgraded to 8.04 and it did not work there either. I have also tried it on other distros (Suse and Mandriva) and it does not work with them, either.

[sammydlm (sammydlm)]

I can try that the instructions in the thread but I am very new to Linux and I wouldn't know exactly what to change to reflect the latest alsa and config stuff. If someone told me what to do step by step with the new ALSA and how to patch, I could do it. I can try...

[Shang Wu (shangwu)]

First before we go into all the complicated steps,

I just want to make sure that you have play around with the speaker icons and checked. Turn on all the low/mute volume options there.
Also, System> Preferences> Sound is a good play to test as well. Please try that and the instruction on that is coming up soon.

[Shang Wu (shangwu)]

: Friendly WARNING:
First, backup all your data, just in case...

And the only thing that you need to follow the instructing is to download the package from:
ftp://ftp.alsa-project.org/pub/driver/alsa-driver-1.0.16.tar.bz2

Then extracted to your home directory

Go to the alsa-driver-1.0.16/alsa-kernel/pci/hda/patch_via.c

and replace the code as instructed from the thread:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=556217

After that is done, save the file, you will need to open a terminal from Applications> Accessories> Terminal

then continue with the thread run the following command (if each steps does give you any error):

cd alsa-driver-1.0.16/
./configure
make
sudo make install

Good luck,

[sammydlm (sammydlm)]

When I got to the end, at the ./configure, I got this:

checking for gcc... gcc
checking for c compiler default output file name... configure: error: C compiler cannot create executables
See "config.log" for more details.

I stopped there to see if you wanted me to do something else. Up to that point, everything was going fine. Please let me know... Thanks!

[gnuslov (gnuslov)]

In order to compile the alsa driver you'll need to install the build-essential package first.

I just tried the directions on my everex gbook va1500v (which I understand to be almost identical to the nc1502) and I can report that it doesn't work. I'm running hardy 8.04 and still experiencing the same problem.

Interestingly, the gOS install that came with the laptop (a derivative of ubuntu 7.10) had no problem with the headphone jack. I dug though the files from the gOS recovery disk (I wiped gOS off my hard drive in order to install hardy) and discovered something called "via-linux-audiopackV1.5.tar.gz". It would seem that gOS is running an unreleased version of the audio drivers from via. I've tried installing these in hardy but they still don't fix my headphone problem.

[Shang Wu (shangwu)]

@sammydlm:

Can you confirm if the steps works or not?

@gnuslov:

Can you upload the "via-linux-audiopackV1.5.tar.gz" to the report?

Thanks,

[sammydlm (sammydlm)]

I tried it and it did not work for me. I still have the same problem-- my sound works through the speaker, but as soon as the headphones are plugged in the sound goes away. There is still no headphone level adjustment present in the alsamixer.

[gnuslov (gnuslov)]

I ran a diff between the 1.0.14 alsa-driver folder from via-linux-audiopackV1.5.tar.gz and from a 1.0.14 which i download from alsa-project.org. Only thing that was altered was the patch_via.c file (attached). Most interesting is the line:

"pin = 0x20; //to fix bug on nc1502"

But there are lots of other alterations in there too. It appears to be derived from a later version of alsa-driver.

I overwrote the patch_via.c file from 1.0.16 with this one and compiled and installed the driver. Still no headphone joy.

[gnuslov (gnuslov)]

I fixed it. Turns out I'd probably already had it fixed for sometime, but the correct modules weren't loading.

After doing what I detailed in my previous post:

I removed the directory "/lib/modules/2.6.24-17-generic/ubuntu/sound/alsa-driver". Then I created a symbolic link to "/lib/modules/2.6.24-17-generic/kernel/sound/" in its place. IE, from the /lib/modules/2.6.24-17-generic/ubuntu/sound directory: sudo ln -s ../../kernel/sound/ alsa-driver

That solved my problem. I've got my headphones working just as they should now.

[Shang Wu (shangwu)]

That's great news! But do you think it's still necessary to recompile the driver?

[sammydlm (sammydlm)]

So could you please tell me how I can fix mine?

