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SuSE Linux: Versions since 5.1
Kernel: Versions since 2.0.32
/etc/isapnp.conf
don't always show clearly which
port address is associated with the MPU-401. Then some
experimenting is required in order to identify the
correct one.
VLB and EISA sound cards are rather rare; PCI sound cards are just about to become more popular. There is almost no support for these devices by free drivers. So we'll not enter into details about them here. There may be a chance to operate at least some PCI cards under Linux by means of the (commercial) OSS 4front driver -- more on this below in the last section.
The main difference between ISA-PnP cards and "normal" ISA cards is the method used to specify the configuration parameters (IRQ, I/O port addresses etc.). This implies that drivers for ISA-PnP cards must be implemented and used as modules (instead of having them compiled into the kernel). Of course, also the driver for a "normal" ISA sound card may be operated as a module. In order to provide a unified description we will only consider this mode here.
We describe first the general method to use for ISA-PnP cards.
(For non-PnP cards just replace the specification of the
card settings via pnpdump
and isapnp
with the conventional methods: checking the card itself and its
documentation, Win95 hardware detection, asking the vendor...).
We use the very common Creative SoundBlaster AWE64 PnP as
an example to show the configuration steps in detail.
If you ask our support about how to configure your sound card, please refer to the precise step in the ensuing description where difficulties started to occur.
The step-by-step configuration "recipe" follows:
isapnp
(series
ap
) and lx_suse
(series
d
), if this isn't already done.
Here is an explanation of some details of the isapnp.conf (from an AWE64), that is contained in that article :
Attention : It is not possible to use these values without further checks in your system.
As you can see, it can be difficult to conclude from the file /etc/isapnp.conf, that
e.g. the MPU401
is at 0x330
. However very similar settings should be
valid for most soundblaster compatible cards, so the assignments above might also help you with
other soundcards. You may nevertheless be forced to do some experimenting with the settings, until
you've found the correct assignments.
The output of pnpdump
for the AWE64 PnP
might differ in many cases from the
example given in rb_isapnp.html. This is especially true for the wavetable
(usually LD2). The reason for this is a bug in the AWE64. Further details can be found in the article
Sound: pnpdump and AWE64 of our supportdatabase.
/usr/src/linux
.
This directory contains the Linux kernel sources as
updated by S.u.S.E. (as soon as the package
lx_suse
is installed).
make menuconfig
.
Consult the S.u.S.E. Linux manual for details on how to
configure the kernel.
Sound Blaster (SB, SBPro, SB16,
clones) support
).
Activate also the option dev/audio and /dev/dsp
support
. Other often-needed
options are MIDI interface support
and
generic OPL2/OPL3 FM synthesizer support
resp. FM synthesizer (YM3812/OPL-3) support
Some drivers (e.g. the SoundBlaster driver) contain an
MPU-401 support on their own: in this case don't
use the option MPU-401 support (NOT for SB16)
.
Now you usually need to enter some card parameters in order
to have them compiled into the driver (IRQ, I/O ports ...).
It is essential that you use exactly the same values
you did activate in /etc/isapnp.conf
(case PnP) resp.
the values the card is adjusted to (case non-PnP). In addition,
if there are special properties of your sound card (e.g. AWE
synthesizer) to activate, do so now.
There are no further overall rules on how to select options here.
As an example we list here the options for a Creative
SoundBlaster AWE 64 PnP in the S.u.S.E. Linux kernel v2.0.33.
