should I trust these Asus Sound Drivers?

[jgionet]

Hi all,

I just noticed that Asus has sound drivers (http://www.asus.com/support/download/selectftp.aspx?l1_id=1&l2_id=15&l3_id=19&m_id=1&f_name=1985Linux.zip~zaqwedc) for my P4P800 Deluxe MB. My only concern is they are dated 2003/10/24 !! Should I even bother trying to install these? Has anyone tried them?

This is part of the INSTALL doc from the drivers:

Advanced Linux Sound Architecture - Driver
==========================================
Installation guide


The ALSA driver replaces the OSS/Free driver. The OSS/Free driver is
present in current Linux kernels (2.2). Since version 0.4.0, ALSA has
supported only 2.2+ kernels. The 2.0 kernels are no longer supported. You
must compile the kernel with sound support (you do not need to select
any of the other sound modules apart from sound support).

Before installing this driver, it will be helpful to read carefully
the documentation for insmod, modprobe, kmod and for the isapnp
module if you have an ISA PnP soundcard.

Module option name change after 0.9.0rc3
========================================

Note that module option names were changed in 0.9.0rc4. The 'snd_' prefix
was removed. You may use script in utils directory (module-options) to
convert your older /etc/modules.conf to newer one.

Quick install
=============

1) You must have full configured source for the Linux kernel which you
want to use for the ALSA drivers. Note that ALSA drivers are part
of the kernel, so there is necessary to resolve all symbol dependencies
between the used kernel and ALSA driver code. Partly installed kernels
(for example from distributor makers) can be unuseable for this action.
2) You must turn on sound support (soundcore module).
3) Run './configure' script.
If you have ISA Plug & Play soundcard, use --with-isapnp=yes switch.
If you want sequencer support, use --with-sequencer=yes switch.
If you do not want OSS/Free emulation, use --with-oss=no switch.
If you want turn on debug mode use --with-debug=full switch.
If you want debug soundcard detection try --with-debug=detect switch.
If you have kernel source code in another directory than /usr/src/linux,
use --with-kernel=<kernel_directory>.
Example: ./configure --with-isapnp=yes --with-debug=full
4) Run 'make install'.
5) Run the './snddevices' script to create new sound devices in /dev directory.
Skip this step, if you have a kernel with the DEVFS support.
6) Edit your /etc/modules.conf (see the kmod support section below).
7) Run 'modprobe snd-xxxx' where xxxx is the name of your card.
Note: If you have a ISA PnP soundcard you need to first run the isapnp
program from isapnptools package to initialize your
soundcard. You can also use the native ISA PnP support by
using the --with-isapnp=yes configuration switch, in which
case you do not need the isapnptools package.

You can also look at the utils/alsasound file. This script is designed for
the RedHat distribution, but it can be used with other distributions which
use System V style rc init scripts.

Note: All mixer channels are muted by default. You must use a native
or OSS mixer program to unmute appropriate channels (for example a
mixer from the alsa-utils package).

Note: This document notices the /etc/modules.conf file. Many current
distributions uses the old /etc/conf.modules file. Both names are
valid.

I'm using FC3 with the latest kernal and updates. I just don't want to mess things up. My sound seems to be ok other than not being able to get quadratic sound working. (for my 4-way speaker system from Logitech.. works great in XP)

Thanks
-JG

[msimplay]

Hi all,

I just noticed that Asus has sound drivers (http://www.asus.com/support/download/selectftp.aspx?l1_id=1&l2_id=15&l3_id=19&m_id=1&f_name=1985Linux.zip~zaqwedc) for my P4P800 Deluxe MB. My only concern is they are dated 2003/10/24 !! Should I even bother trying to install these? Has anyone tried them?

This is part of the INSTALL doc from the drivers:

Advanced Linux Sound Architecture - Driver
==========================================
Installation guide


The ALSA driver replaces the OSS/Free driver. The OSS/Free driver is
present in current Linux kernels (2.2). Since version 0.4.0, ALSA has
supported only 2.2+ kernels. The 2.0 kernels are no longer supported. You
must compile the kernel with sound support (you do not need to select
any of the other sound modules apart from sound support).