[Shang Wu (shangwu)]

@sammydlm:

Let's test out on your machine and see if we can fix it by simply create a link:

1. Rename the alsa-driver folder by running the following command:

$ sudo mv /lib/modules/`uname -r`/ubuntu/sound/alsa-driver /lib/modules/`uname -r`/ubuntu/sound/alsa-driver1

2. Now we make the link by running the following command:

$ cd /lib/modules/`uname -r`/ubuntu/sound
$ sudo ln -s ../../kernel/sound/ alsa-driver

* If that doesn't work, then you probably need to compile the driver manually.

[gnuslov (gnuslov)]

Ok, I went back and recompiled some things to find out just what does and doesn't work. Turns out that if only I'd removed the modules from the /ubuntu/sound directory the solution from http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=556217 would have worked just fine.

Looking over the patch_via.c files it appears that the one from via-linux-audiopackV1.5.tar.gz and the one from the forum thread do pretty much the same thing, the most important part being setting some bit to 0x20 (though I know nothing about c nor sound drivers, and spent a whole 30 seconds examining this, so don't overvalue my opinion)

[gnuslov (gnuslov)]

@Shang Wu

I just went and removed all my kernel modules, checked to make sure the relevant /lib/modules directory was empty, then reinstalled them. Just making the link won't fix anything, and would severely break the audio, as by default there are only two files in the kernel/sound directory, ac97_bus.ko and soundcore.ko. So yes, compiling the driver manually is necessary.

[sammydlm (sammydlm)]

I did not try to do the link due to gnuslov's comment. Can you please tell me how to compile the driver?

[gnuslov (gnuslov)]

@sammydlm

So, to simplify everything, here's what you need to do to get your headphones working:

I recommend you follow the steps from Shang Wu's post above, linked here: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bug/184314/comments/6

You could use the patch_via.c that I uploaded, but I think the alteration from the forum is better, as it seems to me that the patch_via.c from via-linux-audiopackV1.5.tar.gz is a bit of a nasty hack and the one on the forums is more elegant.

After you finish with all of that, you will need to type into your command line "cd /lib/modules/`uname -r`/ubuntu/sound", then "sudo rm -r alsa-driver". *This step is important*. You need to get rid of the conflicting default ubuntu drivers. And you can't keep them around inside of the /lib/modules/ directories, or they'll continue to conflict, even if you try to back them up by changing the directory name as was done in a post above. (though maybe you could move them into your home directory or something, just anything to get them out of your kernel modules directories. I didn't bother to back them up because i think it's a simple enough thing to simply reinstall the kernel modules package and overwrite any damage you may have done. And anyway, it sure feels good to delete these things after you've been fighting with them for ages, like i have.)

After you've gotten the ubuntu/sound/alsa-driver out of the way, it's time to create a symbolic link in its place. while still in that directory, run "sudo ln -s ../../kernel/sound/ alsa-driver"

Reboot, and now you should be good to go.

Though keep in mind, you'll probably have to redo part of this each time a kernel update comes along. I recommend that you keep around the folder that the alsa-drivers source lives in (and that you modified patch_via.c in, ran ./configure in, make, etc) and whenever your headphones stop working after a kernel update just run sudo make install from inside there, and follow the steps above to delete ubuntu/sound/alsa-driver and create a symbolic link.

[sammydlm (sammydlm)]

I tried your recommendations twice, but it did not work for me. The first time, after I rebooted I noticed that the volume icon had a line through it. I figured my sound was muted so when I went to open the volume controls, it said that there was no device to control. I then opened up sound preferences and sure enough, there was nothing in the devices for me to pick from. Usually, ALSA and OSS were there, but there was nothing. After looking around, I got a notification to update, so I installed all of the checked packages that came up and rebooted and my computer went right back to having sound through the speaker and not through the headphones. I tried it a second time to make sure that I didn't skip anything, and the same thing happened, except I didn't get any notification to update. Right now I have no sound on my laptop and the volume icon has a line through it. Whenever I try to open it, it says, "No volume control GStreamer plugins and/or devices found." What should I do now?

[gnuslov (gnuslov)]

Well, gaining back sound after the update makes sense, as there was a new kernel update pushed out over the last few days, so when you installed the updates it overwrote all of the previous work, like I warned might happen in my previous post.

