Hi, Gang,
Just got home and trying to unwind a bit... dangerous business. So much for the pleasantries.
I was researching this and ran across the following:
http://www.webupd8.org/2010/11/fix-hda-intel-realtek-alc887-no-sound.htmlAn excerpt seems to point to a possible fix?
The computer has an HDA Intel chip (Realtek ALC887) and I couldn't open alsamixer (this error was displayed: "load hw:0 error: Invalid argument"), although the sound seemed to be working in various applications (no error there) except I couldn't hear anything.
The fix:
Edit /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf as root:
sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf
And add the following line at the end of the file:
options snd-hda-intel model=generic { <--- this part looks familiar, but keep reading, please - D }
Save, reboot (a logout might be enough too) and try to play some audio file - the sound should work. If this generic fix doesn't work for you, try "auto" instead or see THIS post. {Emphasis mine - D. Note that one has to register and log in to view "THIS post"... it's at an U___tu forum.}
Update: this solution continues to work with newer U___tu versions, tested with te same sound card under U___tu alot, 12.04 and 12.10 (yes, I still get no sound by default in U___tu unless I apply this fix).
Note: Quote above altered by me to avoid problems with explicit mention of another distribution, and to insert some small tidbits in {}.
Another user over at LinuxQuestions.org seems to have come up with something interesting:
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/linux-hardware-18/no-sound-or-bad-sound-card-with-codec-realtek-alc888-861049/He gives a complete listing of his /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf, too. Looks like some high-flyin' stuff he's a-doin' over there...
Lastly, here's the
technical specifications document on the ALC887 - 82 pages of hardware level specs.
Is there somewhere a complete list of all the snd-hda-intel options that can be set? Everything I'm reading says the ALC887 is a codec chip that works alongside an Intel HD or compatible sound device. It seems what we are seeing here a "strange bedfellows" partnership between these two (where, under the current Linux drivers, they, for some reason, don't play nice with each other?)
Hope we find a solution eventually. At least one desktop Linux user I've read about has solved this problem by installing a different sound card! (Seems kinda brute-force to me, though.)
Later On,
D
