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pulseaudio only finds one sink but alsa shows all

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  pulseaudio only finds one sink but alsa shows all Eric S Fraga <e.fraga@ucl.ac.uk> - 2021-12-29 15:00 +0100
    Re: pulseaudio only finds one sink but alsa shows all Georgi Naplatanov <gosho@oles.biz> - 2021-12-29 19:50 +0100
      Re: pulseaudio only finds one sink but alsa shows all Eric S Fraga <e.fraga@ucl.ac.uk> - 2021-12-30 01:10 +0100
        Re: pulseaudio only finds one sink but alsa shows all didier gaumet <didier.gaumet@gmail.com> - 2021-12-30 10:30 +0100
          Re: pulseaudio only finds one sink but alsa shows all Eric S Fraga <e.fraga@ucl.ac.uk> - 2021-12-30 11:50 +0100
            Re: pulseaudio only finds one sink but alsa shows all didier gaumet <didier.gaumet@gmail.com> - 2021-12-30 21:00 +0100
              Re: pulseaudio only finds one sink but alsa shows all didier gaumet <didier.gaumet@gmail.com> - 2021-12-31 11:30 +0100
                Re: pulseaudio only finds one sink but alsa shows all Eric S Fraga <e.fraga@ucl.ac.uk> - 2021-12-31 12:50 +0100
                  Re: pulseaudio only finds one sink but alsa shows all didier gaumet <didier.gaumet@gmail.com> - 2021-12-31 13:10 +0100
                    Solved!  Re: pulseaudio only finds one sink but alsa shows all Eric S Fraga <e.fraga@ucl.ac.uk> - 2021-12-31 15:20 +0100
        Re: pulseaudio only finds one sink but alsa shows all Georgi Naplatanov <gosho@oles.biz> - 2021-12-30 12:20 +0100
          Re: pulseaudio only finds one sink but alsa shows all Eric S Fraga <e.fraga@ucl.ac.uk> - 2021-12-30 13:10 +0100
            Re: pulseaudio only finds one sink but alsa shows all Georgi Naplatanov <gosho@oles.biz> - 2021-12-30 13:20 +0100
            Re: pulseaudio only finds one sink but alsa shows all Georgi Naplatanov <gosho@oles.biz> - 2021-12-30 13:20 +0100
              Re: pulseaudio only finds one sink but alsa shows all Eric S Fraga <e.fraga@ucl.ac.uk> - 2021-12-30 14:50 +0100

#243509 — pulseaudio only finds one sink but alsa shows all

Dear all,

I'm on Debian 11.2, pretty much up to date.  I have a mystery with sound
that I cannot resolve.  I have according to lspci the following audio
devices:

00:1b.0 Audio device [0403]: Intel Corporation C600/X79 series chipset High Definition Audio Controller [8086:1d20] (rev 06)
02:00.1 Audio device [0403]: NVIDIA Corporation GK107 HDMI Audio Controller [10de:0e1b] (rev a1)

Pulseaudio only finds the second of these (speakers in an attached HDMI
monitor) which is fine for much of my use.  However, it means that I
cannot use headphones plugged in to the box.  Alsa lists all the
devices:

$ aplay -l
**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: PCH [HDA Intel PCH], device 0: ALC3220 Analog [ALC3220 Analog]
card 2: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 3: HDMI 0 [HDMI 0]
card 2: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 7: HDMI 1 [HDMI 1]
card 2: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 8: HDMI 2 [HDMI 2]

but pulseaudio only shows the HDMI interface.  

Any hints on getting pulseaudio to find the Intel device would be
welcome.

