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1	<?xml version='1.0' encoding="UTF-8"?>	1	<?xml version='1.0' encoding="UTF-8"?>
		2	<!-- $Header: /var/cvsroot/gentoo/xml/htdocs/doc/en/alsa-guide.xml,v 1.31 2004/04/11 10:52:16 cam Exp $ -->
2	<!DOCTYPE guide SYSTEM "/dtd/guide.dtd">	3	<!DOCTYPE guide SYSTEM "/dtd/guide.dtd">
3		4
4	<guide link = "/doc/en/alsa-guide.xml">	5	<guide link = "/doc/en/alsa-guide.xml">
5	<title>Gentoo Linux ALSA Guide</title>	6	<title>Gentoo Linux ALSA Guide</title>
6	<author title="Author"><mail link="zu@pandora.be">	7	<author title="Author">
7	Vincent Verleye</mail>	8	<mail link="zu@pandora.be">Vincent Verleye</mail>
8	</author>	9	</author>
9	<author title="Author"><mail link="g2boojum@gentoo.org">	10	<author title="Author">
10	Grant Goodyear</mail>	11	<mail link="g2boojum@gentoo.org">Grant Goodyear</mail>
11	</author>	12	</author>
12	<author title="Author"><mail link="agenkin@gentoo.org">	13	<author title="Author">
13	Arcady Genkin</mail>	14	<mail link="agenkin@gentoo.org">Arcady Genkin</mail>
14	</author>	15	</author>
15	<author title="Editor"><mail link="zhen@gentoo.org">	16	<author title="Author">
16	John P. Davis</mail>	17	<mail link="eradicator@gentoo.org">Jeremy Huddleston</mail>
17	</author>	18	</author>
18	<author title="Editor"><mail link="swift@gentoo.org">	19	<author title="Editor"><!-- zhen@gentoo.org -->
19	Sven Vermeulen</mail>	20	John P. Davis
20	</author>	21	</author>
21	<author title="Editor"><mail link="bennyc@gentoo.org">	22	<author title="Editor">
22	Benny Chuang</mail>	23	<mail link="swift@gentoo.org">Sven Vermeulen</mail>
23	</author>	24	</author>
24	<author title="Editor"><mail link="blubber@gentoo.org">	25	<author title="Editor">
25	Tiemo Kieft</mail>	26	<mail link="bennyc@gentoo.org">Benny Chuang</mail>
26	</author>	27	</author>
		28	<author title="Editor">
		29	<mail link="blubber@gentoo.org">Tiemo Kieft</mail>
		30	</author>
		31	<author title="Editor">
		32	<mail link="erwin@gentoo.org">Erwin</mail>
		33	</author>
		34
		35	<abstract>
		36	This guide will show you how to set up the Advanced Linux Sound Architecture
		37	(ALSA) on Gentoo Linux. In addition to the Gentoo Linux Desktop Configuration
		38	Guide, this guide is supposed to give you more information on this subject.
		39	</abstract>
27		40
28	<license/>	41	<license/>
29		42
30	<abstract>
31	This guide will show you how to set up the Advanced Linux Sound Architecture (ALSA) on Gentoo Linux.
32	In addition to the Gentoo Linux Desktop Configuration Guide, this guide is supposed to give you more information on this subject. </abstract>
33
34	<version>1.3.3</version>	43	<version>1.4.2</version>
35	<date>October 9, 2003</date>	44	<date>March 28, 2004</date>
36		45
37	<chapter>	46	<chapter>
38	<title>Introduction</title>	47	<title>Introduction</title>
39	<section>	48	<section>
40	<title>What is ALSA?</title>	49	<title>What is ALSA?</title>
41	<body>	50	<body>
		51
42	<p>	52	<p>
43	The Advanced Linux Sound Architecture (ALSA) is a project to improve the Linux sound subsystem by rewriting	53	The Advanced Linux Sound Architecture (ALSA) is a project to improve the Linux
44	large chunks of it.	54	sound subsystem by rewriting large chunks of it. It has replaced the Open
45	It is anticipated that ALSA will make it into Linux kernel 2.6.x (or 3.x.x -- whichever comes first) as it becomes ready.	55	Sound System (OSS) as the default sound subsystem in the 2.6 kernel, but it
		56	can be used with either 2.4 or 2.6 kernels.
46	</p>	57	</p>
47		58
48	<p>	59	<p>
49	ALSA provides audio and MIDI functionality for Linux.	60	ALSA provides audio and MIDI functionality for Linux.
50	</p>	61	</p>
51		62
52	<p>	63	<p>
53	Quoted from <uri>http://www.alsa-project.org</uri>, ALSA has the following features:	64	Quoted from <uri>http://www.alsa-project.org</uri>, ALSA has the following
54	<ul><li> Efficient support for all types of audio interfaces, from consumer soundcards to professional multichannel audio interfaces.</li>	65	features:
		66	</p>
		67
		68	<ul>
		69	<li>
		70	Efficient support for all types of audio interfaces, from consumer
		71	soundcards to professional multichannel audio interfaces
		72	</li>
55	<li> Fully modularized sound drivers.</li>	73	<li>Fully modularized sound drivers</li>
56	<li> SMP and thread-safe design.</li>	74	<li>SMP and thread-safe design</li>
		75	<li>
57	<li> User space library (alsa-lib) to simplify application programming and provide higher level functionality.</li>	76	User space library (alsa-lib) to simplify application programming and
		77	provide higher level functionality
		78	</li>
		79	<li>
58	<li> Support for the older OSS API, providing binary compatibility for most OSS programs.</li>	80	Support for the older OSS API, providing binary compatibility for most OSS
		81	programs
		82	</li>
59	</ul>	83	</ul>
60	There's lots more to ALSA however, like support for Full Duplex playback and recording, multiple soundcard support,	84
61	hardware mixing of streams, extensive mixer capabilities (to support advanced features of new soundcards), ...