Before installing this driver, it will be helpful to read carefully
the documentation for insmod, modprobe, kmod and for the isapnp
module if you have an ISA PnP soundcard.

Module option name change after 0.9.0rc3
========================================

Note that module option names were changed in 0.9.0rc4. The 'snd_' prefix
was removed. You may use script in utils directory (module-options) to
convert your older /etc/modules.conf to newer one.

Quick install
=============

1) You must have full configured source for the Linux kernel which you
want to use for the ALSA drivers. Note that ALSA drivers are part
of the kernel, so there is necessary to resolve all symbol dependencies
between the used kernel and ALSA driver code. Partly installed kernels
(for example from distributor makers) can be unuseable for this action.
2) You must turn on sound support (soundcore module).
3) Run './configure' script.
If you have ISA Plug & Play soundcard, use --with-isapnp=yes switch.
If you want sequencer support, use --with-sequencer=yes switch.
If you do not want OSS/Free emulation, use --with-oss=no switch.
If you want turn on debug mode use --with-debug=full switch.
If you want debug soundcard detection try --with-debug=detect switch.
If you have kernel source code in another directory than /usr/src/linux,
use --with-kernel=<kernel_directory>.
Example: ./configure --with-isapnp=yes --with-debug=full
4) Run 'make install'.
5) Run the './snddevices' script to create new sound devices in /dev directory.
Skip this step, if you have a kernel with the DEVFS support.
6) Edit your /etc/modules.conf (see the kmod support section below).
7) Run 'modprobe snd-xxxx' where xxxx is the name of your card.
Note: If you have a ISA PnP soundcard you need to first run the isapnp
program from isapnptools package to initialize your
soundcard. You can also use the native ISA PnP support by
using the --with-isapnp=yes configuration switch, in which
case you do not need the isapnptools package.

You can also look at the utils/alsasound file. This script is designed for
the RedHat distribution, but it can be used with other distributions which
use System V style rc init scripts.

Note: All mixer channels are muted by default. You must use a native
or OSS mixer program to unmute appropriate channels (for example a
mixer from the alsa-utils package).

Note: This document notices the /etc/modules.conf file. Many current
distributions uses the old /etc/conf.modules file. Both names are
valid.

I'm using FC3 with the latest kernal and updates. I just don't want to mess things up. My sound seems to be ok other than not being able to get quadratic sound working. (for my 4-way speaker system from Logitech.. works great in XP)

Thanks
-JG


well they must be better than the sound driver that alsa supplies
Alsa is a generic driver although it has surpassed generic specs and has great support for a lot of a lot of sound cards like the creative audigy sound cards
Nothing is better than the drivers from the manufacturers themselves

for example Nvidia drivers compared to the nv driver given with xorg and xfree86

however if you don't wanna mess it up and are happy with your installation i suggest leaving the installation of the drivers

[jgionet]

Thanks for the reply msimplay :)

I think I'll still give them a try and see what happens. (crossing fingers) I just wasn't sure if the drivers shipped with FC3 are more recent than the ones posted on Asus's site. I guess like you said the ALSA drivers included with the OS are probably generic ones.
I'll see what happens and post my results here. (if I can.. and aren't forced to re-install!! DOH!)

-JG

[msimplay]

you should be able to just reinstall the old or newer alsa drivers if the installation of the ASUS alsa drivers doesn't work

[jgionet]

well I tried to install these drivers and it didn't work out :(
any idea how I revert back to the default drivers? I can't get any sound now.. I can't even open the Volume Control in gnome.

I got an error installing the Asus drivers cause I was missing the Kernel source files. (DOH) I'm guessing I have to patch the kernel, make it, then install it..
This is all pretty much NEW to me. How do I install the kernel source files? complile and install it?
I'm using 2.6.10-1.760_FC3.. I suppose I should install the latest one first?

thxs
-JG

[msimplay]

well I tried to install these drivers and it didn't work out :(
any idea how I revert back to the default drivers? I can't get any sound now.. I can't even open the Volume Control in gnome.

