[alsa-devel] Internal Speaker problem

[Takashi Iwai]

On Fri, 14 Apr 2017 12:27:37 +0200,
Laszlo Papp wrote:
> 
> On Fri, Apr 14, 2017 at 11:20 AM, Takashi Iwai <tiwai at suse.de> wrote:
> 
> > On Fri, 14 Apr 2017 12:13:32 +0200,
> > Laszlo Papp wrote:
> > >
> > > On Fri, Apr 14, 2017 at 8:40 AM, Takashi Iwai <tiwai at suse.de> wrote:
> > >
> > > > On Fri, 14 Apr 2017 08:44:46 +0200,
> > > > Laszlo Papp wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > > Guys, seriously, no one willing to help with a completely broken
> > setup?!
> > > > >
> > > > > It works fine on Windows, so I would really like to get it working on
> > > > > Linux, too.
> > > >
> > > > Well, if it used to work, it's basically a regression, and at best,
> > > > try to downgrade kernel or whatever to identify at which point it
> > > > started regression.  It'd be a great help alone to analyze what went
> > > > wrong.
> > > >
> > >
> > >
> > > I do not think this is a regression. I have just double checked this
> > with a
> > > live USB using Ubuntu 16.04 LTS. The same problem happens. The sound goes
> > > off within a couple of seconds.
> > >
> > > sudo hda-verb /dev/snd/hwC0D0 0x1f SET_POWER_STATE 0
> > >
> > > would bring the node back for less a minute, but that is also not
> > > acceptable.
> > >
> > > So, basically, I would like it to work the same way it does on Windows if
> > > possible. Windows does not switch it off. It could be because they
> > utilise
> > > the internal chip better and for other reasons, etc. At the end of the
> > day,
> > > I would be even happier to persistently tell the node to stay up, no
> > matter
> > > what. It may damage the internal speaker, but it is still better that I
> > can
> > > use it for a while than I cannot use it for any amount of time at all.
> > So,
> > > is there a way to achieve that bruteforce approach?
> > >
> > > The nicer solution would surely be to figure out why Windows can cope
> > with
> > > the same hardware. I do not think Windows would break the hardware.
> >
> > Check whether power_save is set or not in snd-hda-intel option, see
> > /sys/module/snd_hda_intel/parameters/power_save.  If disabling the
> > power-save prevents the issue happening, the cause is the power-save
> > feature.
> >
> > If the problem still happens even if you disable the power-save mode
> > in the driver, it's possibly a hardware-specific problem.  Some Lenovo
> > laptops have a known firmware issues that turn off the codec power.
> > I'm not sure whether it's the case.
> >
> 
> cat /sys/module/snd_hda_intel/parameters/power_save
> 0
> 
> Back to my previous question: is there a way to permanently tell the node
> to remain up? As mentioned, some use before the hardware breaks is better
> than no use. I will not switch to Windows by any means as I really like
> Linux much better. I would rather buy a new laptop than switching to
> Windows. But before doing that, I would like to see what can be worked out
> with the current setup.

As I mentioned, it's possibly the BIOS firmware who does it, no the
Linux kernel driver.  You can watch the driver behavior via tracepoint
outputs (see Documentation/sound/hd-audio/notes.rtf).  If it shows the
widget power down, it's the driver issue.  If it still happens even
though the kernel doesn't touch, it's a hardware firmware problem.


Takashi

> Yes, I agree with you that something has triggered this issue over time.
> However, all I can say is that Windows has no such problems if I boot my
> laptop up with Windows 7. The OS can play sounds without any problems. So,
> I am not yet convinced whether we are in a position to blame the hardware
> at this point. I would love to see some evidence if that is the case
> 
> It is needless to say, but I am happy to send any further outputs
> requested, etc.
> 
> Thank you for your help so far.
> 
> 
> >
> >
> > Takashi
> >
> > >
> > > Ys, L.
> > >
> > >
> > > > Takashi
> > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > On Mon, Mar 27, 2017 at 8:29 AM, Laszlo Papp <lpapp at kde.org> wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > > > I am sorry about flooding with my emails. I just thought that I
> > would
> > > > > > amend some information that I forgot to mention in my original
> > email.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > The same laptop and internal speaker work ok on Windows 10. Also,
> > the
> > > > > > setup used to work about 1-2 months ago. I cannot remember what
> > exactly
> > > > > > broke, perhaps a system upgrade. If it matters, I am using
> > Archlinux.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > On Mon, Mar 27, 2017 at 8:27 AM, Laszlo Papp <lpapp at kde.org>
> > wrote:
> > > > > >
> > > > > >> Dear Alsa Developers,
> > > > > >>
> > > > > >> My internal speaker in the Lenovo Thinkpad T510 laptop stopped
> > > > working.
> > > > > >> Normally, it would provide either no sound or just for a couple of
> > > > seconds
> > > > > >> and then it would go off.
> > > > > >>
> > > > > >> I do not have auto-mute enabled. I checked it with alsamixer that
> > it
> > > > is
> > > > > >> disabled.
> > > > > >>
> > > > > >> My ALSA information is located at http://www.alsa-project.org/db
> > > > > >> /?f=87547de5ff55e44e360aa2382d4e5d3b7bbed091
> > > > > >>
> > > > > >> Do you know how I could fix this?
> > > > > >>
> > > > > >> Ys, L.
> > > > > >>
> > > > > >>
> > > > > >
> > > > > _______________________________________________
> > > > > Alsa-devel mailing list
> > > > > Alsa-devel at alsa-project.org
> > > > > http://mailman.alsa-project.org/mailman/listinfo/alsa-devel
> > > > >
> > > >
> >