Now, as for the whole no sound thing, that is a good-ish sign. At least it means that the default drivers in the ubuntu/sound directory are no more. And it means that one of two things is going on: either the drivers did not properly install in kernel/sound or your symbolic link to kernel/sound is broken in some way. So go ahead and try this:

cd /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/sound

then run an 'ls' command from that directory; you should see a list of folders, named things like acore, drivers, i2c, isa, misc, pci, pcmcia, soc, synth, and usb. If you see something radically different (like, say, no directories, just two files, or maybe just one directory) then your compile and install routine didn't go correctly, and you should try again and be extra careful to do everything correctly.

but i'd bet that your problem is the symbolic link. rm anything named alsa-driver that might already be in /lib/modules/`uname -r`/ubuntu/sound, then, while in the ubuntu/sound directory, run:

sudo ln -s ../../kernel/sound/ alsa-driver

after you finish creating that link, go ahead and run "cd alsa-driver". then run ls, and it should report the same list of directories that running ls from kernel/sound (as done above) gives you.

I'm sure your solution is close at hand, just keep working at it.

[sammydlm (sammydlm)]

It worked! I think I know what may have happened. When typing this line, "sudo ln -s ../../kernel/sound/ alsa-driver", I didn't put a space between sound/ and alsa-driver. I did it a second time, but I caught it and redid the same command with the space, then I got a result. I did it both ways just to make sure. (Should there be a space between /sound/ and alsa-driver or not?) When I ran the ls command at the end, there was a new alsa-driver folder present that was not there before. I rebooted and had sound through the speaker again. I figured I'd look at the alsamixer, and sure enough and for the first time ever, the headphone level control was there! Of course, it was muted, so I unmuted it and it worked perfect! Thank you very much as I have been waiting for a very long time to get my headphone jack working!

[bespejo (bespejo)]

Thank you very much. My Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo li 1705 works!! very well with Ubuntu 8.04. Following instructions and practices by Shang Wu, gnuslov, and sammydlm, and having to make compilation accordingly.

Best regards. What a wonderful headphone sounds!!!

[sammydlm (sammydlm)]

Just to clarify, I cannot take credit for any of this. I was only trying to fix my laptop headphone jack and following instructions from Shang Wu and gnuslov... They deserve all of the credit. Thanks again!

[Medohane (berekat1)]

Sammydlm:

When I got to the end, at the ./configure, I got this:

checking for gcc... gcc
checking for c compiler default output file name... configure: error: C compiler cannot create executables
See "config.log" for more details.

I stopped there to see if you wanted me to do something else. Up to that point, everything was going fine. Please let me know... Thanks!

Hey. I have the same problem right now at this step... how'd you resolve it so I can continue

[mahmoud (mahmoud-m86)]

hello mates
i have got that same problem on my amilo li 1705
can anyone send me how to resolve this problem, please?
thanks

N.B. i'm new to ubuntu

[tomhanna (tomhanna)]

I got the same error as Medohane when running ./config. The config.log showed this:

This file contains any messages produced by compilers while
running configure, to aid debugging if configure makes a mistake.

It was created by configure, which was
generated by GNU Autoconf 2.60. Invocation command line was

  $ ./configure

## --------- ##
## Platform. ##
## --------- ##

hostname = tom-laptop
uname -m = i686
uname -r = 2.6.24-19-generic
uname -s = Linux
uname -v = #1 SMP Fri Jul 11 23:41:49 UTC 2008

/usr/bin/uname -p = unknown
/bin/uname -X = unknown

/bin/arch = unknown
/usr/bin/arch -k = unknown
/usr/convex/getsysinfo = unknown
/usr/bin/hostinfo = unknown
/bin/machine = unknown
/usr/bin/oslevel = unknown
/bin/universe = unknown

PATH: /usr/local/sbin
PATH: /usr/local/bin
PATH: /usr/sbin
PATH: /usr/bin
PATH: /sbin
PATH: /bin
PATH: /usr/games

