# How to identify needed sound drver

## gsfgf

I have a VAIO F580 laptop.  It has an onboard sound card.  Is there a way to tell what driver to use.  Or a site w/ good detailed specs of systems.  All Sony says is "windows compatable".   Or is there a generic sound driver like device pcm in BSD for LINUX?

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## mksoft

If it's a pci device try lspci. It's in pciutils so emerge it ant try

```
lspci | grep audio
```

On my machine it says:

```
00:0f.0 Multimedia audio controller: Ensoniq 5880 AudioPCI (rev 02)
```

HTH

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## lx

google search:

http://jeigh.com/~ian/pcgf580.html

Yamaha YMF-744B.  Just use alsa.  It's free and the instructions have gotten better.  In the kernel build, turn on soundcore, but don't enable support for any cards.  The appropriate modules.conf entries are as follows:.... see site.

Cya lX

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## gsfgf

i installed the alsa ebuild.  Amixer doesn't detect devices.  What do i do?  I can post info, but i'm not sure whats needed.   I am following the gentoo guide.  It says use the sound driver, but lx said don't enable cards.  Huh?

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## lx

I just copied a line from the referred page. But it is correct, for using alsa you only need to choose soundcore in the kernel config.

 *Quote:*   

> make menuconfig
> 
> sound -> sound card support [Y/M]

 

after this you have to adept the /etc/modules.d/alsa file should say something like: *Quote:*   

> 
> 
> #       First, get alsa loaded.
> 
> alias char-major-116 snd
> ...

 

after this you can add the alsasound script to the boot up scripts (rc-update add alsasound default).

also add snd-pcm-oss and snd-mixer-oss to modules.autoload (this is needed on my system (sblive), it's responsible for creating /dev/dsp and /dev/mixer, which are created on loading the devices.

Think this should be enough, Cya lX.

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## Zu`

If you still can't get it work, you might take a look here:

https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic.php?p=16800

The Desktop HOWTO is just not up to date anymore for ALSA. It's a shame, because now a LOT of people are having problems with it  :Sad: 

Good luck!

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## gsfgf

well, it workes.  I don't know what i did.  But i may have alsa (how do i tell), the ymfpci and ac97_codec modules loaded.

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## gsfgf

It died again.  ALSA is still giving same eroors.  I must have fixed it by accident, but reboooted.

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## sharky44

 *gsfgf wrote:*   

> I have a VAIO F580 laptop. It has an onboard sound card. Is there a way to tell what driver to use. Or a site w/ good detailed specs of systems. All Sony says is "windows compatable". Or is there a generic sound driver like device pcm in BSD for LINUX?

 

It was helpful for me (upon installing Gentoo this week on an IBM Thinkpad A22m) to look at the /proc/pci file.  One of the entries should be a sound card, and will probably give you a good idea what driver to use.  (There is also an entry for a video card (if it's PCI), if you're having problems setting up X to use the correct video driver/resolution/whatever)

Also, if you were like me and initially compiled your kernel with drivers for a soundcard, the alsa setup as found in the "desktop configuration guide" won't work and you won't have any sound.

The solution is to recompile the kernel WITH sound card support BUT NOT support for any soundcards.  Copy the kernel image over to your boot partition.  Then, after reboot, "emerge media-sound/alsa-driver" again and follow the instructions for alsa on the desktop configuration guide.

Good luck  :Smile: 

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