SL 5.5 alsamixer settings for mic.

[Richlion]

Hello,

every since I've saddled onto SL5.5 I am having one problem with my microphones, so I have a few questions, some of them may not belong here, forgive me if I don't put it into the newbie area.

I read the older threads about alsamix and pulseaudio:
viewtopic.php?f=56&t=18789&p=122661&hilit=alsactl+store#p122661

I managed to find out why my mic would stop working after a reboot.
I have to save my alsamix with the command "alsactl store". I was trying to use the following blog:
http://linux.dsplabs.com.au/alsamixer-a ... tings-p29/
My questions is about using ROOT to store my alsamixer settings, I don't quite understand the sequence, can someone help me?

When I am logged in as a regular user (that was my first thought) I launch alsamixer and change my Input Source from MIC to FRONT MIC.
So next I press EXIT, correct?
Then I have to sudo :

Code: Select all


rysiek@Richlion1 ~ $ sudo alsactl store

We trust you have received the usual lecture from the local System
Administrator. It usually boils down to these three things:

    #1) Respect the privacy of others.
    #2) Think before you type.
    #3) With great power comes great responsibility.

Password: ..................=> here I try my ROOT password
Sorry, try again.
Password:
No protocol specified
xcb_connection_has_error() returned true


Did I do something wrong starting alsamixer as myself?

Next question, when I login as ROOT and run alsamixer as suggested in the first thread:

by Fitzcarraldo » Thu Oct 29, 2009 2:43

Firstly, I made sure that the ALSA side of things was configured correctly by using the alsaconf command followed by the alsamixer command, both done as the root user in a Konsole/Terminal window.

then why don't those settings override my private session settings? Which take precedence?

Also when I use "su -" and "alsactl store", which settings are saved, ROOT and All Users settings, or just ROOT?

In the end, how to properly save the alsamixer settings?

Thanks in advance.
RIchard

[Fitzcarraldo]

Moving to Hardware shed (forum).

[Fitzcarraldo]

The Arch Linux Wiki article on ALSA is quite helpful: Restore ALSA Mixer settings at startup. Below I've modified the relevant section from it to take into account the differences between Gentoo and Arch:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Restore ALSA Mixer settings at startup

* Run /usr/sbin/alsactl -f /var/lib/alsa/asound.state store once to create /var/lib/alsa/asound.state.

Code: Select all

# /usr/sbin/alsactl -f /var/lib/alsa/asound.state store

* If not already done, add the alsasound initscript to the default runlevel. This will store the mixer settings on every shutdown and restore them when you boot.

Code: Select all

# rc-update add alsasound default

* If the mixer settings are not loaded on boot-up, add the following line to /etc/conf.d/local:

Code: Select all

# /usr/sbin/alsactl -f /var/lib/alsa/asound.state restore

* These methods still may not work, or you may prefer to have audio settings for individual users. In this case, run /usr/sbin/alsactl store -f ~/.asoundrc as a normal user. This will save and restore volume settings on a per-user basis. To automate this process, add the respective commands to ~/.bash_profile and ~/.bash_logout, or the correct locations for the shell of your choice.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you configure audio settings for an individual user, they will override the system-wide settings, as the user's preferences are executed later and take precedence. Which makes sense.

You'll have to play around with the above and do some research yourself, as I haven't played around with audio settings and the .bash* files for a while.

[Richlion]

Ok, so I understand I can have my own settings, that suits me.
Thanks for the hint.
I guess when things get messed up it's when one has to learn a couple of tricks
RIchard

[Richlion]

Well, I tried everything you suggested. I also thought maybe I have a problem with my local .asoundrc file, so I removed it and used :
/usr/sbin/alsactl store -f ~/.asoundrc - after setting my desired FRONT MIC.
Nothing. I also logged in as root, changed my source from MIC to FRONT MIC and saved with "alsactl store". Nothing, whatever I do under ROOT or my user alsamixer still resets source to MIC after rebooting.
The odd thing is on my PC so far I don't have the same problem.
I will have to live for a while with the fact that I will have to reset the source every time I boot my laptop. Pitty
Unless there are other options to explore?

Thanks for helping.
Richard.

[Fitzcarraldo]

It could be that KDE is interfering with your settings. Have you tried unticking the KMix setting "restore volumes on login"? See Re: Kmix lost channels [Solved].

[Richlion]

Oooops, I didn't know there was such an option there, I will try.

[Richlion]

Ok, just tried it and many other things. For example, I killed kmix, reset the Alsamix setting. Rebooted.
No luck. I quit Kmix and for some reason it still comes up, when it shouldn't, because if I logout, KDE should remember Kmix should not launch, but it does.
If Kmix is interfering with Alsamixer, how do I disable Kmix? Anyone tried it?

For today I must drop the subject, I already spent 3 days rebooting my laptop 100 times getting this simple thing done. KDE sometimes is a waste of time, they tweak, they change, they tweak, reorganize, change, tweak, it really can make me tired. I may ask for help with Kmix on their forum tomorrow.

Have a nice evening,
Richard.