Fwd: [Alsa-user] VIA VT8235 (ALC201) problems

Fwd: [Alsa-user] VIA VT8235 (ALC201) problems

[Joachim Blaabjerg]

I'm forwarding this to -devel, just in case you guys know something that the 
folks on -user don't.

I guess I should mention that I sometimes get this error message while 
attempting to play sound (not always, though):

ALSA lib pcm_hw.c:398:(snd_pcm_hw_prepare) SNDRV_PCM_IOCTL_PREPARE failed: 
Device or resource busy

Some times I get that error, although the sound continues to play. FWIW, I use 
Linux 2.4.19 with a huge patchset (sys-kernel/lolo-sources i Gentoo/Portage).

This might be very irrelevant and uninteresting, but I tried getting it to 
work again just now, and this quote is a bit incorrect:

> It tends to play sounds very, very slowly, and 1/10 second samples over and 
> over again (perhaps 20 times).

It's more like 0.5 second samples that are played five times. :P

Best Regards,

----------  Forwarded Message  ----------

Subject: [Alsa-user] VIA VT8235 (ALC201) problems
Date: Wednesday 16 October 2002 15:49
From: Joachim Blaabjerg <styx@gentoo.org>
To: alsa-user@lists.sourceforge.net

Hi,

I recently bought an EPoX 8K5A2 motherboard, with an onboard ALC201 sound
chip. This motherboard utilizes VIA's new VT8235 south bridge (as opposed to
VT8233 in most other recent VIA chipset boards), which I think may be the
cause of my sound problems. I've tried various ALSA drivers with little or no
success; neither of via82cxxx_audio, snd-via686a or snd-intel8x0 will load
(init_module: No such device).

There is however one driver that does load: snd-via8233. Sadly, this driver
fails to produce anything but noise. It tends to play sounds very, very
slowly, and 1/10 second samples over and over again (perhaps 20 times).

I've looked at the RealTek site, and they offer driver downloads. This is
 just a repackaging of alsa-driver-0.9.0_rc3 (which I am using), and a
 prewritten modules.conf that utilises the snd-via8233 module.

Has anyone had any luck with this sound chip/motherboard?

Best Regards,


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Re: Fwd: [Alsa-user] VIA VT8235 (ALC201) problems

[Takashi Iwai]

Hi,

please try the cvs version.
the via8233 (and via686) driver has been changed much on cvs since
0.9.0rc3.  now they are merged as a unifed module "snd-via82xx".


Takashi

At Wed, 16 Oct 2002 16:28:19 +0200,
Joachim Blaabjerg wrote:
> 
> I'm forwarding this to -devel, just in case you guys know something that the 
> folks on -user don't.
> 
> I guess I should mention that I sometimes get this error message while 
> attempting to play sound (not always, though):
> 
> ALSA lib pcm_hw.c:398:(snd_pcm_hw_prepare) SNDRV_PCM_IOCTL_PREPARE failed: 
> Device or resource busy
> 
> Some times I get that error, although the sound continues to play. FWIW, I use 
> Linux 2.4.19 with a huge patchset (sys-kernel/lolo-sources i Gentoo/Portage).
> 
> This might be very irrelevant and uninteresting, but I tried getting it to 
> work again just now, and this quote is a bit incorrect:
> 
> > It tends to play sounds very, very slowly, and 1/10 second samples over and 
> > over again (perhaps 20 times).
> 
> It's more like 0.5 second samples that are played five times. :P
> 
> Best Regards,
> 
> ----------  Forwarded Message  ----------
> 
> Subject: [Alsa-user] VIA VT8235 (ALC201) problems
> Date: Wednesday 16 October 2002 15:49
> From: Joachim Blaabjerg <styx@gentoo.org>
> To: alsa-user@lists.sourceforge.net
> 
> Hi,
> 
> I recently bought an EPoX 8K5A2 motherboard, with an onboard ALC201 sound
> chip. This motherboard utilizes VIA's new VT8235 south bridge (as opposed to
> VT8233 in most other recent VIA chipset boards), which I think may be the
> cause of my sound problems. I've tried various ALSA drivers with little or no
> success; neither of via82cxxx_audio, snd-via686a or snd-intel8x0 will load
> (init_module: No such device).
> 
> There is however one driver that does load: snd-via8233. Sadly, this driver
> fails to produce anything but noise. It tends to play sounds very, very
> slowly, and 1/10 second samples over and over again (perhaps 20 times).
> 
> I've looked at the RealTek site, and they offer driver downloads. This is
>  just a repackaging of alsa-driver-0.9.0_rc3 (which I am using), and a
>  prewritten modules.conf that utilises the snd-via8233 module.
> 
> Has anyone had any luck with this sound chip/motherboard?
> 
> Best Regards,
> 
> 
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> 
> 
> 
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Re: Fwd: [Alsa-user] VIA VT8235 (ALC201) problems

