<Fixed>New Install: Microphone Doesn't Work

[Ray2047]

New install and mike doesn't work. It was working before before I had to reinstall. I installed Pulse Audio after I initially couldn't get it to work but it didn't help. I have all the sliders in Kmix and Alsaconfig at the top. All buttons seem to be green in Alsaconfig. I'm using Sound Recorder to test and have tried all the different inputs. I use the mike with G-call and tried calling my cell but no sound when I checked voice mail.

On oddity after playing with it for a while there does now seem to be background noise when I play back a test recording. Initially there was nothing. Tried holding mike very close to my mouth but nothing.

[rubentje1991]

Did you double-check the cabling? (just to be sure...  )

[Ray2047]

Yes I checked the connections. I should have probably added this happens every time I do a new install. After a frustrating week or two it starts working but I don't have a clue why it starts working. I'm fed up with the frustration so this time I asked for help. The problem has happened on at least three computers and worked on this one before reinstall so I doubt it is the sound card.

[MAMAS]

Just to be sure,  when I tried that first I forgot to unmute some sliders in alsamixer. AFter some frustrating time I found out that pressing the "m" key muted or unmuted the sliders - then all of a sudden it was working - although sliders were up to max when muted... but since I'm just a newbie maybe this isn't much help.....

[Ray2047]

Just to be sure,  when I tried that first I forgot to unmute some sliders in alsamixer. AFter some frustrating time I found out that pressing the "m" key muted or unmuted the sliders - then all of a sudden it was working - although sliders were up to max when muted... but since I'm just a newbie maybe this isn't much help.....

Certainly possible. The Alsa mixer display is so small I'm half guessing at what I see and don't understand the abbreviations so not even sure which sliders affect the mike. I'm not even sure which input to use on sound recorder for testing. Wish there was a guide for this somewhere. Thanks.

[Just17]

New install and mike doesn't work. It was working before before I had to reinstall. I installed Pulse Audio after I initially couldn't get it to work but it didn't help. I have all the sliders in Kmix and Alsaconfig at the top. All buttons seem to be green in Alsaconfig. I'm using Sound Recorder to test and have tried all the different inputs. I use the mike with G-call and tried calling my cell but no sound when I checked voice mail.

On oddity after playing with it for a while there does now seem to be background noise when I play back a test recording. Initially there was nothing. Tried holding mike very close to my mouth but nothing.

If you have Pulse Audio installed .......  AND activated ......  then use Pavucontrol (from repo) to manage your audio devices.

In addition, Qasmixer from the repository, gives great control over settings etc and would likely show up anything not correctly set in your system.

It is possible that level of the port the MIC is plugged into is too low .......  or maybe the MIC needs a boost -------  all available from Qasmixer last time I checked.

regards

[Ray2047]

Thank you Just18 you have given me some things I had never heard of to try. Will test and post back.

[cirrus_minor]

Qasmixer from the repository, gives great control over settings etc

+1

[Ray2047]

Yes qmixer is better but the mike still doesn't work. Also tried pulse audio mixer. I tried the line-in jack just for the heck of it and tried a different microphone. Just can't get a microphone to work.

[demilord]

check in kde systemsettings > multimedia > phonon > audio capture . see if the right device has the priority

[Ray2047]

check in kde systemsettings > multimedia > phonon > audio capture . see if the right device has the priority

There is only one device pulse audio. Is that what you mean?

[Just17]

That Phonon window is as it should be.

Did you have the 'Capture' options ticked when in Qasmixer? ......  tick box to the right of the page under Show Stream.

That should make available the levels and boost functions for the input sockets .....  ie. front MIC, rear mic etc

[Ray2047]

Did you have the 'Capture' options ticked when in Qasmixer?

Yes burt just noticed something else. In Quasmixer when I choose either Mic Boost or Front Mic Boost in Sound Recorder the sliders in Quasimixer go to the bottom. Isn't all the way up maximum?

[Just17]

Did you have the 'Capture' options ticked when in Qasmixer?

Yes burt just noticed something else. In Quasmixer when I choose either Mic Boost or Front Mic Boost in Sound Recorder the sliders in Quasimixer go to the bottom. Isn't all the way up maximum?

Yes .......  and can you not raise the slider again?

[horusfalcon]

Dropping the sliders down is a "safety feature", more than likely, to prevent unwanted feedback howl.  Inch 'em up until you get something.

Is this, perchance, an intel sound card (or another vendor's) based on an ADI 1981B chipset?  If so, you may need to pass some options to it to get it to behave properly.  On my old Gateway laptop, the headphone and master outputs were swapped in KMix, so I had to pass:

options snd-intel8x0 ac97_quirk=2

to swap them back. Some reading on your sound hardware might yield an insight that's useful.

Later On,
D