62	</p>	85	<p>
		86	There's lots more to ALSA however, like support for Full Duplex playback and
		87	recording, multiple soundcard support, hardware mixing of streams, extensive
		88	mixer capabilities (to support advanced features of new soundcards), ...
		89	</p>
		90
63	</body>	91	</body>
64	</section>
65	<section>	92	</section>
		93	<section>
66	<title>Why use ALSA?</title>	94	<title>Why use ALSA?</title>
67	<body>	95	<body>
		96
68	<p>	97	<p>
69	If your soundcard is supported by the Linux kernel sound system or the commercial OSS/4Front sound driver system,	98	Your sound card may be supported by modules available in the 2.4 kernel (these
70	which can be found in all 2.4.x Linux kernels, you could just aswell build <e>those modules</e> for use with your soundcard.	99	are also provided in the 2.6 kernel under the 'Open Sound System (DEPRECATED)'
		100	option). Additionally, you might be able to use the commercial OSS/4Front sound
		101	driver system. If you wish to use either of these systems, then you should read
71	If you want this, just read through the <uri link="http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/Sound-HOWTO/index.html">Linux Sound HOWTO</uri>.	102	through the <uri link="http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/Sound-HOWTO/index.html">Linux
		103	Sound HOWTO</uri>.
72	</p>	104	</p>
		105
73	<p>	106	<p>
74	However, those OSS/4Front drivers have some limitations -- being commercial is one.	107	The OSS/4Front drivers have some limitations, however. Being commercial is
75	ALSA is an attempt to go beyond these limitations and to do so in an open source fashion.	108	one. ALSA is an attempt to go beyond these limitations with an open source
76	ALSA is a fully GPL and LGPL'ed sound driver system, that provides a professional quality system for recording, playback,	109	development model. ALSA is a fully GPL and LGPL'ed sound driver system that
77	and MIDI sequencing.	110	provides a professional quality system for recording, playback, and MIDI
		111	sequencing.
78	</p>	112	</p>
		113
79	</body>	114	</body>
80	</section>
81	<section>	115	</section>
		116	<section>
82	<title>What cards does ALSA support?</title>	117	<title>What cards does ALSA support?</title>
83	<body>	118	<body>
		119
84	<p>	120	<p>
85	ALSA tries to support as many (new) cards as possible by providing open-source drivers.	121	ALSA tries to support as many (new) cards as possible by providing open-source
86	However, some vendors may provide binary-only packages.	122	drivers. However, some vendors may provide binary-only packages.
		123	</p>
		124
87	</p>	125	<p>
88	<p>To know if your card is supported, you can find a Soundcard Matrix of supported and not-supported cards here:	126	To know if your card is supported, you can find a Soundcard Matrix of supported
89	<uri>http://www.alsa-project.org/alsa-doc/</uri>.	127	and not-supported cards here: <uri>http://www.alsa-project.org/alsa-doc/</uri>.
90	</p>	128	</p>
		129
91	</body>	130	</body>
92	</section>	131	</section>
93	</chapter>	132	</chapter>
94		133
95	<chapter>	134	<chapter>
…		…
105	USE-variable before you start.	144	USE-variable before you start.
106	</p>	145	</p>
107		146
108	</body>	147	</body>
109	</section>	148	</section>
110
111	<section>	149	<section>
112	<title>Kernel modules</title>	150	<title>Kernel modules</title>
113	<body>	151	<body>
114	<p>	152
115	Since we're still using 2.4.x kernel sources, we'll have to compile kernel modules and ALSA modules separately. People who are using a 2.5.x kernel can do this from within their kernel configuration, since the ALSA modules are included in the kernel sources and should be built there.
116	</p>	153	<p>
		154	When using the 2.4 kernels, you'll need to compile the alsa drivers separately
		155	from the rest of the kernel. If you are using a 2.6 kernel, you have the
		156	option of using the ALSA drivers included in the kernel or those provided
		157	by the <c>alsa-driver</c> package.
		158	</p>
		159
117	<p>	160	<p>
118	First we'll make sure that our kernel configuration is ready for use with ALSA.	161	First we'll make sure that our kernel configuration is ready for use with ALSA.
119	All you need in your kernel configuration is having Sound Card Support set to be built as a module (M).	162	All you need in your kernel configuration is having Sound Card Support set to
120	This will build <c>soundcore.o</c>.	163	be built as a module (M). This will build <path>soundcore.o</path>.
121	</p>
122	<p>	164	</p>
123	<note>	165
124	Possibly, this will also work when you built Sound Card Support in the kernel (Y) instead of building it as a module (M).
125	However, the official ALSA documentation suggests building it as a module, since ALSA will try loading it.
126	</note>	166	<note>
		167	Possibly, this will also work if you build 'Sound Card Support' in the kernel
		168	(Y) instead of building it as a module (M). However, the official ALSA
		169	documentation suggests building it as a module, since ALSA will try loading it.
		170	</note>
		171
127	</p>	172	<p>
128	<p>If you already have a working kernel configuration, make sure you remove all sound drivers (except for Sound Card Support).	173	If you already have a working kernel configuration, make sure you remove all
129	If you wish to do this without having to reboot, you could do like this:	174	sound drivers (except for Sound Card Support). If you wish to do this without
		175	having to reboot, you could do like this:
130	</p>	176	</p>
131	<pre>	177
		178	<pre caption="Kernel configuration">
132	# <i>cd /usr/src/linux</i>	179	# <i>cd /usr/src/linux</i>
133	# <i>cp .config ~/</i>	180	# <i>cp .config ~/</i>
134	# <i>make mrproper</i>	181	# <i>make mrproper</i>
135	# <i>cp ~/.config .</i>	182	# <i>cp ~/.config .</i>
136	# <i>make menuconfig</i>	183	# <i>make menuconfig</i>
137	</pre>	184	</pre>
		185
138	<p>	186	<p>
139	Now select <e>Sound Card Support</e> as Module (M) and deselect all other sound drivers.	187	Now select <e>Sound Card Support</e> as Module (M) and deselect all other sound
		188	drivers. If you are using 2.6 with the ALSA modules provided by the kernel, select
		189	the drivers for your sound card as well (look in the <uri
		190	link="#doc_chap2_sect3">ALSA modules</uri> section below if you need help
140	Exit and say Y to save your kernel configuration.	191	choosing the right drivers). Exit and say Y to save your kernel configuration.
