[alsa-devel] alc889

[Takashi Iwai]

At Sat, 20 Jun 2009 14:59:32 +0200,
Stefan Krastanov wrote:
> 
> Hi
> 
> I would like to help (or at least help myself) with the creation of a model
> config for alc889. I'm not a sound developer.
> 
> I'm using a laptop with alc889 based sound card. The reported pins are
> really messed up (it's hard not to use more profane expression). My laptop
> is Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo xi but the problems are the same as here:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/alsa-driver/+question/71205
> or here:
> http://mailman.alsa-project.org/pipermail/alsa-devel/2008-October/011295.html
> namely:
>     1.- no jack sensing (extremely annoying - for two years allready)
>     2.- misnamed mixers in volume control for gnome or alsamixer (example:
> front instead of headphone)

This is rather the mismatched pin configuration.

>     3.- the volume-control potentiometer on the side of the laptop is not
> working

It depends on the hardware implementation.  If it's connected to a
volume-knob widget, you'll have a chance to get the notification and
the value via an unsolicited event.

>     4.- I need to mute two different channel at the same time (center and
> LFE) to mute one physical output (build-in sub-woofer)
>     5.- A great deal of other small annoyances destroying the user
> experience

Can you check whether this still applies (also explicitly with
model=auto) with the very latest alsa-driver snapshot below?
   ftp://ftp.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/people/tiwai/snapshot/alsa-driver-snapshot.tar.gz

If it doesn't work, please run alsa-info.sh with --no-upload, and post
the generated file to here (better add me to Cc).  I don't want to dig
into Web just to get any alsa-info.sh data...


> I'm using model 3stack-dig and the optical output is working (at least is
> lighted up - I do not have the hardware to check it)
> 
> My questions are:
>     - What I need to do, to create new model option based on 3stack-dig with
> different pin mapping?

Don't use 3stack model if you want the jack plugging.
The [36]stack models are designed for static pins without any jack
sensing.

>     - Is it possible that my present configuration (3stack-dig) is using
> pins that should not be used? I'm asking in search of an explanation of
> problem 4.
>     - What I need to do to rename the controls in alsamixer?
>     - What to do to repair jack sensing? - that's the most important of all
>     - What to do to repair the potentiometer for volume control?
>
> I have seen that hda-analyser can create diff files, but where should they
> be used. (And why is hda-analyser not working - I was forced to use
> http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=7227626&postcount=33. Is it that much
> to expect working tools on the official website. I understand that small bug
> will always exist, but that one is there for at least 10 months)

Ah, that's because I don't use that program by myself.
I usually use the plain hda-verb and hda-emu, but not hda-analyzer.
If you have a patch, I'm going to apply.

> I won't be surprised if many of my questions are answered in the
> documentation, but I was unable to find anything useful. It would be enough
> to point me a place to start reading.

Read the HD-audio specification deeply first of all.  Debugging the
HD-audio stuff needs the knowledge of HD-audio design.
Then, check Documentation/sound/alsa/HD-Audio.txt.  It describes
briefly the Linux driver internals.


thanks,

Takashi