# no sound on VT8233 (SOLVED!!!)

## schorsch79

hi people!

i can't get a sound out of my asrock motherboard! this is what lspci gives:

```
00:11.5 Multimedia audio controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8233/A/8235 AC97 Audio Controller (rev 50)

```

i followed the gentoo alsa guide. but when it comes to play the sound, there's no sound!

```
bash-2.05b# aplay /usr/kde/3.1/share/sounds/pop.wav

Playing WAVE '/usr/kde/3.1/share/sounds/pop.wav' : Signed 16 bit Little Endian, Rate 44100 Hz, Mono

```

lsmod:

```
bash-2.05b# lsmod

Module                  Size  Used by    Not tainted

snd-pcm-oss            39940   0  (autoclean)

snd-mixer-oss          13848   0  (autoclean) [snd-pcm-oss]

sr_mod                 18264   0  (autoclean) (unused)

snd-via82xx            12748   0

snd-pcm                65024   0  [snd-pcm-oss snd-via82xx]

snd-timer              15880   0  [snd-pcm]

snd-mpu401-uart         3776   0  [snd-via82xx]

snd-rawmidi            15072   0  [snd-mpu401-uart]

snd-seq-device          4448   0  [snd-rawmidi]

snd-ac97-codec         37888   0  [snd-via82xx]

snd                    32644   0  [snd-pcm-oss snd-mixer-oss snd-via82xx snd-pcm snd-timer snd-mpu401-uart snd-rawmidi snd-seq-device snd-ac97-codec]

soundcore               4164   4  [snd]

snd-page-alloc          5292   0  [snd-via82xx snd-pcm]

via-rhine              13712   1

```

motherboard i'm using is a asrock k7vm2 with via KM266 chipset.

/etc/modules.d/alsa:

```
bash-2.05b# cat /etc/modules.d/alsa

# Alsa 0.9.X kernel modules' configuration file.

# $Header: /home/cvsroot/gentoo-x86/media-sound/alsa-driver/files/alsa-modules.conf-rc,v 1.1 2002/12/21 06:31:52 agenkin Exp $

# ALSA portion

alias char-major-116 snd

# OSS/Free portion

alias char-major-14 soundcore

##

## IMPORTANT:

## You need to customise this section for your specific sound card(s)

## and then run `update-modules' command.

## Read alsa-driver's INSTALL file in /usr/share/doc for more info.

##

##  ALSA portion

alias snd-card-0 snd-via82xx

## alias snd-card-1 snd-ens1371

##  OSS/Free portion

alias sound-slot-0 snd-card-0

## alias sound-slot-1 snd-card-1

##

# OSS/Free portion - card #1

alias sound-service-0-0 snd-mixer-oss

alias sound-service-0-1 snd-seq-oss

alias sound-service-0-3 snd-pcm-oss

alias sound-service-0-8 snd-seq-oss

alias sound-service-0-12 snd-pcm-oss

##  OSS/Free portion - card #2

## alias sound-service-1-0 snd-mixer-oss

## alias sound-service-1-3 snd-pcm-oss

## alias sound-service-1-12 snd-pcm-oss

alias /dev/mixer snd-mixer-oss

alias /dev/dsp snd-pcm-oss

alias /dev/midi snd-seq-oss

# Set this to the correct number of cards.

options snd cards_limit=1

```

Last edited by schorsch79 on Sun Nov 09, 2003 7:36 pm; edited 3 times in total

----------

## Smoke2firE

so are youre mixers unmuted?

----------

## schorsch79

yes, they are unmuted. i did it like in the example. i checked this even with kmix.

when i try to play a sound with kaboodle it crashes, when i select the wav file and click ok.

no other ideas?

there's only one strange thing: when i open alsamixer, there is written:

```
Card: VIA 8235

Chip: Via Technologies VIA1612A
```

i have no clue about the 1612A. in lspci it says: 

```
VT8233/A/8235 AC97
```

 but nothing about 1612...

any suggestions?