141	After that, build the modules:	192	After that, build the modules:
142	</p>	193	</p>
143	<pre>	194
		195	<pre caption="2.4 Kernel compilation">
144	# <i>make dep clean</i>	196	# <i>make dep clean</i>
145	# <i>make modules modules_install</i>	197	# <i>make modules modules_install</i>
146	</pre>	198	</pre>
		199
		200	<pre caption="2.6 Kernel compilation">
		201	# <i>make</i>
		202	# <i>make modules_install</i>
		203	</pre>
		204
		205	<p>
		206	If you compiled 2.6 with the ALSA modules provided by the kernel, please skip to
		207	<uri link="#doc_chap2_sect4">Configuration of ALSA</uri> below.
147	<p>	208	</p>
		209
		210	<p>
148	Before installing your new modules, this last line will delete all your previous modules,	211	Before installing your new modules, this last line will delete all your previous
149	even the ones from a previous ALSA installation.	212	modules, even the ones from a previous ALSA installation.
150	</p>
151	<p>	213	</p>
		214
152	<impo>	215	<impo>
153	This means, whenever you recompile your kernel later on, you MUST recompile <c>alsa-driver</c>.	216	This means, whenever you recompile your kernel later on, you MUST recompile
		217	<c>alsa-driver</c>.
154	</impo>	218	</impo>
155	</p>
156	<p>
157	<note>However, there's no need to reinstall <c>nvidia-kernel</c>, the Nvidia drivers are in a separate directory
158	in <path>/lib/modules/*/video</path> and won't get deleted by a <c>make modules modules_install</c>
159	</note>
160	</p>
161	</body>
162	</section>
163		219
		220	</body>
164	<section>	221	</section>
		222	<section>
165	<title>ALSA modules</title>	223	<title>ALSA modules</title>
166	<body>	224	<body>
167		225
168	<p>
169	Now it's time to install the ALSA drivers for your soundcard(s). If your soundcard is PCI, you can find out the name
170	and type of your soundcard by looking at the output of /proc/pci.
171	</p>	226	<p>
172	<pre>	227	Now it's time to install the ALSA drivers for your soundcard(s). If your
		228	soundcard is PCI, you can find out the name and type of your soundcard by
		229	looking at the output of <path>/proc/pci</path>.
		230	</p>
		231
		232	<pre caption="Search for soundcard information">
173	# <i>grep audio /proc/pci</i>	233	# <i>grep audio /proc/pci</i>
174	</pre>	234	</pre>
175		235
176
177	<p>
178	<warn>	236	<warn>
179	If you had a previous sound setup and there are still non-ALSA sound modules loaded, unload them <e>now</e>.	237	If you had a previous sound setup and there are still non-ALSA sound modules
180	Check with <c>lsmod</c> and use <c>rmmod</c> to unload all sound-related modules on your system.	238	loaded, unload them <e>now</e>. Check with <c>lsmod</c> and use <c>rmmod</c>
		239	to unload all sound-related modules on your system. If <c>rmmod</c> complains
		240	about not being able to unload the modules because they are in use, try using
		241	<c>/etc/init.c/alsasound stop</c> to remove them.
181	</warn>	242	</warn>
		243
182	</p>	244	<p>
183		245	We could simply do an <c>emerge alsa-driver</c> now, this would compile and
		246	install <e>all</e> ALSA sound drivers.
184	<p>	247	</p>
185	We could simply do an <c>emerge alsa-driver</c> now, this would compile and install <e>all</e> ALSA sound drivers.	248
186	</p>	249	<p>
187	<p>
188	However, to save some time, lookup the <e>Module Name</e> of your soundcard(s) on the	250	However, to save some time, lookup the <e>Module Name</e> of your soundcard(s)
189	<uri link="http://www.alsa-project.org/alsa-doc">ALSA Soundcard Matrix</uri> by following the <e>Details</e> link in the <e>Driver and Docs</e> column in the row of the chipset of your soundcard.	251	on the <uri link="http://www.alsa-project.org/alsa-doc">ALSA Soundcard
		252	Matrix</uri> by following the <e>Details</e> link in the <e>Driver and Docs</e>
		253	column in the row of the chipset of your soundcard. Mine is <c>snd-emu10k1</c>,
190	Mine is <c>snd-emu10k1</c>, since I have an SBlive! soundcard, with the <e>EMU10K1</e> chipset.	254	since I have an SBlive! soundcard, with the <e>EMU10K1</e> chipset. We'll set
191	We'll set ALSA_CARDS environment to the value of the module name before emerging (but without the snd prefix), so emerge will only compile the drivers we need.	255	ALSA_CARDS environment to the value of the module name before emerging (but
		256	without the snd prefix), so emerge will only compile the drivers we need.
192	</p>	257	</p>
193		258
194	<pre>	259	<pre caption="With 2.4 Kernel">
195	# <i>env ALSA_CARDS='emu10k1' emerge alsa-driver</i>	260	# <i>env ALSA_CARDS='emu10k1' emerge alsa-driver</i>
196	</pre>	261	</pre>
		262
		263	<pre caption="With 2.6 Kernel">
		264	# <i>env ALSA_CARDS='emu10k1' emerge \>=media-sound/alsa-driver-1.0.2c</i>
		265	</pre>
		266
		267	<note>
		268	2.6 kernels require alsa-driver to be at least version 1.0.2c.
197	<note>	269	</note>
198	You can also add this value in <path>/etc/make.conf</path>, so when you have to emerge the alsa-driver later on you can just run <c>emerge alsa-driver</c>.	270
		271	<note>
		272	You can also add this value in <path>/etc/make.conf</path>, so when you have
		273	to emerge the alsa-driver later on you can just run <c>emerge alsa-driver</c>.