Thank you,
eric

-- 
Eric S Fraga with org 9.5.1 in Emacs 29.0.50 on Debian 11.2

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#243516

On 12/29/21 15:36, Eric S Fraga wrote:
> Dear all,
> 
> I'm on Debian 11.2, pretty much up to date.  I have a mystery with sound
> that I cannot resolve.  I have according to lspci the following audio
> devices:
> 
> 00:1b.0 Audio device [0403]: Intel Corporation C600/X79 series chipset High Definition Audio Controller [8086:1d20] (rev 06)
> 02:00.1 Audio device [0403]: NVIDIA Corporation GK107 HDMI Audio Controller [10de:0e1b] (rev a1)
> 
> Pulseaudio only finds the second of these (speakers in an attached HDMI
> monitor) which is fine for much of my use.  However, it means that I
> cannot use headphones plugged in to the box.  Alsa lists all the
> devices:

When PulseAudio Volume Control (pavucontrol) is started can you see
audio devices on "Configuration" tab?

> $ aplay -l
> **** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
> card 0: PCH [HDA Intel PCH], device 0: ALC3220 Analog [ALC3220 Analog]
> card 2: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 3: HDMI 0 [HDMI 0]
> card 2: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 7: HDMI 1 [HDMI 1]
> card 2: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 8: HDMI 2 [HDMI 2]
> 
> but pulseaudio only shows the HDMI interface.  
> 
> Any hints on getting pulseaudio to find the Intel device would be
> welcome.


In PulseAudio Volume Control application (Playback tab) you can see all
audio streams and applications being played and in case of multiple
sound devices you can set each sound stream to which sound device to be
played.

Kind regards
Georgi

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#243521

On Wednesday, 29 Dec 2021 at 20:39, Georgi Naplatanov wrote:
> When PulseAudio Volume Control (pavucontrol) is started can you see
> audio devices on "Configuration" tab?

Hi Georgi,

no, that's the problem.  The configuration tab only shows the HDMI audio
device.

> In PulseAudio Volume Control application (Playback tab) you can see all
> audio streams and applications being played and in case of multiple
> sound devices you can set each sound stream to which sound device to be
> played.

Yes, understood; unfortunately only the single output is available,
either here or in the configuration tab.

The list of modules itemised via pavucontrol includes alsa so I am not
sure why I cannot see the devices that alsa knows about.  It's a mystery
(to me, at least).

thank you,
eric

-- 
Eric S Fraga with org 9.5.1 in Emacs 29.0.50 on Debian 11.2

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#243524

Le jeudi 30 décembre 2021 à 00:04 +0000, Eric S Fraga a écrit :
> On Wednesday, 29 Dec 2021 at 20:39, Georgi Naplatanov wrote:
> > When PulseAudio Volume Control (pavucontrol) is started can you see
> > audio devices on "Configuration" tab?
> 
> Hi Georgi,
> 
> no, that's the problem.  The configuration tab only shows the HDMI
> audio
> device.

Sorry to insist, but do you mean that the configuration tab only
*lists* HDMI even if you click on the HDMI profile?
Or that this tab only *shows* the (HDMI) by-default profile if you do
not click on it, so not *listing* anything?  

> > In PulseAudio Volume Control application (Playback tab) you can see
> > all
> > audio streams and applications being played and in case of multiple
> > sound devices you can set each sound stream to which sound device
> > to be
> > played.
> 
> Yes, understood; unfortunately only the single output is available,
> either here or in the configuration tab.
> 
> The list of modules itemised via pavucontrol includes alsa so I am
> not
> sure why I cannot see the devices that alsa knows about.  It's a
> mystery
> (to me, at least).


>From what I understand, but I am not sure I understand correctly,
Pulseaudio won't use devices already used by Alsa. So, for example, if
you have a media software setup that declares to use alsa instead of
Pulseaudio, while you use that software, Pulseaudio cannot access the
devices used by Alsa (not sure of that).  

