Audio/sound erratic-- works at times then no sound

[sps7]

Before installing last week the iso from Stevo -- MX15-x64_KDE_added_v.2.iso -- I had no troubles with sound. But now I do and don't know what's causing apparent instability. I sometimes have sound for some time before it suddenly ends. Other times, no sound 'til I re-boot.

When I look at PulseAudio Manager > Devices, I sometimes see parameters listed but at other times, nothing is listed for sinks and sources.

When I inspect Kmix > Audio Setup > Audio and Video Settings - KDE Control Module > Audio Playback > Music, I sometimes see devices listed and other times see nothing listed.

I know that once when I was asked by a box if I wanted KDE to remember the various sound devices, I clicked on "No" and that caused some bad change. But then I did something and now sometimes see various sound devices listed.

I don't know if plugging in my headphones (so that I can use the VoIP at Gmail) into the port at the back of my desktop tower is somehow causing changes. In a day, I might switch a few times between plugged-in headphones and plugged-in computer speakers but this never caused any troubles in the past.

I'd be appreciative if someone here can offer some guidance.

My hardware and sound/audio info outputs from these commands:

Sound info found on Tues. 12 Jan. 2016:

Code: Select all

# amixer
ALSA lib pulse.c:243:(pulse_connect) PulseAudio: Unable to connect: Access denied

amixer: Mixer attach default error: Connection refused

Code: Select all

# arecord -l
**** List of CAPTURE Hardware Devices ****
card 0: Intel [HDA Intel], device 0: ALC662 rev1 Analog [ALC662 rev1 Analog]
  Subdevices: 0/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 0: Intel [HDA Intel], device 2: ALC662 rev1 Alt Analog [ALC662 rev1 Alt Analog]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0

Code: Select all

# arecord -L
default
    Playback/recording through the PulseAudio sound server
null
    Discard all samples (playback) or generate zero samples (capture)
pulse
    PulseAudio Sound Server
sysdefault:CARD=Intel
    HDA Intel, ALC662 rev1 Analog
    Default Audio Device
front:CARD=Intel,DEV=0
    HDA Intel, ALC662 rev1 Analog
    Front speakers
surround21:CARD=Intel,DEV=0
    HDA Intel, ALC662 rev1 Analog
    2.1 Surround output to Front and Subwoofer speakers
surround40:CARD=Intel,DEV=0
    HDA Intel, ALC662 rev1 Analog
    4.0 Surround output to Front and Rear speakers
surround41:CARD=Intel,DEV=0
    HDA Intel, ALC662 rev1 Analog
    4.1 Surround output to Front, Rear and Subwoofer speakers
surround50:CARD=Intel,DEV=0
    HDA Intel, ALC662 rev1 Analog
    5.0 Surround output to Front, Center and Rear speakers
surround51:CARD=Intel,DEV=0                                                                                                                                                         
    HDA Intel, ALC662 rev1 Analog                                                                                                                                                   
    5.1 Surround output to Front, Center, Rear and Subwoofer speakers                                                                                                           
surround71:CARD=Intel,DEV=0                                                                                                                                                         
    HDA Intel, ALC662 rev1 Analog                                                                                                                                                   
    7.1 Surround output to Front, Center, Side, Rear and Woofer speakers                                                                                                            
dmix:CARD=Intel,DEV=0                                                                                                                                                               
    HDA Intel, ALC662 rev1 Analog                                                                                                                                                   
    Direct sample mixing device                                                                                                                                                     
dmix:CARD=Intel,DEV=2                                                                                                                                                               
    HDA Intel, ALC662 rev1 Alt Analog                                                                                                                                               
    Direct sample mixing device                                                                                                                                                     
dsnoop:CARD=Intel,DEV=0                                                                                                                                                             
    HDA Intel, ALC662 rev1 Analog                                                                                                                                                   
    Direct sample snooping device                                                                                                                                                   
dsnoop:CARD=Intel,DEV=2                                                                                                                                                             
    HDA Intel, ALC662 rev1 Alt Analog                                                                                                                                               
    Direct sample snooping device                                                                                                                                                   
hw:CARD=Intel,DEV=0                                                                                                                                                                 
    HDA Intel, ALC662 rev1 Analog                                                                                                                                                   
    Direct hardware device without any conversions                                                                                                                                  
hw:CARD=Intel,DEV=2                                                                                                                                                                 
    HDA Intel, ALC662 rev1 Alt Analog                                                                                                                                               
    Direct hardware device without any conversions                                                                                                                                  
plughw:CARD=Intel,DEV=0                                                                                                                                                             
    HDA Intel, ALC662 rev1 Analog                                                                                                                                                   
    Hardware device with all software conversions
plughw:CARD=Intel,DEV=2
    HDA Intel, ALC662 rev1 Alt Analog
    Hardware device with all software conversions

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# cat /proc/asound/cards
 0 [Intel          ]: HDA-Intel - HDA Intel
                      HDA Intel at 0xd0500000 irq 28