199	For example, like this: <c>echo 'ALSA_CARDS="emu10k1"' >> /etc/make.conf</c>	274	For example, like this: <c>echo 'ALSA_CARDS="emu10k1"' >> /etc/make.conf</c>
200	</note>	275	</note>
201		276
202	<note>	277	<note>
203	When you want to install ALSA drivers for more than one soundcard, you could set ALSA_CARDS to a space-separated list	278	When you want to install ALSA drivers for more than one soundcard, you could
		279	set ALSA_CARDS to a space-separated list of drivers; like this: <c>env
204	of drivers; like this: <c>env ALSA_CARDS='emu10k1 intel8x0 ens1370' emerge alsa-driver</c>	280	ALSA_CARDS='emu10k1 intel8x0 ens1370' emerge alsa-driver</c>
		281	</note>
		282
205	</note>	283	<note>
206
207	<note>If you want to have OSS compatibility, make sure to emerge <i>alsa-oss</i>, it is the ALSA/OSS compatibility	284	If you want to have OSS compatibility, make sure to emerge <c>alsa-oss</c>, it
208	wrapper. </note>	285	is the ALSA/OSS compatibility wrapper.
		286	</note>
209		287
		288	<note>
210	<note>If you plan on recompiling your kernels numerous times, it might	289	If you plan on recompiling your kernels numerous times, it might
211	be adviseable to emerge <c>alsa-driver</c> with <c>--buildpkg</c>. This	290	be adviseable to emerge <c>alsa-driver</c> with <c>--buildpkg</c>. This
212	will create a binary package for it. Later, after recompiling your kernel,	291	will create a binary package for it. Later, after recompiling your kernel,
213	you can just do <c>emerge --usepkg alsa-driver</c> which will install the	292	you can just do <c>emerge --usepkg alsa-driver</c> which will install the
214	binary package instead of recompiling it completely.</note>	293	binary package instead of recompiling it completely. If 'depmod -a' ever
		294	complains about sound drivers having unreferenced symbols when you do this,
		295	you will need to recompile the alsa-driver package from source.
		296	</note>
215		297
216	<p>	298	<p>
217	After this, the ALSA modules should be installed on your system.	299	After this, the ALSA modules should be installed on your system.
218	</p>	300	</p>
		301
219	</body>	302	</body>
220	</section>
221	<section>	303	</section>
		304	<section>
222	<title>Configuration of ALSA</title>	305	<title>Configuration of ALSA</title>
223	<body>	306	<body>
		307
224	<p>	308	<p>
225	Let's start configuring now to get ALSA working properly.	309	Let's start configuring now to get ALSA working properly. We'll need to edit
226	We'll need to edit some files, to let our system know about the freshly installed ALSA modules.	310	some files, to let our system know about the freshly installed ALSA modules.
227	</p>	311	</p>
228		312
229	<p>	313	<p>
230	First, install <c>alsa-utils</c> on your system:	314	First, install <c>alsa-utils</c> on your system:
231	</p>	315	</p>
…		…
235	</pre>	319	</pre>
236		320
237	<p>	321	<p>
238	Hereafter, we need to edit <path>/etc/modules.d/alsa</path>.	322	Hereafter, we need to edit <path>/etc/modules.d/alsa</path>.
239	</p>	323	</p>
		324
240	<warn>	325	<warn>
241	There is no need to edit <path>/etc/modules.conf</path>. Instead, always edit files in <path>/etc/modules.d</path>.	326	There is no need to edit <path>/etc/modules.conf</path>. Instead, always edit
		327	files in <path>/etc/modules.d</path> and run <c>modules-update</c> to generate
		328	<path>/etc/modules.conf</path> from the updated data.
242	</warn>	329	</warn>
243	<p>	330
244	Check the ALSA portion <e>at the bottom of the file</e>.
245	By tweaking this line you can specify the max number of soundcards you have (generally, just one).
246	</p>
247	<pre caption="At the bottom of /etc/modules.d/alsa">
248	<comment>Set this to the correct number of cards.</comment>
249	options snd cards_limit=1
250	</pre>
251	<p>
252	Now we'll specify the sounddriver(s) ALSA should use. In the same file, edit like this:
253	</p>
254	<pre caption="In /etc/modules.d/alsa">	331	<pre caption="In /etc/modules.d/alsa">
255	## and then run `modules-update' command.	332	## and then run `modules-update' command.
256	## Read alsa-driver's INSTALL file in /usr/share/doc for more info.	333	## Read alsa-driver's INSTALL file in /usr/share/doc for more info.
257	##	334	##
258	## ALSA portion	335	## ALSA portion
259	alias snd-card-0 snd-emu10k1	336	alias snd-card-0 snd-emu10k1
260	<comment>## If you have more than one, add:</comment>
261	## alias snd-card-1 snd-intel8x0	337	## alias snd-card-1 snd-intel8x0
262	## alias snd-card-2 snd-ens1370	338	## alias snd-card-2 snd-ens1370
263	## OSS/Free portion	339	## OSS/Free portion
264	## alias sound-slot-0 snd-card-0	340	alias sound-slot-0 snd-card-0
265	## alias sound-slot-1 snd-card-1	341	## alias sound-slot-1 snd-card-1
		342	## alias sound-slot-2 snd-card-2
266	##	343	##
267	</pre>	344	</pre>
		345
268	<note>	346	<note>
269	If you have more than one soundcard, adjust the <c>cards_limit</c> value and add more snd-card aliases to the file.	347	If you have more than one soundcard, add more <c>snd-card</c> and <c>snd-slot</c>
270	I don't have experience with this, but you can find examples for configurations with two or more soundcards in	348	aliases and adjust the <c>cards_limit</c> value at the end of the file. You can
		349	find examples for configurations with two or more soundcards in <uri
271	<uri link="http://www.alsa-project.org/alsa-doc/alsa-howto/c1660.htm">Chapter 6</uri>	350	link="http://www.alsa-project.org/alsa-doc/alsa-howto/c1660.htm">Chapter 6</uri>
		351	of the <uri
272	of the <uri link="http://www.alsa-project.org/alsa-doc/alsa-howto/alsa-howto.html">ALSA Howto</uri>.	352	link="http://www.alsa-project.org/alsa-doc/alsa-howto/alsa-howto.html">ALSA