> thank you,
> eric
> 

If your (media softwares and Alsa) setup does not prevent the use of
Pulseaudio, I would imagine that you simply have to switch the profile
in the configuration tab (between "HDMI" and something roughly called
"Stereo Analog Duplex" or something like that)

As a side note, in a terminal you will obtain a full blown report on
Pulseaudio with the pa-info or pactl list something commands (cf
respective manpages)

Another way of doing things would be to split (simultaneous playing)
the audio output between your monitor speakers (Nvidia, HDMI) and your
headphones (Intel analogic card, mini-jack). The Pulseaudio doc gives
some hints there:
https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/PulseAudio/FAQ/#caniusepulseaudiotoplaybackmusicontwosoundcardssimultaneously

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#243526

[Multipart message — attachments visible in raw view] — view raw

On Thursday, 30 Dec 2021 at 10:23, didier gaumet wrote:
> Sorry to insist, but do you mean that the configuration tab only
> *lists* HDMI even if you click on the HDMI profile?
> Or that this tab only *shows* the (HDMI) by-default profile if you do
> not click on it, so not *listing* anything?  

Hello Didier,

No problem in insisting.  Part of my problem is not knowing how to frame
my question and give the right background information so any prompting
is welcome!

Please see image attached, showing what I see in the configuration tab
of pavucontrol.  I cannot capture the image of the popup menu that
appears when I click on the Digital Stereo (HDMI 2) Output profile but
all it lists are Digital (Stereo or Surround) HDMI outputs, all but one
not available.

On other systems, there are other entries in the configuration tab which
is what I would expect here as well.  My fundamental question is why
does the on-board sound card not appear for this system?

All of my sound configurations are defaults, IIRC.

>>From what I understand, but I am not sure I understand correctly,
> Pulseaudio won't use devices already used by Alsa. So, for example, if
> you have a media software setup that declares to use alsa instead of
> Pulseaudio, while you use that software, Pulseaudio cannot access the
> devices used by Alsa (not sure of that).  

I do not (consciously) have any software set up to use alsa.  I have
only mentioned alsa for two reasons: on previous threads in this
newsgroup, alsamixer is mentioned as a means of diagnosing sound issues
and because alsamixer does show all the devices/channels.  Having said
this, all the audio/vidoe software I use (emms in Emacs via vlc,
Firefox, Skype, Teams, Zoom, ...) go through pulseaudio and appear in
the pavucontrol Playback tab when in use.

> If your (media softwares and Alsa) setup does not prevent the use of
> Pulseaudio, I would imagine that you simply have to switch the profile
> in the configuration tab (between "HDMI" and something roughly called
> "Stereo Analog Duplex" or something like that)

Yes, this is what I have had in the past but the alternatives
disappeared some time ago now (sometime halfway through 2020, I think).
I've resisted trying to sort this out while I have had to depend on
sound working, at least to some degree, while I had online meeting and
teaching requirements.  Now I have a short break from these so I am
trying to solve the problem, but it's not a mission critical problem!

> As a side note, in a terminal you will obtain a full blown report on
> Pulseaudio with the pa-info or pactl list something commands (cf
> respective manpages)

Yes, these exist and I can generate full reports.  I just do not know
what to look for.  Any pointers would be welcome and I would be happy to
send the output of these to this group.

My pulseaudio settings are as they come "out of the box" including, for
instance, the use of module-udev-detect instead of explicitly using any
of the alsa modules.

> Another way of doing things would be to split (simultaneous playing)
> the audio output between your monitor speakers (Nvidia, HDMI) and your
> headphones (Intel analogic card, mini-jack). The Pulseaudio doc gives
> some hints there:

Thank you for the link.  I will read that FAQ in case I can find
something to help.  I am not sure combining outputs is what I want but
maybe that's what I need to do.  I'll play around.

Thank you,
eric

-- 
Eric S Fraga with org 9.5.1 in Emacs 29.0.50 on Debian 11.2

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#243544

Le jeudi 30 décembre 2021 à 10:43 +0000, Eric S Fraga a écrit :

[...]
> On other systems, there are other entries in the configuration tab
> which
> is what I would expect here as well.  My fundamental question is why
> does the on-board sound card not appear for this system?