I got an error installing the Asus drivers cause I was missing the Kernel source files. (DOH) I'm guessing I have to patch the kernel, make it, then install it..
This is all pretty much NEW to me. How do I install the kernel source files? complile and install it?
I'm using 2.6.10-1.760_FC3.. I suppose I should install the latest one first?

thxs
-JG


i suppose u should just yum alsa
or whatever the package name is

[jgionet]

still no go
I just removed the packages using rpm and re-installed them using yum and still no sound after rebooting even. My sound card is still being detected however I can't hear anything. I still get an error message when open the Volume Controls "Sorry, no mixer elements and/or devices found"

I've tried alsamixer and get: "alsamixer: function snd_ctl_open failed for default: No such file or directory"

maybe I should try the Asus drivers again? How do I install the sourse for the latest FC3 kernel?

Help anybody!

-JG

[jgionet]

sorry to bump.. but I'm still in a jam.. I can't get the old alsa drivers working anymore.. so I'm still attempting to configure the drivers I got from asus.

I did manage to install the 760 kernel source. (I'm pretty sure I did anyways.. it's showing up in /usr/scr/redhat/

Here's what I get when I run ./configure on the asus alsa drivers:

[jean@chaos alsa-driver-0.9.6]$ ./configure
checking for gcc... gcc
checking for C compiler default output... a.out
checking whether the C compiler works... yes
checking whether we are cross compiling... no
checking for executable suffix...
checking for object suffix... o
checking whether we are using the GNU C compiler... yes
checking whether gcc accepts -g... yes
checking for ranlib... ranlib
checking for a BSD compatible install... /usr/bin/install -c
checking how to run the C preprocessor... gcc -E
checking for ANSI C header files... yes
checking for gcc option to accept ANSI C... none needed
checking for an ANSI C-conforming const... yes
checking for inline... inline
checking whether time.h and sys/time.h may both be included... yes
checking whether gcc needs -traditional... no
checking for current directory... /home/jean/Downloads/asus/alsa-driver-0.9.6
checking cross compile...
checking for directory with kernel source... /lib/modules/2.6.10-1.760_FC3/build
checking for kernel version... 2.6.10-1.760_FC3
checking for GCC version... Kernel compiler: gcc 3.4.2 20041017 (Red Hat 3.4.2-6.fc3) Used compiler: gcc (GCC) 3.4.2 20041017 (Red Hat 3.4.2-6.fc3)
checking for kernel linux/compiler.h... "yes"
checking for kernel linux/pm.h... "yes"
checking for kernel linux/spinlock.h... "yes"
checking for kernel linux/irq.h... "yes"
checking for kernel linux/threads.h... "yes"
checking for kernel linux/rwsem.h... "yes"
checking for kernel linux/gameport.h... "yes"
checking for kernel linux/devfs_fs_kernel.h... "yes"
checking for kernel linux/highmem.h... "yes"
checking for kernel linux/workqueue.h... "yes"
checking for kernel asm/hw_irq.h... "yes"
checking for kernel linux/jiffies.h... "yes"
checking for kernel linux/compat.h... "yes"
checking for kernel linux/adb.h... "yes"
checking for kernel linux/cuda.h... "yes"
checking for kernel linux/pmu.h... "yes"
checking for kernel module symbol versions... "yes"
checking for PCI support in kernel... "yes"
checking for SGI/MIPS (HAL2) architecture... "no"
checking for directory to store kernel modules... /lib/modules/2.6.10-1.760_FC3/kernel/sound
checking for verbose printk... on
checking for debug level... none
checking for ISA support in kernel... "yes"
checking for processor type... i686
checking for i386 machine type... default
checking for SMP... "no"
checking for ISA PnP driver in kernel... yes
checking for PnP driver in kernel... yes
checking for Kernel ISA-PnP support... "yes"
checking for strlcpy... "no"
checking for snprintf... "yes"
checking for vmalloc_to_page... "no"
checking for old kmod... "yes"
checking for driver version... 0.9.6
checking for sequencer support... yes
checking for OSS/Free emulation... yes
checking for RTC callback support in kernel... "yes"
checking for USB support... "yes"
checking for kernel PCMCIA
checking for PCMCIA support... "no"
checking for PCMCIA module support... "yes"
checking for PC9800 support in kernel... "no"
checking for which soundcards to compile driver for... all
configure: creating ./config.status
config.status: creating version
config.status: creating Makefile.conf
config.status: creating snddevices
config.status: creating utils/alsa-driver.spec
config.status: creating utils/buildrpm
config.status: creating toplevel.config
config.status: creating include/config.h
config.status: include/config.h is unchanged
config.status: creating include/config1.h
config.status: include/config1.h is unchanged
config.status: creating include/version.h
config.status: include/version.h is unchanged