		353	Howto</uri>.
273	</note>	354	</note>
		355
274	<p>	356	<p>
275	Last thing to do in this file, almost at the end, check if these lines are there and uncommented:	357	Last thing to do in this file, almost at the end, check if these lines are there
		358	and uncommented:
276	</p>	359	</p>
		360
277	<pre caption="Near the end of /etc/modules.d/alsa">	361	<pre caption="Near the end of /etc/modules.d/alsa">
278	alias /dev/mixer snd-mixer-oss	362	alias /dev/mixer snd-mixer-oss
279	alias /dev/dsp snd-pcm-oss	363	alias /dev/dsp snd-pcm-oss
280	alias /dev/midi snd-seq-oss	364	alias /dev/midi snd-seq-oss
281	</pre>	365	</pre>
		366
		367	<p>
		368	After double-checking the file <path>/etc/modules.d/alsa</path> to make sure
		369	everyting is ok, run <c>modules-update</c>.
282	<p>	370	</p>
283	Now double-check the file <path>/etc/modules.d/alsa</path> and when you're sure everyting is ok, run <c>modules-update</c>.	371
284	<pre>	372	<pre caption="Running modules-update">
285	# <i>modules-update</i>	373	# <i>modules-update</i>
286	</pre>	374	</pre>
287	</p>	375
288	<note>
289	Running <c>modules-update</c> here will insert the data from <path>/etc/modules.d/alsa</path> into <path>/etc/modules.conf</path>
290	</note>	376	<note>
291	<p>	377	Running <c>modules-update</c> here will insert the data from
292	You should also verify that /etc/devfsd.conf has the alsa devices and permissions correctly registered.	378	<path>/etc/modules.d/alsa</path> into <path>/etc/modules.conf</path>
		379	</note>
		380
293	</p>	381	<p>
		382	You should also verify that <path>/etc/devfsd.conf</path> has the alsa devices
		383	and permissions correctly registered.
		384	</p>
		385
294	<pre caption="/etc/devfsd.conf">	386	<pre caption="/etc/devfsd.conf">
295	# ALSA/OSS stuff	387	# ALSA/OSS stuff
296	# Comment/change these if you want to change the permissions on	388	# Comment/change these if you want to change the permissions on
297	# the audio devices	389	# the audio devices
298	LOOKUP snd MODLOAD ACTION snd	390	LOOKUP snd MODLOAD ACTION snd
…		…
300	LOOKUP mixer MODLOAD	392	LOOKUP mixer MODLOAD
301	LOOKUP midi MODLOAD	393	LOOKUP midi MODLOAD
302	REGISTER sound/.* PERMISSIONS root.audio 660	394	REGISTER sound/.* PERMISSIONS root.audio 660
303	REGISTER snd/.* PERMISSIONS root.audio 660	395	REGISTER snd/.* PERMISSIONS root.audio 660
304	</pre>	396	</pre>
305	<note>	397
306	Notice that devfsd.conf sets /dev/sound permissions to be root.audio. Thus, for non-root users to use audio they will have to be part of the audio group.
307	</note>	398	<note>
		399	Notice that devfsd.conf sets <path>/dev/sound</path> permissions to be
		400	root.audio. Thus, for non-root users to use audio they will have to be part of
		401	the audio group.
		402	</note>
		403
308	</body>	404	</body>
309	</section>	405	</section>
310	</chapter>	406	</chapter>
		407
311	<chapter>	408	<chapter>
312	<title>Starting ALSA</title>	409	<title>Starting ALSA</title>
313	<section>	410	<section>
314	<title>Adding alsasound to a runlevel</title>	411	<title>Adding alsasound to a runlevel</title>
315	<body>	412	<body>
		413
316	<p>	414	<p>
		415	An init script is provided for you which will install all necessary sound
		416	drivers for your card (including the OSS support drivers if you set USE=oss).
317	First thing to do now, is to make ALSA startup at boottime. Like this:	417	The first thing to do now is to make ALSA startup at boot time:
318	<pre>	418	</p>
		419
		420	<pre caption="Add ALSA to the boot runlevel">
319	# <i>rc-update add alsasound boot</i>	421	# <i>rc-update add alsasound boot</i>
320	</pre>	422	</pre>
321	</p>	423
322	<p>	424	<warn>
323	<warn>Note that the alsasound script should be added to the "boot" runlevel, not the "default" runlevel.</warn>	425	Note that the alsasound script should be added to the "boot" runlevel, not the
324	</p>	426	"default" runlevel.
		427	</warn>
		428
325	</body>	429	</body>
326	</section>
327	<section>	430	</section>
		431	<section>
328	<title>Running and unmuting</title>	432	<title>Running and unmuting</title>
329	<body>	433	<body>
		434
330	<p>	435	<p>
331	Since we're Linux users, we don't want to reboot. So we'll start the alsasound script manually.	436	Since we're Linux users, we don't want to reboot. So we'll start the alsasound
		437	script manually.
332	</p>	438	</p>
333	<pre>	439
		440	<pre caption="Starting ALSA">
334	# <i>/etc/init.d/alsasound start</i>	441	# <i>/etc/init.d/alsasound start</i>
335	</pre>	442	</pre>
336	<p>	443
337	ALSA is running now. If everything is ok, you should be able to see the ALSA modules loaded when running <c>lsmod</c>.
338	However, sound won't work yet, because the channels are still muted. We need <c>amixer</c> for this.
339	</p>	444	<p>
		445	ALSA is running now. If everything is ok, you should be able to see the ALSA
		446	modules loaded when running <c>lsmod</c>. However, sound won't work yet,
		447	because the channels are still muted. We need <c>amixer</c> to fix this.