*perhaps* a extensive Pulseaudio report would give a clue
Please run pa-info as a user (not as root) and paste the result here.

> All of my sound configurations are defaults, IIRC.
> 
> I do not (consciously) have any software set up to use alsa. 
[...]

It's good to know: I do not think the use of Alsa is bad per se but I
do think one has to be careful and know what she/he is doing if in
conjunction with the use of Pulseaudio.

Hypothetical explanations to the problem could be:

- packages half-installed, half-configured or obsolete/local, 
$ sudo dpkg --audit
 or
$ sudo aptitude search '~c'
 followed by
$ sudo aptitude search '~o')
 could enlighten us

- The chance is very slim and I do not thonk this is a real
possibility, but Pulseaudio could refuse to list a device that Alsa
lists, because of a missing firmware. 
$ sudo journalctl -b -g firmware

(please paste here the result of previous commands)

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#243553

Le jeudi 30 décembre 2021 à 23:33 +0000, Eric S Fraga a écrit :

[...]
> Please find the output from pa-info attached.  Also attached is the
> output from alsa-info, just in case.
[...]

Hello Eric,

Disclaimer: I am far from knowledgeable in these matters and have never
experimented what I suggest, so please take what I say with a grain of
salt :-)

It seems to me that Alsa recognizes 3 audio cards (Intel, webcam,
Nvidia) while Pulseaudio recognizes 2 audio cards only (webcam, Nvidia)
but starts enumerating sinks at Sink#12 and your Pulseaudio setup is
standard

If you have not set up a particular Alsa config
(https://www.alsa-project.org/wiki/Asoundrc ...), or a particular udev
rule (/etc/udev/rules.d should be empty in this case), or tempered
whith your BIOS/UEFI in a way that prevents udev to present your Intel
audio card to Pulseaudio, or set up a multi-graphic card config that
prevents the use of one of its sound-sub-system by Pulseaudio (I do not
even know if it is possible, that's just a guess),

I would then say that for whatever reason Pulseaudio does not register
your Intel audio card by udev detection and it could be useful to
declare it manually to Pulseaudio by creating
~/.config/pulse/default.pa rather than editing /etc/pulse/default.pa .
man default.pa
https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/PulseAudio/Documentation/User/Modules/#module-alsa-card

Good luck :-)

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#243554

On Friday, 31 Dec 2021 at 11:21, didier gaumet wrote:
> It seems to me that Alsa recognizes 3 audio cards (Intel, webcam,
> Nvidia) while Pulseaudio recognizes 2 audio cards only (webcam, Nvidia)

Yes, that's my impression as well.

> but starts enumerating sinks at Sink#12 

Is this important/relevant?  I know nothing about how PA enumerates
sinks or sources.

> I would then say that for whatever reason Pulseaudio does not register
> your Intel audio card by udev detection and it could be useful to
> declare it manually to Pulseaudio by creating
> ~/.config/pulse/default.pa rather than editing /etc/pulse/default.pa .

Okay, I will give this a try.  Thank you.  Should I leave the udev
auto-detection in there as well?

-- 
Eric S Fraga with org 9.5.2 in Emacs 29.0.50 on Debian 11.2

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#243555

Le vendredi 31 décembre 2021 à 11:39 +0000, Eric S Fraga a écrit :
> On Friday, 31 Dec 2021 at 11:21, didier gaumet wrote:
> 
> 
[...]
> > but starts enumerating sinks at Sink#12 
> 
> Is this important/relevant?  I know nothing about how PA enumerates
> sinks or sources.

I mentioned this because I think that, probably, while not registering
your Intel sound card as a whole, Pulseaudio somehow knows of this
sound card sinks and starts enumerating available sinks where the Intel
count stops

> Okay, I will give this a try.  Thank you.  Should I leave the udev
> auto-detection in there as well?