Here's what I get when I run "make":

sudo make
make[1]: Entering directory
`/home/jean/Downloads/asus/alsa-driver-0.9.6/support'
make[1]: Nothing to be done for `first_rule'.
make[1]: Leaving directory `/home/jean/Downloads/asus/alsa-driver-0.9.6/support'
make[1]: Entering directory `/home/jean/Downloads/asus/alsa-driver-0.9.6/acore'
gcc -D__KERNEL__ -DMODULE=1
-I/home/jean/Downloads/asus/alsa-driver-0.9.6/include
-I/lib/modules/2.6.10-1.760_FC3/build/include -O2
-mpreferred-stack-boundary=2 -march=i686
-I/lib/modules/2.6.10-1.760_FC3/build/include/asm-i386/mach-default
-DLINUX -Wall -Wstrict-prototypes -fomit-frame-pointer -Wno-trigraphs
-O2 -fno-strict-aliasing -fno-common -pipe -DALSA_BUILD
-DEXPORT_SYMTAB -c hwdep.c
In file included from
/home/jean/Downloads/asus/alsa-driver-0.9.6/include/adriver.h:42,
from
/home/jean/Downloads/asus/alsa-driver-0.9.6/include/sound/driver.h:42,
from hwdep.c:22:
/usr/include/linux/modversions.h:1:2: #error Modules should never use
kernel-headers system headers,
/usr/include/linux/modversions.h:2:2: #error but rather headers from
the appropriate kernel package.
/usr/include/linux/modversions.h:3:2: #error Change
-I/usr/src/linux/include (or similar) to
/usr/include/linux/modversions.h:4:2: #error -I/lib/modules/$(uname
-r)/build/include
/usr/include/linux/modversions.h:5:2: #error to build against the
currently-running kernel.
In file included from
/home/jean/Downloads/asus/alsa-driver-0.9.6/include/adriver.h:43,
from
/home/jean/Downloads/asus/alsa-driver-0.9.6/include/sound/driver.h:42,
from hwdep.c:22:

sorry for being a pest.. I just really want to get this working.. or at least back to where I was before I tried compiling these asus drivers.

Thanks in advance :)

[jgionet]

now I don't know if this will help but here's the INSTALL file provided from Asus:

Advanced Linux Sound Architecture - Driver
==========================================
Installation guide


The ALSA driver replaces the OSS/Free driver. The OSS/Free driver is
present in current Linux kernels (2.2). Since version 0.4.0, ALSA has
supported only 2.2+ kernels. The 2.0 kernels are no longer supported. You
must compile the kernel with sound support (you do not need to select
any of the other sound modules apart from sound support).

Before installing this driver, it will be helpful to read carefully
the documentation for insmod, modprobe, kmod and for the isapnp
module if you have an ISA PnP soundcard.

Module option name change after 0.9.0rc3
========================================

Note that module option names were changed in 0.9.0rc4. The 'snd_' prefix
was removed. You may use script in utils directory (module-options) to
convert your older /etc/modules.conf to newer one.

Quick install
=============

1) You must have full configured source for the Linux kernel which you
want to use for the ALSA drivers. Note that ALSA drivers are part
of the kernel, so there is necessary to resolve all symbol dependencies
between the used kernel and ALSA driver code. Partly installed kernels
(for example from distributor makers) can be unuseable for this action.
2) You must turn on sound support (soundcore module).
3) Run './configure' script.
If you have ISA Plug & Play soundcard, use --with-isapnp=yes switch.
If you want sequencer support, use --with-sequencer=yes switch.
If you do not want OSS/Free emulation, use --with-oss=no switch.
If you want turn on debug mode use --with-debug=full switch.
If you want debug soundcard detection try --with-debug=detect switch.
If you have kernel source code in another directory than /usr/src/linux,
use --with-kernel=<kernel_directory>.
Example: ./configure --with-isapnp=yes --with-debug=full
4) Run 'make install'.
5) Run the './snddevices' script to create new sound devices in /dev directory.
Skip this step, if you have a kernel with the DEVFS support.
6) Edit your /etc/modules.conf (see the kmod support section below).
7) Run 'modprobe snd-xxxx' where xxxx is the name of your card.
Note: If you have a ISA PnP soundcard you need to first run the isapnp
program from isapnptools package to initialize your
soundcard. You can also use the native ISA PnP support by
using the --with-isapnp=yes configuration switch, in which
case you do not need the isapnptools package.