		448	</p>
		449
340	<pre caption = "Running amixer">	450	<pre caption = "Running amixer">
341	# <i>amixer</i>	451	# <i>amixer</i>
342	</pre>	452	</pre>
343	<p>	453
		454	<!-- alsasound init script will do this for them now...
344	<warn>	455	<warn>
345	You shouldn't get this, but <e>if</e> you get an error about "amixer: Mixer attach default error: No such file or directory", you should manually modprobe	456	You shouldn't get this, but <e>if</e> you get an error about "amixer: Mixer
		457	attach default error: No such file or directory", you should manually modprobe
346	<c>snd-mixer-oss</c> and <c>snd-pcm-oss</c> once. After that run amixer again.	458	<c>snd-mixer-oss</c> and <c>snd-pcm-oss</c> once. After that run amixer again.
347	</warn>	459	</warn>
348	</p>	460
349	<pre caption="only if you get an error when running amixer">	461	<pre caption="Only if you get an error when running amixer">
350	# <i>modprobe snd-mixer-oss</i>	462	# <i>modprobe snd-mixer-oss</i>
351	# <i>modprobe snd-pcm-oss</i>	463	# <i>modprobe snd-pcm-oss</i>
352	# <i>amixer</i>	464	# <i>amixer</i>
353	</pre>	465	</pre>
		466	-->
		467
354	<p>	468	<p>
355	If you got this far, now unmute Master and PCM channels. Some hardware	469	If you got this far, now unmute Master and PCM channels. Some hardware
356	even requires you to unmute the center channel or even the surround	470	even requires you to unmute the center channel or even the surround
357	channel.	471	channel.
358	</p>	472	</p>
359	<p>	473
360	<pre caption = "Unmuting channels">	474	<pre caption = "Unmuting channels">
361	# <i>amixer set Master 100 unmute</i>	475	# <i>amixer set Master 100 unmute</i>
362	# <i>amixer set PCM 100 unmute</i>	476	# <i>amixer set PCM 100 unmute</i>
363	<comment>Only if the above doesn't succeed on its own:</comment>	477	<comment>Only if the above doesn't succeed on its own:</comment>
364	# <i>amixer set Center 100 unmute</i>	478	# <i>amixer set Center 100 unmute</i>
365	# <i>amixer set Surround 100 unmute</i>	479	# <i>amixer set Surround 100 unmute</i>
366	<comment>Test the sound:</comment>	480	<comment>Test the sound:</comment>
367	# <i>aplay $KDEDIR/share/sounds/pop.wav</i> <codenote>(pop.wav is part of KDE)</codenote>	481	# <i>aplay $KDEDIR/share/sounds/pop.wav</i> <codenote>(pop.wav is part of KDE)</codenote>
368	</pre>	482	</pre>
		483
369	</p>	484	<p>
370	We check to see if sound is working by using the aplay (alsa play) command. If you hear a pop, then sound is indeed working.	485	We check to see if sound is working by using the aplay (alsa play) command. If
		486	you hear a pop, then sound is indeed working. Then, adjust the volume settings
371	Then, adjust the volume settings to your liking; the ncurses-based <c>alsamixer</c> is a great way to get them "just so".	487	to your liking; the ncurses-based <c>alsamixer</c> is a great way to get them
		488	"just so".
372	<p>	489	</p>
373	You may want to emerge <c>alsa-xmms</c> as that will provide ALSA support for XMMS.	490
374	</p>	491	<p>
375	When you reboot your system, the <e>alsasound</e> init script will properly save and restore your volume settings.	492	When you reboot your system, the <c>alsasound</c> init script will
		493	properly save and restore your volume settings.
		494	</p>
		495
376	</body>	496	</body>
377	</section>	497	</section>
378	</chapter>	498	</chapter>
		499
		500	<chapter>
		501	<title>MIDI Support</title>
		502	<section>
		503	<title>Hardware Synthesizer</title>
		504	<body>
		505
		506	<p>
		507	Some sound cards (SBLive, Audigy, and others) come with onboard MIDI synthesizers.
		508	To use them, you must first install the <c>awesfx</c> package.
		509	</p>
		510
		511	<pre caption="Install awesfx">
		512	# <i>emerge awesfx</i>
		513	</pre>
		514
		515	<p>
		516	Now, you should place your sound fonts in <path>/usr/share/sfbank/</path>. You
		517	can probably get the sound fonts off of the windows driver CD for your sound card.
		518	With the SBLive, one of the included sound font files is called 8MBGMSFX.SF2.
		519	</p>
		520
		521	<note>
		522	On some recents CD supplied with a SBLive, the font file is called CT4GMSFX.SF2.
		523	If it is your case, please replace all occurrences of 8MBGMSFX.SF2 with
		524	CT4GMSFX.SF2 in the examples.
		525	</note>
		526
		527	<p>
		528	After copying over the sound font you want to use, you need to select it for use
		529	with <c>/usr/bin/sfxload</c>.
		530	</p>
		531
		532	<pre caption="Selecting the sound font">
		533	# <i>/usr/bin/sfxload /usr/share/sfbank/8MBGMSFX.SF2</i>
		534	</pre>
		535
		536	<note>
		537	You may wish to place this command in /etc/conf.d/local.start or in the startup
		538	script for your sound card (/etc/alsa.d/emu10k1) to make sure it gets loaded
		539	at startup.
		540	</note>
		541
		542	</body>
		543	</section>
		544	<section>
		545	<title>Timidity++ Virtual Synthesizer</title>
		546	<body>
		547
		548	<p>
		549	If your sound card does not come with a hardware synthesizer (or you don't
		550	want to use it), you can use <c>timidity++</c> to provide you with a virtual
		551	synthesizer. Start by emerging this package:
		552	</p>
		553
		554	<pre caption="Installing Timidity++">
		555	# <i>emerge timidity++</i>
		556	</pre>
		557
		558	<p>
		559	A sample configuration file will be installed for you in
		560	<path>/usr/share/timitidy/config/timidity.cfg</path>. If you don't have a
		561	timidity++ configuration setup yet, you can just use this one.