## ----------- ##
## Core tests. ##
## ----------- ##

configure:2101: checking for gcc
configure:2117: found /usr/bin/gcc
configure:2128: result: gcc
configure:2366: checking for C compiler version
configure:2373: gcc --version >&5
gcc (GCC) 4.2.3 (Ubuntu 4.2.3-2ubuntu7)
Copyright (C) 2007 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
This is free software; see the source for copying conditions. There is NO
warranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

configure:2376: $? = 0
configure:2383: gcc -v >&5
Using built-in specs.
Target: i486-linux-gnu
Configured with: ../src/configure -v --enable-languages=c,c++,fortran,objc,obj-c++,treelang --prefix=/usr --enable-shared --with-system-zlib --libexecdir=/usr/lib --without-included-gettext --enable-threads=posix --enable-nls --with-gxx-include-dir=/usr/include/c++/4.2 --program-suffix=-4.2 --enable-clocale=gnu --enable-libstdcxx-debug --enable-objc-gc --enable-mpfr --enable-targets=all --enable-checking=release --build=i486-linux-gnu --host=i486-linux-gnu --target=i486-linux-gnu
Thread model: posix
gcc version 4.2.3 (Ubuntu 4.2.3-2ubuntu7)
configure:2386: $? = 0
configure:2393: gcc -V >&5
gcc: '-V' option must have argument
configure:2396: $? = 1
configure:2419: checking for C compiler default output file name
configure:2446: gcc conftest.c >&5
/usr/bin/ld: crt1.o: No such file: No such file or directory
collect2: ld returned 1 exit status
configure:2449: $? = 1
configure: failed program was:
| /* confdefs.h. */
| #define PACKAGE_NAME ""
| #define PACKAGE_TARNAME ""
| #define PACKAGE_VERSION ""
| #define PACKAGE_STRING ""
| #define PACKAGE_BUGREPORT ""
| /* end confdefs.h. */
|
| int
| main ()
| {
|
| ;
| return 0;
| }
configure:2488: error: C compiler cannot create executables
See `config.log' for more details.

## ---------------- ##
## Cache variables. ##
## ---------------- ##

ac_cv_env_CC_set=
ac_cv_env_CC_value=
ac_cv_env_CFLAGS_set=
ac_cv_env_CFLAGS_value=
ac_cv_env_CPPFLAGS_set=
ac_cv_env_CPPFLAGS_value=
ac_cv_env_CPP_set=
ac_cv_env_CPP_value=
ac_cv_env_LDFLAGS_set=
ac_cv_env_LDFLAGS_value=
ac_cv_env_build_alias_set=
ac_cv_env_build_alias_value=
ac_cv_env_host_alias_set=
ac_cv_env_host_alias_value=
ac_cv_env_target_alias_set=
ac_cv_env_target_alias_value=
ac_cv_...

[tomhanna (tomhanna)]

I got past the problem above by installing libc6-dev, but now I have a new problem.

When I run make I get:

tom@tom-laptop:~/alsa-driver-1.0.16$ make
make dep
make[1]: Entering directory `/home/tom/alsa-driver-1.0.16'
make[2]: Entering directory `/home/tom/alsa-driver-1.0.16/acore'
copying file alsa-kernel/core/pcm.c
/home/tom/alsa-driver-1.0.16/utils/patch-alsa: 24: patch: not found
make[2]: *** [pcm.c] Error 1
make[2]: Leaving directory `/home/tom/alsa-driver-1.0.16/acore'
make[1]: *** [dep] Error 1
make[1]: Leaving directory `/home/tom/alsa-driver-1.0.16'
make: *** [include/sndversions.h] Error 2
tom@tom-laptop:~/alsa-driver-1.0.16$

[Leann Ogasawara (leannogasawara)]

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.

[mahmoud (mahmoud-m86)]

i upgraded my OS from Ubuntu 8.04 to 8.10...in the removing the old package
step i got an error about something in the network ..then after removing and
cleaning the old packages and after that restarting the system, the laptop
freezes at the login window
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On Thu, Aug 28, 2008 at 7:39 PM, Leann Ogasawara <email address hidden> wrote:

> 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.
>
> ** Tags added: cft-2.6.27
>
> --
> Headphone jack does not work in NC1502
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/184314
> You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
> of the bug.
>
> Status in "linux" source package in Ubuntu: Triaged
>
> Bug description:
> The headphone jack on my Everex Stepnote NC1502 does not work in Ubuntu
> 7.10. The speaker works fine, but when I plug in the headphones, the sound
> just stops. Here is the output of aplay -l:
>
> **** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
> card 0: VT82xx [HDA VIA VT82xx], device 0: VT1708 Analog [VT1708 Analog]
> Subdevices: 1/1
> Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
>

--
Mahmoud!]

