[linux-audio-user] new Debian user

[Laura Conrad]

>>>>> "Frank" == Frank Barknecht <fbar at footils.org> writes:

    Frank> Hi,
    Frank> Laura Conrad hat gesagt: // Laura Conrad wrote:

    >> I just fixed my Mandrake RPM problems by installing Debian (woody).

    Frank> A cool solution.

I hope so.  Apt-get is working as well as it's supposed to, but I'm
still having to run it a lot.  And there are still a bunch of things
that don't work yet.

    Frank> I wouldn't (and haven't done so) install ALSA CVS. There
    Frank> are some changes that might mean, that you couldn't install
    Frank> any official Debian sound software packages. I like staying
    Frank> with the Debian packages of ALSA. 

OK, I'm trying to do that.  I started out installing the obvious, and
timidity now thinks it's playing something but no sound comes out.
When I try to run amixer, it says "No ALSA driver installed".

When I run " /etc/init.d/alsa start", it says:

debian:/etc/init.d# ./alsa start
No ALSA driver installed
Starting ALSA sound driver (version none):modprobe: Can't locate module snd
 failed.


So I tried installing some of the driver packages.  The ones that are
build are for kernel 2.16, and i have 2.18, so I got the source, and
am trying to compile them, but I can't figure out how to tell
configure where the kernel source is.  I've installed both
kernel-source and kernel-headers for 2.18, and apt-get just dumps
tarballs in /usr/src.  When I unpack the tarballs there, configure is
happy if i give it --with-kernel=/usr/src/kernel-headers-2.4.18/, but
then make exits with:

make[1]: Leaving directory `/usr/src/modules/alsa-driver/pci'
/sbin/depmod -a -F /usr/src/kernel-headers-2.4.18//System.map 2.4.18
depmod: Can't read /usr/src/kernel-headers-2.4.18//System.map

But if I run configure --with-kernel=/usr/src/kernel-source-2.4.18, it
complains that it can't findn version.h.  

So is this what I'm supposed to do, and if so, how?

    Frank> They are fine, and if something is wrong, you can file
    Frank> Debian bug reports :) 

I doubt that this particular problem is a bug, just a confusing setup,
and a user who doesn't know how to find the fine manual, if there is
one.

    Frank> If you want the latest and greatest, you will probalby need
    Frank> to run the Debian "testing" or even "unstable" branch, like
    Frank> I do.  You can also find some nice source packages at
    Frank> agnula.org

I'm trying to avoid that at the moment, because once when I upgraded to
testing on a junk system I stopped being able to get into X.  And
I'm having enough problems getting things to work without a broken
upgrade on my hands.

-- 
Laura (mailto:lconrad at laymusic.org , http://www.laymusic.org/ )
(617) 661-8097	fax: (801) 365-6574 
233 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02139