		562	</p>
		563
		564	<pre caption="Use the default Timidity++ configuration file">
		565	# <i>cp /usr/share/timidity/config/timidity.cfg /usr/share/timidity</i>
		566	</pre>
		567
		568	<p>
		569	Now, you need to enable the init script to run when your system boots
		570	and enable it now.
		571	</p>
		572
		573	<pre caption="Add timidity to default runlevel and start it now">
		574	# <i>rc-update add timidity default</i>
		575	# <i>/etc/init.d/timidity start</i>
		576	</pre>
		577
		578	<p>
		579	Note that there is a configuration file for the init script that you can
		580	modify in <path>/etc/conf.d/timidity</path>, and sane defaults have been
		581	chosen for you.
		582	</p>
		583
		584	</body>
		585	</section>
		586	<section>
		587	<title>Testing MIDI Support</title>
		588	<body>
		589
		590	<p>
		591	You can use <c>pmidi</c> to test out your MIDI configuration. To do so,
		592	you need to first emerge its package.
		593	</p>
		594
		595	<pre caption="Installing pmidi">
		596	# <i>emerge pmidi</i>
		597	</pre>
		598
		599	<p>
		600	The '-l' command line option to pmidi will list all detected MIDI output ports,
		601	and '-p' can be used to select the one for playback. Check to see what
		602	MIDI output ports are available on your system:
		603	</p>
		604
		605	<pre caption="Listed ports when using hardware synthesizer">
		606	# <i>pmidi -l</i>
		607	Port Client name Port name
		608	64:0 Rawmidi 0 - EMU10K1 MPU-401 (U EMU10K1 MPU-401 (UART)
		609	65:0 Emu10k1 WaveTable Emu10k1 Port 0
		610	65:1 Emu10k1 WaveTable Emu10k1 Port 1
		611	65:2 Emu10k1 WaveTable Emu10k1 Port 2
		612	65:3 Emu10k1 WaveTable Emu10k1 Port 3
		613	</pre>
		614
		615	<pre caption="Listed ports when using Timidity++">
		616	# <i>pmidi -l</i>
		617	Port Client name Port name
		618	64:0 Rawmidi 0 - ES1371 ES1371
		619	128:0 TiMidity TiMidity port 0
		620	128:1 TiMidity TiMidity port 1
		621	128:2 TiMidity TiMidity port 2
		622	128:3 TiMidity TiMidity port 3
		623	</pre>
		624
		625	<p>
		626	Now, try playing a MIDI file to make sure everything works:
		627	</p>
		628
		629	<pre caption="Play a song">
		630	# <i>pmidi -p 65:0 Final\ Fantasy\ 7\ -\ Aerith\'s\ Theme.mid</i>
		631	or
		632	# <i>pmidi -p 128:0 Final\ Fantasy\ 7\ -\ Aerith\'s\ Theme.mid</i>
		633	</pre>
		634
		635	</body>
		636	</section>
		637	</chapter>
		638
379	<chapter>	639	<chapter>
380	<title>Final Notes</title>	640	<title>Final Notes</title>
381	<section>	641	<section>
382	<title>After kernel-upgrades..</title>	642	<title>After kernel-upgrades...</title>
383	<body>	643	<body>
		644
		645	<p>
384	<p>When you ever rebuild your kernel, or upgrade to another kernel, you'll have to rebuild the ALSA modules.</p>	646	When you ever rebuild your kernel, or upgrade to another kernel, you'll have to
		647	rebuild the ALSA modules.
		648	</p>
		649
		650	<p>
385	<p>Although you might have installed <c>alsa-driver</c>, <c>alsa-libs</c> and <c>alsa-utils</c>, only the first will	651	Although you might have installed <c>alsa-driver</c>, <c>alsa-lib</c> and
386	have to be installed again, since it will put the alsa modules in	652	<c>alsa-utils</c>, only the first will have to be installed again, since it will
387	<path>/lib/modules/*/kernel/sound/pci/</path>.</p>	653	put the alsa modules in <path>/lib/modules/*/kernel/sound/pci/</path>.
		654	</p>
		655
388	<pre caption="needed after each kernel compile">	656	<pre caption="Needed after each kernel compile">
389	# <i>emerge alsa-driver</i>	657	# <i>emerge alsa-driver</i>
390	</pre>	658	</pre>
		659
391	</body>	660	</body>
392	</section>
393	<section>	661	</section>
		662	<section>
		663	<title>alsa-tools and alsa-firmware</title>
		664	<body>
		665
		666	<p>
		667	The alsa-tools and alsa-firmware packages contain tools useful to only users of
		668	specific sound cards. Most users will not need these. If you do need alsa-tools,
		669	you can set the environment variable 'ALSA_TOOLS' to install just the needed tools
		670	for your card:
		671	</p>
		672
		673	<pre caption="Installing alsa-tools">
		674	# <i>env ALSA_TOOLS='as10k1 ac3dec' emerge alsa-tools</i>
		675	</pre>
		676
		677	</body>
		678	</section>
		679	<section>
		680	<title>Mixing versions</title>
		681	<body>
		682
		683	<p>
		684	Often times, different versions of <c>alsa-driver</c>, <c>alsa-lib</c>,
		685	<c>alsa-utils</c>, <c>alsa-tools</c>, and <c>alsa-oss</c> will work with each
		686	other, but it is recommended that you try to keep the versions in sync.
		687	</p>
		688
		689	</body>
		690	</section>
		691	<section>
394	<title>/etc/modules.autoload</title>	692	<title>/etc/modules.autoload</title>
395	<body>	693	<body>
		694
		695	<p>
396	<p>You won't have to edit this file for use with ALSA. After our <c>rc-update add alsasound boot</c>, our system will	696	You won't have to edit this file for use with ALSA. After doing <c>rc-update add
397	load the correct modules at startup.</p>	697	alsasound boot</c>, the correct modules will be loaded at startup.