[Prathap (jayaprathap)]

hello Shang Wu and gnuslov
i followed your steps but still i am unable to make my headphones jack work. i tried the procedure thrice but still the same result. the sound is still in my laptop speakers. any suggestions? your help is appreciated. for your information i am using ubuntu 8.04 kernel version 2.6.24-21-generic.

[elena m (rozakia)]

on ubuntu 8.04, amilo li 1705.

firstly i installed build-essential and xmlto with aptitude in terminal.

sudo apt-get install build-essential xmlto

i installed alsa-driver with patch (with modifications for via). bz2. with sudo ./configure after that i did make, and then make install.

 i installed the 1.0.18 release. then i did

cd /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/sound

run an 'ls' command from that directory

i saw the list of folders, named like acore, drivers, i2c, isa, misc, pci, pcmcia, soc, synth, and usb. then

cd /lib/modules/`uname -r`/ubuntu/sound

 sudo ln -s ../../kernel/sound/ alsa-driver

after:

cd alsa-driver

then:

ls

then rebooted. nothing happend. then i did:

cd /lib/modules/`uname -r`/ubuntu/sound

then:

sudo rm -r alsa-driver
then:

sudo ln -s ../../kernel/sound/ alsa-driver

then

cd alsa-driver

and ls

then reboot.

i think these are the steps i did. anyway, it's really terrible thing with these drivers for alsa. it's second time i made it work, but last time it caused trouble with the network dhcp. i could get ip from network. some error appeared, though my headphones were working. last time i also followed the instructions from alsa website> "is my soundcard supported"> via>8237a . they have some list of instructions. but the other alsa libraries (alsa-utils, alsa-lib) caused some errors i couldn't descipher (while installing i refer, not only the dhcp issue that occured afterwards), so only a simple driver installation solved my problem.

[Sean Whitney (sean-whitney)]

I am running the current 8.10 and nothing here has solved the problem. I have the same behavior. The speaker works, the headphone jack does not, and once I plug something into the headphone jack, I don't get any sound.

I'm running the 2.6.27-9-generic kernel, and the 1.0.17.dfsg-2ubuntu1 alsa-base.

[gazell (joelrcook)]

this bug also/still applies to the Everex stepnote nc1510 running the current 8.10 release
this work around also still works.

[elena m (rozakia)]

other alsa versions did not work for me either...only the stable version of alsa 1.0.18...

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

Per a decision made by the Ubuntu Kernel Team, bugs will longer be assigned to the ubuntu-kernel-team in Launchpad as part of the bug triage process. The ubuntu-kernel-team is being unassigned from this bug report. Refer to https://wiki.ubuntu.com/KernelTeamBugPolicies for more information. Thanks.

[prefix (eric-k-kaufman)]

I've been following gnuslov's suggestions to sammydlm with almost the same results. I too finally got my headphone jack working with my everex stepnote va2001t and Gos 3.1. Many thanks to gnuslov! and Shang Wu! I first tried alsa 1.0.19 with no success. Then I did it all again using alsa 1.0.16 and my headhone jack appeared fully functional.

However the change affected my previously working wireless connection.
My network manager no longer shows an option to "enable wireless networks" and it no longer exists to be configured in "network settings".

Any ideas?

[elena m (rozakia)]

yea, it happend to me too. i tried updating other alsa things, except alsa driver, and my wireless network was compromised.

on ubuntu intrepid when i do

 cd /lib/modules/`uname -r`/ubuntu/sound

i get

bash: cd: /lib/modules/2.6.27-11-generic/ubuntu/sound: No such file or directory

why?

[Wes Mason (wmason05)]

Has anyone simply tried installing alsaplayer-jack through the Synaptic Package manager?
That worked for me.
Perhaps compiling from source was killing a fly with a shotgun?

[elena m (rozakia)]

yea, in the past. it didn't help me, but because of headphones bug i had always done many unpleasant changes. :(

anyway the alsa stable version with patch works good. though i'll try the alsaplayer-jack firstly as well next time.

[Andrew Springman (andrewspringman)]

I have an Everex VA1500V

When I bought it, the speakers and the headphone jack worked.

