In Ubuntu 9.04 Beta on a Dell Vostro 1320 I get no sound recorded.

References: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=6589810

BACKGROUND:

The audio functionality of any computer system belongs to the very basic functions of a PC and OS. No sound, poor sound, limited functionality - No use for such a system!

The main idea behind upgrading ALSA with attached script is to make Linux available to a slightly wider community.

The script bridges the huge delay (up to a year) of Alsa updates supplied through the official channels.
By running the upgrade you'll have a much bigger chance to get your soundcard working or problems resolved.

The script installs the latest official stable ALSA release. (optional the even more up 2 date driver snapshot will be installed)

Upgraded packages

Alsa 1.0.23 (stabil)

See: Changelog Alsa 1.0.23

DRIVER=alsa-driver-1.0.23
FIRMWARE=alsa-firmware-1.0.23
LIB=alsa-lib-1.0.23
PLUGINS=alsa-plugins-1.0.23
UTILS=alsa-utils-1.0.23
TOOLS=alsa-tools-1.0.23
OSS=alsa-oss-1.0.17

Supported kernels: 2.6.24/26/27/28/29/30/31/32 family (including rt-kernel & NON-Ubuntu ZEN-rt-kernel)

Note: The restore currently does not not work on custom kernels!

UPGRADE:

The script is not in line with Debian/Ubuntu rules for package handling. It just overwrites existing files.
You won't see any changes on the ALSA package-ids within Synaptic!

The script recognizes severe problems during the installation and will stop automatically. It shouldn't mess up your setup.
If the script stops with an error-message nothing should have been touched!

In the worst case scenario the -r restore option restores your old system status as good as possible. It'll reinstall kernel, kernel-headers and Alsa related packages.

Ubuntu upgrades/updates might overwrite your Alsa installation once in a while (e.g. Major upgrades, kernel-upgrades or ALSA-package upgrades).
You just need to rerun the upgrade-script using the -i option in this case (if you still have the compiled sources on the disk).

Disclaimer: I won't take any responsibility for mess-ups caused by using the script! -- Of course - I do my best to avoid these and support you as much as I can.

As usual - Make a backup first! - A restore will just take 5 minutes with rsync. That might save you hours of troubleshooting and frustration .

Please consider that I rely on your support to improve the script and really appreciate your involvement.



Short Alsa-Upgrade script install instructions:

1. download the script and save it somewhere
2. cd
3. tar xvf AlsaUpgrade-1.0.23-2.tar
4. sudo ./AlsaUpgrade-1.0.23-2.sh -d
5. sudo ./AlsaUpgrade-1.0.23-2.sh -c
6. sudo ./AlsaUpgrade-1.0.23-2.sh -i
7. sudo shutdown -r 0

Logging: I recommend to log all the upgrade steps, e.g.

script -a -c "./AlsaUpgrade-1.0.23-2.sh -d" /tmp/Alsa_1.0.23-2_upgrade_download.log

You'll find a log file /tmp/Alsa_1.0.23-2_upgrade_download.log as soon as the script is finished.
You need to run this procedure for every single step. Choose whatever logfile names.

Test and Troubleshooting

After reboot you can type:

cat /proc/asound/version

This will let you know if you're running the new version.


The easiest and most reliable test to verify if Alsa is working is "aplay" - the Alsa player application. If aplay won't work -- nothing else will work.

Make sure that all your channels are unmuted and volume is up!

Type in a terminal:
$ aplay -l
(This won't work on e.g. webcams with a microphone only. Here you need to do a $cat /proc/asound/cards to see if it is there"

If you see your soundcards, you're almost there.

To test your first (default-index 0 X=0) soundcard, type e.g.:
$ aplay -Dplughw:X,0 -fcd //.wav
or e.g.
$ speaker-test -Dplughw:X,0 -c2
replace the X with the index of your soundcard index , which you find out by typing "aplay -l" - look for "card X"

Multichannel you can test the following way:
1. Type $aplay -L to find out about your pcm device . e.g "surround51"
2. Type $speaker-test -D surround51 -c6
Note: If the channel mapping should be wrong you need to adjust it in .asoundrc

Before reporting "NO SOUND" problems - check if your alsamixer-channels are activated and unmuted (gnome-mixer/volume-control/preferences)!!
Very often there are headphone-jack, Toslink, SPDIF or microphone issues reported. Usually this has something to do with wrong alsamixer settings or more seldom with a wrong model-id assigned to your sound-driver in /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf .
If you're lacking certain controls in alsamixer or your driver is not even being loaded, you should check-out your model-id in attached HD-Audio-Models.txt.
I strongly recommend to try similar model-id's matching your codec to checkout if your faulty function gets working.
I'd guess 80% of the reported problems (group: other than alsamixer issues) over here are related to the model setting in alsa-base.

Howto:
1. sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf

2. Look for:
options snd-hda-intel index=-2
3. Lookup your model in HD-Audio-Models.txt and change entry accordingly:
options snd-hda-intel index=-2 model=XXXXX
4. Save & Exit & Reboot

Please also have a look at these sides for further help:

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=843012
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SoundTroubleshooting