		698	</p>
		699
		700	<!--
		701	<p>
398	<p>It's not necessary to add <c>snd-pcm-oss</c> or <c>snd-mixer-oss</c> in this file.	702	It's not necessary to add <c>snd-pcm-oss</c> or <c>snd-mixer-oss</c> in this
399	Check the <uri link="http://www.djcj.org/LAU/guide/alsbook/faq1.html">this FAQ</uri> for more info.</p>	703	file. Check the <uri link="http://www.djcj.org/LAU/guide/alsbook/faq1.html">this
400	</body>	704	FAQ</uri> for more info.
401	</section>	705	</p>
		706	-->
402		707
		708	</body>
		709	</section>
403	<section>	710	<section>
404	<title>Known bugs</title>	711	<title>Known bugs</title>
405	<body>	712	<body>
406		713
407	<note>	714	<note>
408	This guide lags behind on the alsa-development. Chances are these bugs	715	This guide lags behind on the alsa-development. Chances are these bugs
409	are already fixed when you read this.	716	are already fixed when you read this.
410	</note>	717	</note>
411		718
412	<ul>	719	<ul>
413	<li>	720	<li>
414	If you have <b>lots of noise</b> when using <b>oss</b> emulation, add	721	If you have <b>lots of noise</b> when using <b>oss</b> emulation, add
415	<e>options snd-pcm-oss dsp_map=1</e> to	722	<e>options snd-pcm-oss dsp_map=1</e> to <path>/etc/modules.d/alsa</path>
416	<path>/etc/modules.d/alsa</path>.
417	</li>	723	</li>
418	</ul>	724	</ul>
419		725
420	</body>	726	</body>
421	</section>	727	</section>
		728	<section>
		729	<title>Activating Joystick Support</title>
		730	<body>
422		731
		732	<p>
		733	If your soundcard has a joystick plug, you might be interested in activating
		734	joystick support for your soundcard. If so, start by verifying if your soundcard
		735	driver has a joystick parameter. You can verify this by running <c>modinfo</c>
		736	against your <path>snd-<your chipset></path>. For instance, for the
		737	<c>snd-via82xx</c>:
		738	</p>
		739
		740	<pre caption="Running modinfo">
		741	# <i>modinfo snd-via82xx</i>
		742	filename: /lib/modules/2.4.22-ck2/snd-via82xx.o
		743	description: "VIA VT82xx audio"
		744	author: "Jaroslav Kysela <perex@suse.cz>"
		745	license: "GPL"
		746	parm: index int array (min = 1, max = 8), description "Index value for VIA 82xx bridge."
		747	parm: id string array (min = 1, max = 8), description "ID string for VIA 82xx bridge."
		748	parm: enable int array (min = 1, max = 8), description "Enable audio part of VIA 82xx bridge."
		749	parm: mpu_port long array (min = 1, max = 8), description "MPU-401 port. (VT82C686x only)"
		750	<i>parm: joystick int array (min = 1, max = 8), description "Enable joystick. (VT82C686x only)"</i>
		751	parm: ac97_clock int array (min = 1, max = 8), description "AC'97 codec clock (default 48000Hz)."
		752	parm: dxs_support int array (min = 1, max = 8), description "Support for DXS channels
		753	(0 = auto, 1 = enable, 2 = disable, 3 = 48k only, 4 = no VRA)"
		754	</pre>
		755
		756	<p>
		757	If it has the <c>joystick</c> parameter, then append <c>joystick=1</c> to your
		758	<c>options</c> line in <path>/etc/modules.d/alsa</path>. For instance, for the
		759	<c>snd-via82xx</c>:
		760	</p>
		761
		762	<pre caption="Adding the joystick parameter">
		763	alias snd-card-0 snd-via82xx
		764	options snd-via82xx joystick=1
		765	</pre>
		766
		767	</body>
423	<section>	768	</section>
		769	<section>
424	<title>More links..</title>	770	<title>More links...</title>
425	<body>	771	<body>
		772
426	<p>	773	<p>
427	You could check these for additional info:	774	You could check these for additional info:
428	</p>	775	</p>
429	<p>	776
430	<ul>	777	<ul>
		778	<li>
431	<li><uri link="http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/desktop.xml">The Gentoo Linux Desktop Configuration Guide</uri></li>	779	<uri link="http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/desktop.xml">The Gentoo Linux
		780	Desktop Configuration Guide</uri>
		781	</li>
		782	<li>
432	<li><uri link="http://www.alsa-project.org">ALSA Project Homepage</uri></li>	783	<uri link="http://www.alsa-project.org">ALSA Project Homepage</uri>
		784	</li>
		785	<li>
433	<li><uri link="http://www.alsa-project.org/documentation.php3">ALSA Users Documentation</uri></li>	786	<uri link="http://www.alsa-project.org/documentation.php3">ALSA Users
		787	Documentation</uri>
		788	</li>
		789	<li>
434	<li><uri link="http://www.djcj.org">ALSA Howto's and FAQ's</uri></li>	790	<uri link="http://www.djcj.org">ALSA Howto's and FAQ's</uri>
		791	</li>
		792	<li>
435	<li><uri link="http://tldp.org/HOWTO/Sound-HOWTO/index.html">Linux Sound HOWTO</uri></li>	793	<uri link="http://tldp.org/HOWTO/Sound-HOWTO/index.html">Linux Sound
		794	HOWTO</uri>
		795	</li>
		796	<li>
436	<li><uri link="http://linux-sound.org/">Sound and MIDI Software For Linux</uri></li>	797	<uri link="http://linux-sound.org/">Sound and MIDI Software For Linux</uri>
		798	</li>
437	</ul>	799	</ul>
438	</p>	800
439	</body>	801	</body>
440	</section>	802	</section>
441	</chapter>	803	</chapter>
442	</guide>	804	</guide>

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Added in v.1.31
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+Added in v.1.31

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