You can also look at the utils/alsasound file. This script is designed for
the RedHat distribution, but it can be used with other distributions which
use System V style rc init scripts.

Note: All mixer channels are muted by default. You must use a native
or OSS mixer program to unmute appropriate channels (for example a
mixer from the alsa-utils package).

Note: This document notices the /etc/modules.conf file. Many current
distributions uses the old /etc/conf.modules file. Both names are
valid.


Driver cannot be activated?
===========================

1) You can check your soundcard setup again and read this install file
(module parameters) carefully.
2) If you have got ISA PnP soundcard:
- native ISA PnP support: is your setup in /proc/isapnp correct?
- isapnptools: is configuration on isapnp.conf same as for the driver?
3) The driver is not still working: remake driver with:
./configure --with-debug=detect; make clean; make
Reinsert new driver modules to kernel and look to /var/log/messages if
there are some messages. If these messages do not help you, please
create a new ticket in our bug reporting system.


Compilation from CVS sources
============================

You need GNU packages autoconf and automake installed in your system
to compile CVS sources of alsa-driver package.

For compilation you can use these commands:

make ALSAKERNELDIR=../alsa-kernel all-deps
(if the alsa-kernel-dir is really there)
aclocal
autoconf
./configure
make dep
make

The included cvscompile script does this job for you.

Note: Some automake packages have missing aclocal program. Use newer version
in the case.


Cross-compiling
===============

Use '--with-cross=prefix' parameter for the configure script.

Example:
'./configure --with-cross=arm-linux- --with-kernel=/home/ipaq/kernel/linux'.


Bug reporting system
====================

http://www.alsa-project.org/cgi-bin/bugs


Module parameters
=================

For the drivers already integrated into 2.5 kernel tree, please see
alsa-kernel/Documentation/ALSA-Configuration.txt


Additional Modules
==================

Module snd-mixart
-----------------

Module for Digigram miXart8 soundcards.

Module supports multiple cards.
Note: One miXart8 board will be represented as 4 alsa cards.
See doc/MIXART.txt for details.

Module snd-msnd-pinnacle
------------------------

Module for Turtle Beach MultiSound Pinnacle/Fiji soundcards.

io - Port # for pinnacle/fiji card
irq - IRQ # for pinnalce/fiji card
mem - Memory address (0xb0000, 0xc8000, 0xd0000, 0xd8000,
0xe0000 or 0xe8000)
write_ndelay - enable write ndelay
calibrate_signal - calibrate signal (?)

Module supports only one card.

Module snd-pdplus
-----------------

Module for Sek'D/Marian Prodif Plus soundcards.

silent_exit - Do not reset when driver is unloaded.
init_adat - Initialise the card in ADAT mode (instead of in digital stereo).

Module supports up to 8 cards.

Module snd-serialmidi
---------------------

Module for generic serial MIDI adapters.

sdev - Device file string for serial device
(default = "/dev/ttyS0")
speed - Speed in bauds. (9600,19200,38400,57600,115200)
(default = 38400)
adaptor - Type of adaptor.
0 = Soundcanvas, 1 = MS-124T, 2 = MS-124W S/A,
3 = MS-124W M/B

Module supports up to 8 cards.

[jazzer]

jgionet, The kernel source should be located in /usr/src/linux (or a symlink at /usr/src/linux pointing to the actual directory containing the source). Or you can use `./configure --with-kernel-source=<kernel-source-directory>`.

Or you could try re-installing the Kernel and ALSA RPMS provided by Fedora. Either way I would also try running `alsaconf` and see what happens. Good luck...