Can you hear this? From Zero to Sound!

Hey, thanks for reading the blog. This is going to be a spot for me to write down my diary of working with Linux. I've been a Windows user and I really don't enjoy Apples (though I fully admit I haven't been able to buy one due to price, so I'm not tearing them down). And now, I'm moving to Linux for my home computer OS... well, not totally. I'm a gamer, so I need the windows PC... but I'm also a smalltime hacker (not a cracker) and Linux has all the tools I need to develop software that is actually usable and pretty (as opposed to just pretty).

So, Linux... the Road to Enlightenment has begun with the first step... about 7 months ago I got a job at a great Corvallis Startup (CleverSet), as opposed to another Corvallis Startup which shall not be named due to its evil leader spoiling all the fun we were having... but I digress. So yeah, Linux. I got an Ubuntu Live CD (Dapper Drake) from my cousin and was able to install linux as a dual boot on a low power windows xp home machine. Worked like a charm, zero problems!

But then I moved to a Dell Inspiron 630m (thanks D) to help with development on a website (eatpoopucat.com) and then things got "not so pretty". Don't get me wrong; The OS worked great, but there were little things like sound card and multiple monitors that weren't working... and still aren't... but now, I want to get the damn things working! So I started googling for the solutions... and still haven't got too far... so I realize the need for "yet another linux noob site"... since I'm the linux noob!

So, the first post to the blog will be the diatribe of my efforts to get my sound card working. I've got Edgy (Ubuntu 6.10) installed now... I started from a Dapper live cd (Ubuntu 6.06 CD that is bootable and loads OS into memory).

Note: at this point, if you are lost, the best way to start is to go to ubuntu.com and request a live cd be delivered to your place of residence. You pop it in your CD drive, reboot, and !presto! Linux will load!

The other way to get a live CD is to download an ISO from Ubuntu and burn a CD from the ISO image. I *highly* recommend ISO Recorder because it is so simple, and often you're burning from Windows if you're burning a Live CD. Anyway, one problem I had is that ISO Recorder hung after it finished burning the Live CD. But, that is life in XP (and sometimes Ubuntu too, so don't get too cocky!)

So, summary of my effort so far (since my mission here is to remember what the hell I did so nobody else can forget):

1. What sound card do I have? I found a helpful site that seemed to describe the same problem I was experiencing. So I tried out alsamixer (sudo alsamixer) and unmuted everything. Still, the volume control on my desktop was muted! Then, I execued "modinfo snd-hda-intel" and yes, I have the module loaded (lots of output, I guess). I changed the permission on several directories... I reloaded modules... I did all this SH@T and then............................................. I added my user to the "audio" group.....................

Okay, then when I logged in... I got the beautiful Ubuntu login noise! This happened less than 1 minute ago, so I'm totally pumped! And here is the site where I went to find this solution: http://www.hants.lug.org.uk/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?LinuxHints/DebianTips.

Btw, Debian (as I understand) is the source of Ubuntu... but Debian releases are a bit slow... though they totally rock according to my friends who know much more about Linux than me. Me, I'm just a hacker... smalltime, but sometimes I swear I see into the computer and feel the bits flipping while I'm coding... but I digress. So, now the sound is working and I'm all happy inside. Time to upgrade this Dapper to Feisty Fawn!