OK the fix was to remove the whole alsa folder, just like I removed the whole nvidia folder from the "updates directory" (to fix the video problem in MythDora).

Here's the full fix:

I downloaded realtek's driver (which is a patched version of the latest alsa driver), unzipped it, deleted the old kernel by hand, ran realtek's installer, which ends by running alsaconf. Result: card got detected, alsaconf set things up, and I got audio.



FINALLY! Next step is: see if wireless works! Wish me luck!

Once I'm done with everything, I'll post a log of what my hardware was, how things went, and what my fixes were. I'll post a link from here to the log once it's up in cyberspace.

Thanks for all the help!

Edit:

Here's that code again:

dhclient (if you didn't have ethernet)
cd /tmp
mv /lib/modules/2.6.18.chw-13/updates/alsa .
wget ftp://209.216.61.149/pc/audio/realtek-l ... 6b.tar.bz2
tar xfj realtek-linux-audiopack-4.06b.tar.bz2
cd realtek-linux-audiopack-4.06b.tar
./install

answer Yes to everything alsa conf asks. Audio won't work right away but will do after you reboot.

Just to be clear, when you say "kernel" you seem to mean "driver" or "module" correct?

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Also, I'm very happy that you got it working If you can turn the above code block into a non-interactive script, or at least tell me what answers you had to provide to the ./install part, I can add this fix to R5F27's tweaker so anyone with the same audio device will benefit.

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yes yes.. i'm sorry! i mean "kernel object"

it didn't ask for any questions it just runs all the way and then starts alsaconf.
the card gets detected, and you answer Yes to everything in alsaconf.
it won't play a sound at the end though! and if you run alsamixer after that it'll still show audio is not working. but upon reboot, the correct module is chosen and alsamixer works fine. you don't even have to change the volumes

Those count as questions if they have answers

A solution that doesn't involve a reboot is more convenient for users of this hardware and should be achievable. Can you try some combination of /etc/init.d/alsa reload, suspend, or resume or /etc/init.d/alsa-utils restart after the above code block to see if you can coax audio into working without a reboot?

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Nicely done, fra.

And just a heads up again in case the hardware isn't clear, this is a fix for onboard audio for Biostar TF7025/7050 motherboards.

Also, just to give you a heads up, fra, the network drivers built into KnoppMyth for the RTL8111B/RTL8168B Realtek chips are also outdated. They should be the 8.003.00 series instead of the 1.05 ones that are loaded.

I found that it works anyway for awhile, but then it goes down. You can read about it at this thread:

http://www.mysettopbox.tv/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=98851#98851

except that it is alsaconf that asked them probably, commenting out alsaconf at the end of the install script doesn't hurt and then there won't be any questions to answer!



after running the install script modprobe -l snd-hda-intel gives the old location of the .ko file (the one in updates/alsa). after reboot, it gives the correct location. so if any of the above commands has the effect of redefining where the .ko file exists, then it should work. i'll try and will report.

thanks! this will be very helpful tonight

Possibly. If you can verify that you get the same results on a fresh R5F27 install without running alsaconf, then I will find a way for it to stop asking them.

You may need to run depmod before it'll see the new location. I'm fuzzy on how the kernel knows where to look for modules, but I think this should do it.

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I have the PCI ID for the sound device, so the patcher behavior can be triggered based on detecting it. It will probably apply to more than one model of motherboard.

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it seemed to me the "good" drivers may already be there. just not in /lib/modules/2.6.18-chw-13/update/alsa! this belief comes from comparing the dates of the files in that directory and the ones of the files in /lib/modules/2.6.18-chw-13/kernel/sound.

so i simply did:


and tried depmod (which now saw the new position of the ko file), followed by both /etc/init.d/alsa reload and /etc/init.d/alsa-utils restart. got errors in both cases.

i just rebooted. and there still was no audio.

so i definitely need the new driver.

so now: i followed my code above but before running the install script, i commented out the last line (which starts alsaconf).
after that, i ran depmod, and then modprobe snd-hda-intel gave an error.
i ran /etc/init.d/alsa reload and alsamixer still didn't find the device.
i ran /etc/init.d/alsa-utils restart and it gave an error message.
rebooted, ran alsamixer. everything was fine!
so i don't know what happens at reboot.
one thing for sure, though: alsaconf is not needed at the end of the install file

i have a feeling other things reference the old updates/alsa directory and they are reset at reboot. so if we figure out what these things are, we'd be able to do it without a reboot.
for sure, depmod is one of the steps. but more seems to be needed.

Thanks for doing further research! It seems to me that unless someone else can point out the right commands to run to avoid a reboot, we're better off having this fix than not. I can trigger it to apply only when the PCI ID of your sound device is detected, so not everyone will have to reboot.

Is this the code block you would like to run if your sound device is detected?


EDIT: Did you verify that if the installer is altered to not run alsaconf, things still work for you?

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that's the code! though there's no need for depmod (since you're rebooting anyway!).



yes. it still works (after reboot). and this way there are no questions to answer!!! alsaconf is the very last line of the install file. i just commented it out and THEN ran ./install.

maybe

would be nice and/or maybe giving the user the option to either Reboot Now or Reboot Later, explaining that audio will only work after rebooting. this way, if the user wants to fix other issues before rebooting they can reboot one less time!

The prompting is handled by the patcher already, so no worries I also found and fixed a typo in the code block.

Please run this code block and tell me if it outputs "working":


It's the test to find your sound device.

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