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# lspci | grep -i audio
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family High Definition Audio Controller (rev 01)

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# hwinfo --sound
11: PCI 1b.0: 0403 Audio device                                 
  [Created at pci.328]
  Unique ID: u1Nb.etibfPtzI26
  SysFS ID: /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1b.0
  SysFS BusID: 0000:00:1b.0
  Hardware Class: sound
  Model: "Intel NM10/ICH7 Family High Definition Audio Controller"
  Vendor: pci 0x8086 "Intel Corporation"
  Device: pci 0x27d8 "NM10/ICH7 Family High Definition Audio Controller"
  SubVendor: pci 0x8086 "Intel Corporation"
  SubDevice: pci 0xd613 
  Revision: 0x01
  Driver: "snd_hda_intel"
  Driver Modules: "snd_hda_intel"
  Memory Range: 0xd0500000-0xd0503fff (rw,non-prefetchable)
  IRQ: 28 (926 events)
  Module Alias: "pci:v00008086d000027D8sv00008086sd0000D613bc04sc03i00"
  Driver Info #0:
    Driver Status: snd_hda_intel is active
    Driver Activation Cmd: "modprobe snd_hda_intel"
  Config Status: cfg=new, avail=yes, need=no, active=unknown

Code: Select all

# aplay -l
**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: Intel [HDA Intel], device 0: ALC662 rev1 Analog [ALC662 rev1 Analog]
  Subdevices: 0/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 0: Intel [HDA Intel], device 1: ALC662 rev1 Digital [ALC662 rev1 Digital]
  Subdevices: 0/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0

Code: Select all

# inxi -A
Audio:     Card Intel NM10/ICH7 Family High Definition Audio Controller driver: snd_hda_intel
           Sound: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture v: k4.2.0-0.bpo.1-amd64

Code: Select all

# inxi -F
System:  Host: mx15 Kernel: 4.2.0-0.bpo.1-amd64 x86_64 (64 bit) Desktop: KDE Plasma 4.14.2
           Distro: MX-15_x64 Fusion 24 December 2015
Machine:  System: DakTech product: Discovery8 v: 2009
           Mobo: Intel model: DG41RQ v: AAE54511-202 serial: AZRQ91600GHK
           Bios: Intel v: RQG4110H.86A.0010.2009.0408.1515 date: 04/08/2009
CPU: Dual core Intel Core2 Duo E8500 (-MCP-) cache: 6144 KB 
           clock speeds: max: 3163 MHz 1: 1998 MHz 2: 1998 MHz
Graphics:  Card: Intel 4 Series Integrated Graphics Controller
           Display Server: X.org 1.16.4 drivers: intel (unloaded: fbdev,vesa)
           tty size: 180x66 Advanced Data: N/A for root
Audio: Card Intel NM10/ICH7 Family High Definition Audio Controller driver: snd_hda_intel
           Sound: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture v: k4.2.0-0.bpo.1-amd64
Network:  Card: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller driver: r8169
           IF: eth0 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: 00:1c:c0:ca:00:e1
Drives:  HDD Total Size: 400.1GB (44.4% used) ID-1: /dev/sda model: ST3400832AS size: 400.1GB
Partition: ID-1: / size: 15G used: 5.4G (38%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda1
           ID-2: /home size: 2.6G used: 847M (35%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda6
           ID-3: swap-1 size: 4.05GB used: 0.13GB (3%) fs: swap dev: /dev/sda5
Sensors:  System Temperatures: cpu: 37.0C mobo: N/A
           Fan Speeds (in rpm): cpu: N/A
Info: Processes: 178 Uptime: 5:29 Memory: 2637.4/3918.5MB Client: Shell (bash) inxi: 2.2.31

From Audacity 2.0.6, Help > Audio Device Info:

=============================
Default recording device number: 5
Default playback device number: 5
==============================
Device ID: 0
Device name: HDA Intel: ALC662 rev1 Digital (hw:0,1)
Host name: ALSA
Recording channels: 0
Playback channels: 2
Low Recording Latency: -1.000000
Low Playback Latency: 0.005805
High Recording Latency: -1.000000
High Playback Latency: 0.034830
Supported Rates:
44100
48000
96000
==============================
Device ID: 1
Device name: HDA Intel: ALC662 rev1 Alt Analog (hw:0,2)
Host name: ALSA
Recording channels: 2
Playback channels: 0
Low Recording Latency: 0.005805
Low Playback Latency: -1.000000
High Recording Latency: 0.034830
High Playback Latency: -1.000000
Supported Rates:
==============================
Device ID: 2
Device name: iec958
Host name: ALSA
Recording channels: 0
Playback channels: 2
Low Recording Latency: -1.000000
Low Playback Latency: 0.005805
High Recording Latency: -1.000000
High Playback Latency: 0.034830
Supported Rates:
44100
48000
96000
==============================
Device ID: 3
Device name: spdif
Host name: ALSA
Recording channels: 0
Playback channels: 2
Low Recording Latency: -1.000000
Low Playback Latency: 0.005805
High Recording Latency: -1.000000
High Playback Latency: 0.034830
Supported Rates:
44100
48000
96000
==============================
Device ID: 4
Device name: pulse
Host name: ALSA
Recording channels: 32
Playback channels: 32
Low Recording Latency: 0.008707
Low Playback Latency: 0.008707
High Recording Latency: 0.034830
High Playback Latency: 0.034830
Supported Rates:
8000
9600
11025
12000
15000
16000
22050
24000
32000
44100
48000
88200
96000
176400
192000
==============================
Device ID: 5
Device name: default
Host name: ALSA
Recording channels: 32
Playback channels: 32
Low Recording Latency: 0.008707
Low Playback Latency: 0.008707
High Recording Latency: 0.034830
High Playback Latency: 0.034830
Supported Rates:
8000
9600
11025
12000
15000
16000
22050
24000
32000
44100
48000
88200
96000
176400
192000
==============================
Selected recording device: 5 - default
Selected playback device: 5 - default
Supported Rates:
8000
9600
11025
12000
15000
16000
22050
24000
32000
44100
48000
88200
96000
176400
192000
==============================
Available mixers:
==============================
Available recording sources:
0 - Front Mic:0
1 - Rear Mic:0
2 - Line:0
3 - Front Mic:1
4 - Rear Mic:1
5 - Line:1
==============================
Available playback volumes:
0 - Master:0
1 - PCM:0
2 - Front:0
3 - Front Mic:0
4 - Front Mic Boost:0
5 - Surround:0
6 - Center:0
7 - LFE:0
8 - Line:0
9 - Beep:0
10 - Rear Mic:0
11 - Rear Mic Boost:0
==============================
Recording volume is native
Playback volume is native

[Jerry3904]

I want to make sure everyone understands that KDE in general, and Stevo's great respin in particular, has no official support from MX Linux. It can only rely on Community members running KDE over MX who are willing to put time into it.

[Stevo]

I had some similar problems with pulseaudio in KDE at first, but they went away when I upgraded pulseaudio from the test repo to 7.1-2 (the same version as in jessie-backports). Could you give that a try? It would be nice if we determine if that's stable enough to move to main.

Edit: I'm not getting a load of feedback from users of the KDE snapshot, if anyone's using it. I did get a note from a Debian user, he was having Pale Moon crashing constantly in KDE with mouse clicks, but not at all in xfce4, using the nouveau driver. It may have been a graphics driver issue, but when he tried to install the nvidia-legacy-304xx driver from the Debian repo to see if that fixed it, it failed to build against the 4.2 backports kernel. That meant we needed to port over the jessie-backports version of that driver to get a successful build from our repo of that particular driver on 64-bit. It probably hasn't come up here, since using the sgfxi method for proprietary drivers does an end run around that issue, at the cost of not automatically rebuilding the driver with a kernel upgrade.

[sps7]

OK, I upgraded the pulseaudio and will report here in a day or two on how sound/audio is behaving.

[Utopia]

Similar behavior also seen after my own installation of kde in MX-15 64 bit. So it's not specific to Stevo's iso.
And there are lots of other kde bugs.
Seems like you have to be prepared for weeks of tweaking.
Henry

[dolphin_oracle]

I can crash the pulseaudio server in KDE just by opening synaptic. I assume other root windows will also crash the sound system. And its not just pulse. alsa doesn't play either. other weird stuff happens as well. I'm thinking there is some kind of session management problem going on.

[richb]

I can crash the pulseaudio server in KDE just by opening synaptic. I assume other root windows will also crash the sound system. And its not just pulse. alsa doesn't play either. other weird stuff happens as well. I'm thinking there is some kind of session management problem going on.

I do not have this immediate behavior. I performed a number of root actions without an issue. However, I have seen sound disabled at times, but cannot pin down the events that cause it. This is KDE added by the Package Installer.

[dolphin_oracle]

I can crash the pulseaudio server in KDE just by opening synaptic. I assume other root windows will also crash the sound system. And its not just pulse. alsa doesn't play either. other weird stuff happens as well. I'm thinking there is some kind of session management problem going on.

I do not have this immediate behavior. I performed a number of root actions without an issue. However, I have seen sound disabled at times, but cannot pin down the events that cause it. This is KDE added by the Package Installer.

I was using Steves snapshot iso. Does it everytime.

Might look at the phonon system as it touches both pulse and alsa.

I'm out of my depth in kde. One thing Steve mentioned is that upgrading to pulse 7 solved his issue. I m wondering what changes that brought in.

[richb]

BTW, I have pulse audio start disabled.

[dolphin_oracle]

BTW, I have pulse audio start disabled.

Ok, working on an idea.

Steve, could you post your /etc/pulse/default.pa for pulseaudio 7.