I attempted to upgrade to Ubuntu 8.10 and all sorts of stuff broke including the headphone jack.

Everex told me they don't support 8.10 and that I should download the 7[whatever] version from their site and load it again.

I did. It fixed everything except the headphone jack. They've been no help since. The patch you mention above makes sense. It must not be part of their standard gOS install.

I recently updaged to Ubuntu 9.04. It did not fix my headphone jack.

1) Has anyone attempted the above recompile process with Ubuntu 9.04?

2) Please explain how installing alsaplayer-jack is supposed to help. Doesn't alsaplayer-jack only affect the behavior of alsaplayer? I want the headphone Jack to work with all my apps. How does redirecting the sound to the JACK system help me even in alsaplayer? Does JACK have specific hardware support for the VA1500V's headphone jack?

[Andrew Springman (andrewspringman)]

See post #41...this is a continuation.

Well, I finally got tired of waiting for an update that fixes the problem and tried the method described in #19 (gnuslov, 2008-05-30) above (with the following exceptions).

I tried with ALSA 1.0.16 and with ALSA 1.0.18. Both had compile errors.
So, I used ALSA 1.0.20 instead. First I did the whole ./configure, make, sudo make install without changing patch_via.c just in case they fixed the problem. No joy, but my speaker was still working. Then I "sudo make uninstall"'ed, changed patch_via.c and repeated. No joy, but my speaker was still working.

There was no ubuntu directory, nevermind an ubuntu/sound/alsa-driver. I was pretty sure at that point that these instructions weren't going to work with either Ubuntu 9.04 or ALSA 1.0.20 (not sure which was the culprit). However, just for kicks, I tried creating the ubuntu/sound path and the alsa-driver symbolic link. No joy.

I rebooted and checked the Alsa mixer each time I tested. My speaker is still working fine.

How does the method described in #19 need to be altered for Ubuntu 9.04 and ALSA 1.0.20?

[Andrew Springman (andrewspringman)]

Got it working with Ubuntu 9.04 and ALSA 1.0.20

gnuslov's summary in #19 was missing one thing: "pin = 0x20; //to fix bug on nc1502" (which he talks about in #11)

So, to be explicit...these are the changes needed to patch_via.c:

change:

static int vt1708_auto_create_hp_ctls(struct via_spec *spec, hda_nid_t pin)
{
 int err;

 if (!pin)
  return 0;

to:

static int vt1708_auto_create_hp_ctls(struct via_spec *spec, hda_nid_t pin)
{
 int err;

 if (!pin)
  pin = 0x20; //to fix bug on nc1502
// return 0;

change:

static int patch_vt1708(struct hda_codec *codec)
{
 struct via_spec *spec;
 int err;

 /* create a codec specific record */
 spec = kzalloc(sizeof(*spec), GFP_KERNEL);
 if (spec == NULL)
  return -ENOMEM;

 codec->spec = spec;

 /* automatic parse from the BIOS config */

to:

static int patch_vt1708(struct hda_codec *codec)
{
 unsigned int pin_hp;
 struct via_spec *spec;
 int err;

 /* create a codec specific record */
 spec = kzalloc(sizeof(*spec), GFP_KERNEL);
 if (spec == NULL)
  return -ENOMEM;

 codec->spec = spec;

 /* Ajout SQ071031 */
 pin_hp=snd_hda_codec_read(codec, 0x20, 0, AC_VERB_GET_CONFIG_DEFAULT, 0);
 pin_hp=pin_hp&0x3FFFFFFF;
 snd_hda_codec_write(codec, 0x20, 0, AC_VERB_SET_CONFIG_DEFAULT_BYTES_3, pin_hp>>24);

 /* automatic parse from the BIOS config */

I also determined that adding the /lib/modules/`uname -r`/ubuntu/sound/ path and the alsa-driver link was indeed necessary (because modinfo compained that it was missing without it and worked with it).

Thanks to all who posted before. It turns out that you had indeed given me all the info I needed.

Oh, Everex, this was my one complaint with my VA1500V, but it was a big one!

[Vaphell (vaphell)]

is it possible to achieve working headphone jack in Karmic in a similar way? It's a neverending story on Fujitsu Siemens Amilo 1705. Steps mentioned above were working in 8.04. Unfortunately when I try to follow them in Karmic i get lost - directory structure is different and i don't know how to check if my compiled alsa is loaded at all by the system.