----------

## schorsch79

after trying various things, i still can hear no sound from this speakers!

i checked: 

- kernel config (soundcore is module, no kernel sound cards activated, APM disabled, ACPI activated)

- recompiled kernel

- rekompiled alsa-driver, alsa-lib, alsa-utils, alsa-oss, alsa-tools

- checked lsmod (the modules are loaded)

- checked dmesg (nothing unusual)

- kernel parameter pci=noacpi doesn't change anything

- everything is unmuted

if i do a 

```
cat /proc/asound/card0/oss_mixer
```

 there are all zeros, this is possible wrong, but i don't know how to change it.

is there no one having the same experience with VT8233???

----------

## Smoke2firE

i had the same onboard card but i ditched it for a cheap soundblastter  :Laughing:   :Very Happy: 

----------

## pmjdebruijn

I have some bad news for you...

I have the same motherboard...

And I found out that the ALSA driver is most probably broken for it...

When I installed RedHat I found out that RedHat used the in kernel OSS driver and it worked like a charm!

When I enabled the OSS driver in my gentoo setup, it worked fine too.

Good luck,

drz

NOTE: The Sound chip on this board, doesn't seem to suffer from line-noise like many other onboard sound thingies...

----------

## schorsch79

thanks to Smoke2firE and drz for your hints. i too was about to buy a cheap sound card as a solution to my problem. i've tried with knoppix to make sure it's not a gentoo problem. then i changed the hard disk and installed win98 just to make sure that the sound works in windows. then i found - surprisingly - linux drivers on the install cd of the motherboard and as well on vias homepage. but they are all for redhats, suses or mandrakes... tomorrow i'll try to get the sound working with these drivers.

to drz: let me know how i could get the oss drivers, just in case. thanks!

----------

## pmjdebruijn

uhm,

Well maybe I used the wrong term... (i think their officiaal called OSS Lite, though i'm not sure), anyway I ment the in kernel drivers...

If you compiled your own kernel you can enabled them in the "Sound Support" section. The Via chip is listed there somewhere...

L8er,

drz

----------

## PaRaNo

Hi,

I've got a laptop with this sound card, and after few months, (I tried on Knoppix with no success)

my sound card works fine now with alsa 0.9.8.

Have you tried this version???

----------

## schorsch79

to drz:

ok, i'll try that, however i think there's only a via82cxx driver set (the "C" is the point). you mean that, right?

to PaRaNo:

yes, i tried the newest version from the alsa-project page without success.

i'll see what i can do later, because i can't access the computer right now. however, i'll let you know!

----------

## pmjdebruijn

well, i'm not sure what the exact driver name is... but you could well be right about that...

regards,

drz

----------

## schorsch79

to drz: kernel drivers are not working! there's only one via module and that's the via82cxxx driver. according to my informations, the c series and the 82xx merged (at least in alsa) and there's now only one driver, the via82xx. according to this the kernel driver is quite old and my board is new.

but finally: good news!   :Smile: 

the via drivers viaudiocombo-2.3-1.tar.gz from www.viarena.com are working after some hick hack. by analyzing the src.rpm in the archive (with mc) i could extract files out of it, compile them and a file is created in /etc/init.d/viasound. i copied the viaudiocombo.o file in the modules directory /lib/modules/2.4.20-gentoo-r8/kernel/drivers/sound/ and removed the /etc/init.d/alsa file. i created a file /etc/modules.d/viaaudio with only one line inside 

```
alias sound-slot-0 viaudiocombo
```

.

after a reboot the sound was working! i hope this can be useful for someone else. if more information is needed, send me a message!

----------

## schorsch79

update: i found out, that the via 82cxxx kernel drivers are also required i.e. as modules.

----------

## Technos

Yepp:) That's it, it's working:) thanks.

----------

## maxmc

So could someone make an ebuild to automate this?

or at least a step by step HOWTO?

----------

## zMooTh

yes would be nice ... cause i can't see what i really have to do...sry i am not very long working with linux

----------

## peter96362930

I just had a similar experience with VIA VT8233 onboard sound.  I was using the gentoo-source 2.4.20-r9 kernel, and I couldn't get sound with any module selections.  I changed over to the gentoo-sources 2.4.22-r2 kernel and the sound worked without a problem.  Must be a bug with the driver in the earlier version of the kernel.

----------