I would try to leave it for auto-detection of the webcam and and Nvidia
sound card, and declare manually the Intel soundcard (probably before
the udev line of the file, in order for Pulseaudio udev detection to
possibly overwrite the manual declaration if someday it is able do do
so again)

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#243556 — Solved! Re: pulseaudio only finds one sink but alsa shows all

Success!

I copied the default.pa file into my local .config and uncommented the
line:

load-module module-alsa-sink 

Initially, I tried adding device= options to this line (as the manual
suggests) but I could not get the right incantation.  Without it, PA
found the device just fine as a possible sink although, funnily enough,
it does not appear in the configuration tab of pavucontrol...

I did leave the udev module, as Didier suggested.

I did have to use alsamixer to adjust the volume (to the maximum,
letting PA then have control up to that maximum).

Thank you all for the help in solving this mystery.  I remain wondering
why it stopped working last year... but it's good to have some mystery
left. ;-)

eric

-- 
Eric S Fraga with org 9.5.2 in Emacs 29.0.50 on Debian 11.2

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#243527

On 12/30/21 02:04, Eric S Fraga wrote:
> On Wednesday, 29 Dec 2021 at 20:39, Georgi Naplatanov wrote:
>> When PulseAudio Volume Control (pavucontrol) is started can you see
>> audio devices on "Configuration" tab?
> 
> Hi Georgi,
> 
> no, that's the problem.  The configuration tab only shows the HDMI audio
> device.
> 
>> In PulseAudio Volume Control application (Playback tab) you can see all
>> audio streams and applications being played and in case of multiple
>> sound devices you can set each sound stream to which sound device to be
>> played.
> 
> Yes, understood; unfortunately only the single output is available,
> either here or in the configuration tab.
> 


Try to run (as root)

# alsactl init

and restart the computer.

Kind regards
Georgi

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#243528

On Thursday, 30 Dec 2021 at 13:16, Georgi Naplatanov wrote:
> Try to run (as root)
>
> # alsactl init
>
> and restart the computer.

Thank you.  Tried this.  No difference unfortunately.

As an aside, is it necessary to restart the computer?  My system is
typically up 24/7 so I hate rebooting.  I did do it this time but just
wondering.

-- 
Eric S Fraga with org 9.5.1 in Emacs 29.0.50 on Debian 11.2

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#243529

On 12/30/21 14:04, Eric S Fraga wrote:
> On Thursday, 30 Dec 2021 at 13:16, Georgi Naplatanov wrote:
>> Try to run (as root)
>>
>> # alsactl init
>>
>> and restart the computer.
> 
> Thank you.  Tried this.  No difference unfortunately.
> 
> As an aside, is it necessary to restart the computer?  My system is
> typically up 24/7 so I hate rebooting.  I did do it this time but just
> wondering.
> 

Just to be sure that all daemons are restarted.

Kind regards
Georgi

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#243530

On 12/30/21 14:04, Eric S Fraga wrote:
> On Thursday, 30 Dec 2021 at 13:16, Georgi Naplatanov wrote:
>> Try to run (as root)
>>
>> # alsactl init
>>
>> and restart the computer.
> 
> Thank you.  Tried this.  No difference unfortunately.
> 
> As an aside, is it necessary to restart the computer?  My system is
> typically up 24/7 so I hate rebooting.  I did do it this time but just
> wondering.
> 

By the way, you can try PipeWire as well.

I tried it on Debian testing and I have not noticed any problem.

https://wiki.debian.org/PipeWire

Kind regards
Georgi

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#243531

On Thursday, 30 Dec 2021 at 14:14, Georgi Naplatanov wrote:
> By the way, you can try PipeWire as well.

Thank you for the heads up on this.  It's too early in the Debian
release cycle for me to switch to testing from the current stable
release (I often do end up switching, after a few months typically) and
so have made a note of this to try then.  The link you gave is very
helpful.

Thanks again,
eric

-- 
Eric S Fraga with org 9.5.1 in Emacs 29.0.50 on Debian 11.2

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