[bespejo (bespejo)]

I have just installed karmic in my Fujitsu-siemens Amilo 1705, and reinstalling alsa with modifucations #43, headphone sound goes very well.
You must take into account that modifications in Alsa with ubuntu 8.04 differs fron those needed to incorporate for ubuntu 9.04 and ubuntu 9.10.

[Robert W. Gardner (robertwgardner)]

I'm three days into Linux, never done this before. This is my first post. I am trying to escape Vista. I've just uploaded Ubuntu 9.10.

I don't speak this language! When I'm more familiar, this might make sense, but I can't follow through all these posts a coherent procedure. It is very confusing to try to go back and forth between these threads and posts and figure out what set of instructions should be typed into the Ubuntu 9.10 Terminal.

Does each installation require this level of effort just to make a speaker work? I hate Vista, but I could hear my computer and video was not jerky.

Is there a one post answer to the problem of no sound and slow video? Everything else is working like a charm.

[Andrew Springman (andrewspringman)]

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/184314/comments/43 was my attempt to put the information in one place. Clearly it was inadequate, assuming a lot of Linux knowledge. However, I'm afraid I don't have time to make it that complete. You will find that to be a reality of learning Linux. People will often just say RTFM. That's unfortunate, but I can relate to those who do. I'll try to do one better. Whenever people have said RTFM to me I've always responded with "WFM?!" At the bottom of this post I'll point you to some of the manuals you should read.

Yes, later updates of Ubuntu have required that I reinstall my changed version of ALSA. Not every update, but every six months or so. So far I've been able to get away with ALSA 1.0.20. However the latest is 1.0.22 and I haven't tried that.

I only have had no sound on YouTube. It's working now. Have you run "Update Manager"? It's under System and then Administration...or just click on the orange/yellow triangle with the exclamation point on the upper right of your screen.

Here are those manuals that I promised.

I recommend that you get familiar with the shell commands by typing "man sh". Specifically, read about

cd
ls
pwd
&

You can search in man with the forward slash. For example "/ cd" will search the first time. A forward slash by itself will repeat the search.

Also look up the following with man. For example, "man ln"

ln
sudo
rm
tar

Also, read the help in gedit. Start gedit with "gedit &" and then use the Help menu

Then, the rest of the instructions you need are available from the ALSA project (http://www.alsa-project.org/main/index.php/Main_Page). Some of the information is on the website. Some of it is in readme and install.txt files in the downloads.

The basics for installing most packages from source are:

./configure
make
sudo make install

However, you need to make sure you have the development tools installed on your system. Use Synaptic Package Manager (under System / Administration) to get them.

The long range solution here is not step by step instructions. It's convincing the hardware manufacturers to truly support Linux. making the instructions obsolete. Write them.

[Robert W. Gardner (robertwgardner)]

Andrew,

I appreciate your speedy response! I hardly expected one overnight.

I don't know what "RTFM" or "WFM?!" means, since I am a relic of the 1900's. But I get the idea that we're pretty much on our own.

I don't see any financial incentive for hardware manufacturers to support Linux, particularly Everex (or whoever makes the sound card in this laptop).

I thank you for your suggestions and will consider them carefully. Perhaps I do need to dig in and just learn Linux. Either that, or I'll find one that works better than Ubuntu. Or reload Vista. I've spent a lot of time already, and nothing on the Ubuntu site suggested that I would have problems with basic functions.

Other than the sound and the jerky video, the operating system is much faster and I'm getting used to the differences.

But it is extremely frustrating not to find a solution posted to what is evidently a widespread problem. Ubuntu/Canonical MUST know about this, and should proactively work to fix it in their releases. This has obviously been going on for some time.

[embedded_developer (roninracer)]

HI folks!

I just ran into this bug on my Everex NC1502 with the default install of 9.10 (Karmic Koala).

