Mailing List Archive

� wrote:
> On Tue, 24 Aug 2004 14:24:23 -0700, Mark Knecht <markknecht@comcast.net> wrote:
>
>>Hi,
>> I've been stuck at 2.6.6 for quite a while since there's been a
>>problem with Alsa support for my soundcard in higher kernels. Today
>>Alsa-1.0.6 seems to have shown up in ~x86. Does anyone know if there's a
>>kernel that has alsa-driver-1.0.6 in it already?
>>
>> Or is there any way for me to build alsa-driver-1.0.6 into a kernel
>>these days?
>
>
> You can use the seperate alsa-driver package like in the 2.4 kernel
> days. But remember to turn of alsa in the kernel .config. I just did
> that myself.
>
> --

You can patch the kernel for ALSA 1.0.6 drivers-- the patch is available
on the ALSA ftp site in the kernel-patches folder.

I followed these instructions, given by Mark Knecht earlier in this
conversation:

1. Download the patch for alsa-driver-1.0.6 from
here:ftp://ftp.alsa-project.org/pub/kernel-patches/alsa-bk-2004-08-15.patch.gz


(but the newest patch is now 2004-08-26, which is what I used myself)

2. Copy it to the source directory of your current kernel.

3. Apply the patch:
# zcat alsa-bk-2004-08-15.patch.gz | patch -p1


You can check to make sure that you are then using the 1.0.6 version
drivers with

cat /usr/src/linux/include/sound/version.h

After which you just build the kernel normally.

This worked fine for me with ck-sources-2.6.8.1-r6.

Holly


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On Tue, 07 Sep 2004 13:17:34 +0200, Holly Bostick <motub@planet.nl> wrote:
> >> Or is there any way for me to build alsa-driver-1.0.6 into a kernel
> >>these days?
> >
> > You can use the seperate alsa-driver package like in the 2.4 kernel
> > days. But remember to turn of alsa in the kernel .config. I just did
> > that myself.
>
> You can patch the kernel for ALSA 1.0.6 drivers-- the patch is available
> on the ALSA ftp site in the kernel-patches folder.

IMHO, that's a complete waste of time. Simply disable alsa in the
kernel .config and emerge alsa-driver and be done with it. Why the
tedious process you described, when portage can handle it for you?

$ cat /proc/asound/version
Advanced Linux Sound Architecture Driver Version 1.0.6a.
Compiled on Sep 7 2004 for kernel 2.6.9-rc1.

$ qpkg alsa -I -v
media-libs/alsa-lib-1.0.6
media-sound/alsa-headers-1.0.6a
media-sound/alsa-driver-1.0.6a

$ uname -sr
Linux 2.6.9-rc1

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� wrote:
> On Tue, 07 Sep 2004 13:17:34 +0200, Holly Bostick <motub@planet.nl> wrote:
>
>>>> Or is there any way for me to build alsa-driver-1.0.6 into a kernel
>>>>these days?
>>>
>>>You can use the seperate alsa-driver package like in the 2.4 kernel
>>>days. But remember to turn of alsa in the kernel .config. I just did
>>>that myself.
>>
>>You can patch the kernel for ALSA 1.0.6 drivers-- the patch is available
>>on the ALSA ftp site in the kernel-patches folder.
>
>
> IMHO, that's a complete waste of time. Simply disable alsa in the
> kernel .config and emerge alsa-driver and be done with it. Why the
> tedious process you described, when portage can handle it for you?
>
> $ cat /proc/asound/version
> Advanced Linux Sound Architecture Driver Version 1.0.6a.
> Compiled on Sep 7 2004 for kernel 2.6.9-rc1.
>
> $ qpkg alsa -I -v
> media-libs/alsa-lib-1.0.6
> media-sound/alsa-headers-1.0.6a
> media-sound/alsa-driver-1.0.6a
>
> $ uname -sr
> Linux 2.6.9-rc1
>

Tedious? It takes less than 5 minutes. And at least that way I know
where ALSA is configured, and how it is configured.

I might very well be ignorant, but I don't know how ALSA will be
configured or loaded if I do it your way, given that I use udev. Are the
drivers then loadable modules (which means I have to put them into
/etc/modules.autoload.d/kernel-2.6)? Does ALSA detect my card
automatically somehow (that won't happen if I'm using udev and the
drivers are not compiled directly into the kernel)? Do I then have to
run alsaconf to detect my card?

Tastes vary, obviously, but I find it much easier to have the drivers
updated in the kernel, where they belong.

But that's me.

Holly

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If I may give my own worthless opinion on whether to apply an ALSA
patch to the 2.6 kernel or to use the ebuild....

As someone who likes to patch his own kernels, in this case I would
recommend the ebuild. It's not a strong recommendation, and I do have
an alternative recommendation.

The ALSA ebuild actually uses a copy of your kernel sources to build
the modules. I've never had trouble with it, on either x86 or amd64,
and using variously patched kernel sources. If hardware detection is
a problem, you can list the required driver in
/etc/modules.autoload.d/kernel-2.6

My alternative recommendation is to apply the patch by writing an
ebuild to stick in /usr/local/portage or the like. In fact, I might
switch to doing it this way, given that I already use that approach
for other patches. I don't much mind doing "emerge nvidia-kernel",
because that is done in the blink of an eye -- but "emerge
alsa-driver" is annoying.


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On Tue, 07 Sep 2004 13:52:47 +0200, Holly Bostick <motub@planet.nl> wrote:
> I might very well be ignorant, but I don't know how ALSA will be
> configured or loaded if I do it your way, given that I use udev. Are the
> drivers then loadable modules (which means I have to put them into
> /etc/modules.autoload.d/kernel-2.6)? Does ALSA detect my card
> automatically somehow (that won't happen if I'm using udev and the
> drivers are not compiled directly into the kernel)? Do I then have to
> run alsaconf to detect my card?

I use udev as well and didn't have to change anything. The alsa-driver
ebuild uses your current kernel sources and compiles normal modules,
just like you did before when you built a kernel yourself. And to make
sure you don't compile all drivers simply put your driver into
/etc/make.conf. In my case: ALSA_CARDS=via82xx

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On Tue, 7 Sep 2004 13:06:32 -0500, barryschwartz124@comcast.net
<barryschwartz124@comcast.net> wrote:
> I don't much mind doing "emerge nvidia-kernel",
> because that is done in the blink of an eye -- but "emerge
> alsa-driver" is annoying.

Put ALSA_CARDS=$yourcard into /etc/make.conf and it wont build all of
alsa-driver.

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I wrote:
> I don't much mind doing "emerge nvidia-kernel",
> because that is done in the blink of an eye -- but "emerge
> alsa-driver" is annoying.

<aldafu@gmail.com> writes:
> Put ALSA_CARDS=$yourcard into /etc/make.conf and it wont build all of
> alsa-driver.

This is true, but just copying the kernel sources takes much longer
than "emerge nvidia-kernel", at least for me. Patching the kernel
through an ebuild would ensure you got the ALSA stuff _before_ you
rebooted, eliminating a source of minor irritation if you compile
kernels a lot and are making your own ebuilds. Also, because the
driver was there at boot, you would never have to start the ALSA
services by hand (as long as you had "alsasound" in your boot
services).

The important thing is that the alsa-driver ebuild seems to work. I'm
also using udev and have had no trouble with it. I've also had no
trouble when using devfs with 2.6 or 2.4 kernels.

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