The concrete setting used are taken from the
/etc/isapnp.conf
presented in the SDB article
Configuration of an ISA-PnP Card under S.u.S.E. Linux
<M> Sound card support Old configuration script (For: SM Wave, PSS & AudioTrix Pro) --> [ ] ProAudioSpectrum 16 support [*] Sound Blaster (SB, SBPro, SB16, clones) support [*] Generic OPL2/OPL3 FM synthesizer support [ ] Gravis Ultrasound support [ ] MPU-401 support (NOT for SB16) [ some inactive entries are omitted here ] [ ] Support for Crystal CS4232 based (PnP) cards [ ] Support for Turtle Beach Wave Front (Maui, Tropez) synthesizers [*] /dev/dsp and /dev/audio support [*] MIDI interface support [*] FM synthesizer (YM3812/OPL-3) support (220) I/O base for SB Check from manual of the card (5) Sound Blaster IRQ Check from manual of the card (1) Sound Blaster DMA 0, 1 or 3 (5) Sound Blaster 16 bit DMA (_REQUIRED_for SB16, Jazz16, SMW) 5, 6 o (330) MPU401 I/O base of SB16, Jazz16 and ES1688 Check from manual of (5) SB MPU401 IRQ (Jazz16, SM Wave and ES1688) Use -1 with SB16 (65536) Audio DMA buffer size 4096, 16384, 32768 or 65536 [*] Additional low level drivers [ ] ACI mixer (miroPCM12) [*] AWE32 synthNote: The separate MPU-401 support is not selected (because the SB 16 driver comprises MPU-401 support on its own). The MPU-401 IRQ has been set to 5 instead of -1 (contrary to the commentary in the configuration menu): for some versions of the AWE64 and the SoundBlaster 16 with Vibra Chipset this seems to be necessary.
uname -a
) and if this kernel is compiled
with support for a sound module, it should be sufficient
to replace the sound module alone, e.g.
rmmod sound cp /usr/src/linux/drivers/sound/sound.o /lib/modules/2.0.33/misc/This is the case e.g. for the pre-compiled standard kernels contained in S.u.S.E. Linux with respect to the corresponding source package
lx_suse
.
make modules_install
) right after
the compilation. Then install the new kernel itself
as a boot kernel (see the S.u.S.E. Linux manual for
details) and reboot in order to activate it.
Note that in this case all modules get replaced, so be sure to configure the entire kernel -- not just the sound module -- according to the needs of your system.
modprobe soundThis command should be executed without any error messages (check
/var/log/messages
and the system console).
Otherwise, something went wrong in one of the preceding steps.
cat /dev/sndstatThe output should be similar to the following (taken for an AWE 64):
[...] Installed drivers: Type 1: OPL-2/OPL-3 FM Type 2: Sound Blaster Type 7: SB MPU-401 Card config: Sound Blaster at 0x220 irq 5 drq 1,5 SB MPU-401 at 0x330 irq 5 drq 0 OPL-2/OPL-3 FM at 0x388 drq 0 Audio devices: 0: Sound Blaster 16 (4.16) Synth devices: 0: Yamaha OPL-3 1: AWE32-0.4.2c (RAM8192k) Midi devices: 0: Sound Blaster 16 Timers: 0: System clock Mixers: 0: Sound Blaster 1: AWE32 EqualizerIn particular, none of the drivers listed under the header
Card config
may be set in parentheses. Otherwise,
the driver did not recognize the corresponding feature of the
sound card and cannot be used.
If the contents of /dev/sndstat
seems OK, you now
can try to play back an audio file:
cat song.au > /dev/audio cat song.wav > /dev/dsp tracker song.modMIDI-Files can be played back very easily using the KDE program
kmid
(provided your sound card supports MIDI).
If you hear nothing even though
the output of cat /dev/sndstat
seems to be o.k. and the
command cat song.au > /dev/audio
generates no
error message, the volume might be set to nil. Try to start the
mixer program xmix
to adjust the volume.
If you have difficulties to get any soundcard to work under Linux it may be an option to use the (commercial) sound system OSS from 4front. Many modern sound cards need this driver in order to be usable under Linux. That way, you also avoid the problems with ISA-PnP cards, since OSS itself takes care of their proper initialization. The full set of features of some SoundBlaster "compatible" cards is available only with OSS. The current driver also supports some of the popular PCI based soundcards. A list of all supported cards is available at http://www.opensound.com/osshw.html .
Your S.u.S.E. Linux distribution contains an older, unrestricted
(gratis) version of OSS (series snd
). Installation
instructions can be found here: OSS:
Sound devices from 4front..
Details on OSS can be found on our Web Server (http://www.suse.de/linux.html) or on the 4front homepage (http://www.4front-tech.com.). You can also download a runtime-restricted demo of the newest version from this location. A license key can be obtained from S.u.S.E. or directly from 4front.
Have fun !
See also:
Keywords: PNP, SOUNDKARTE, SB16, AWE32, AWE64, SOUND, ISAPNP
Categories:
Hardware
, Hardware
, Sound
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