Anyway many thanks to those of you who identified the problem in the previous versions of the Alsa driver as it greatly helped me identify the area in the current driver where the problem still exists. Thankfully, and frustratingly, the Alsa driver (specifically the 'patch_via.c' file) had a structure change which looks like part of a driver cleanup. The good news is that they are doing a much better job with the vt1708 chipset support as a result. The bad news is that the headphone bug is still there. So I spent some quality time to understand what the updated driver is doing, what the previous patches did and how to apply those changes in a way that makes sense. The other good news is that the Alsa folks cleaned up a lot of stuff that needed to be changed before. Now all that needs to be put in is the pin assignment and the other items are not required.

@ Robert Gardner, This bug is in the Alsa driver and not as such a problem for Canonical per se. It's really the Alsa folks who need to get this put into their driver and make it stick.

Before you start make sure you read the following page and install the kernel headers so you don't get stuck later.
http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Ubuntu:Karmic#Installing_a_package_from_source

Here's what I did in the order I did it in:

Download the latest Alsa driver:
ftp://ftp.alsa-project.org/pub/driver/alsa-driver-1.0.22.1.tar.bz2

You can also find this link at their main page:
http://www.alsa-project.org/main/index.php/Main_Page

My file ended up in my home directory after downloading.

I extracted the tarball into my home directory
cd ~

tar xvf alsa-driver-1.0.22.1.tar.bz2

Then I went into the extracted driver directory.

cd alsa-driver-1.0.22.1

Now typically the first thing I do is to configure and build anything new before I modify it so I do that here.

./configure

If the configure runs good, then we build it.

make

Providing there's no errors in building, then you can proceed to patch the file.
The file to modify is found in this path:
~/alsa-driver-1.0.22.1/alsa-kernel/pci/hda/

The name of the file is patch_via.c

So I open it as such:

gedit ~/alsa-driver-1.0.22.1/alsa-kernel/pci/hda/patch_via.c &

once gedit loads the file, press CTRL+F to get the search dialog and enter in the following:

vt1708_auto_create_hp_ctls

This should bring you to the function we want to modify but double check to make sure. It should look like the following at the beginning:

static int vt1708_auto_create_hp_ctls(struct via_spec *spec, hda_nid_t pin)
{
 int err;

 if (!pin)
  return 0;

 spec->multiout.hp_nid = VT1708_HP_NID; /* AOW3 */
 spec->hp_independent_mode_index = 1;

Once you see that then modify it as follows:

static int vt1708_auto_create_hp_ctls(struct via_spec *spec, hda_nid_t pin)
{
 int err;

 if (!pin)
  pin = VT1708_HP_PIN_NID; //to fix bug on nc1502
  //return 0;

 spec->multiout.hp_nid = VT1708_HP_NID; /* AOW3 */
 spec->hp_independent_mode_index = 1;

Then press CTRL+S to save (or click the save button)

Now you can go back to your terminal window and type

make

It will go much fas...

[penalvch (penalvch)]

sammydlm, this bug was reported a while ago and there hasn't been any activity in it recently. We were wondering if this is still an issue? If so, could you please test for this with the latest development release of Ubuntu? ISO images are available from http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/daily-live/current/ .

If it remains an issue, could you please run the following command in the development release from a Terminal (Applications->Accessories->Terminal), as it will automatically gather and attach updated debug information to this report:

apport-collect -p linux <replace-with-bug-number>

Also, could you please test the latest upstream kernel available following https://wiki.ubuntu.com/KernelMainlineBuilds ? It will allow additional upstream developers to examine the issue. Please do not test the daily folder, but the one all the way at the bottom. Once you've tested the upstream kernel, please comment on which kernel version specifically you tested. If this bug is fixed in the mainline kernel, please add the following tags:
kernel-fixed-upstream
kernel-fixed-upstream-VERSION-NUMBER

where VERSION-NUMBER is the version number of the kernel you tested. For example:
kernel-fixed-upstream-v3.11

This can be done by clicking on the yellow circle with a black pencil icon next to the word Tags located at the bottom of the bug description. As well, please remove the tag:
needs-upstream-testing

If the mainline kernel does not fix this bug, please add the following tags:
kernel-bug-exists-upstream
kernel-bug-exists-upstream-VERSION-NUMBER

As well, please remove the tag:
needs-upstream-testing

Once testing of the upstream kernel is complete, please mark this bug's Status as Confirmed. Please let us know your results. Thank you for your understanding.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

[Expired for linux (Ubuntu) because there has been no activity for 60 days.]