[Joachim Blaabjerg]

On Wednesday 16 October 2002 17:34, Takashi Iwai wrote:
> Hi,
>
> please try the cvs version.
> the via8233 (and via686) driver has been changed much on cvs since
> 0.9.0rc3.  now they are merged as a unifed module "snd-via82xx".

Thanks for the tip. Didn't make a difference, though. Alsa-mixer now sees the 
card as "VIA 8233A/C" as opposed to "VIA 8233", but it's still not "VIA 
8235". Looking at the comment at the top of the file, it seems to be 
supported, but looking at the code, I see this:

    switch (chip_type) {
    case TYPE_VIA686:
        strcpy(card->driver, "VIA686A");
        strcpy(card->shortname, "VIA 82C686A/B");
        break;
    case TYPE_VIA8233:
        strcpy(card->driver, "VIA8233");
        strcpy(card->shortname, "VIA 8233A/C");
        break;
    default:
[...]

And this:

static struct pci_device_id snd_via82xx_ids[] __devinitdata = {
    { 0x1106, 0x3058, PCI_ANY_ID, PCI_ANY_ID, 0, 0, TYPE_VIA686, }, /* 686A */
    { 0x1106, 0x3059, PCI_ANY_ID, PCI_ANY_ID, 0, 0, TYPE_VIA8233, },    /* 
VT8233 */
    { 0, }
};

It doesn't look to me like the 8235 chip is supported..?

Best Regards,


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Re: Fwd: [Alsa-user] VIA VT8235 (ALC201) problems

[Takashi Iwai]

At Wed, 16 Oct 2002 18:03:48 +0200,
Joachim Blaabjerg wrote:
> 
> On Wednesday 16 October 2002 17:34, Takashi Iwai wrote:
> > Hi,
> >
> > please try the cvs version.
> > the via8233 (and via686) driver has been changed much on cvs since
> > 0.9.0rc3.  now they are merged as a unifed module "snd-via82xx".
> 
> Thanks for the tip. Didn't make a difference, though. Alsa-mixer now sees the 
> card as "VIA 8233A/C" as opposed to "VIA 8233", but it's still not "VIA 
> 8235". Looking at the comment at the top of the file, it seems to be 
> supported, but looking at the code, I see this:

8235 has the same pci id with 8233, so it's ok.


Takashi


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Re: Fwd: [Alsa-user] VIA VT8235 (ALC201) problems

[Joachim Blaabjerg]

On Wednesday 16 October 2002 18:12, you wrote:

> 8235 has the same pci id with 8233, so it's ok.
>
>
> Takashi

As far as I know, though, the 8235 south bridge uses a different sound chip. 
VT8233 uses ALC650, while VT8235 uses ALC201. Or am I wrong?

And no, I still can't get sound. :)

Best Regards,


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Re: Fwd: [Alsa-user] VIA VT8235 (ALC201) problems

[Takashi Iwai]

At Wed, 16 Oct 2002 18:26:12 +0200,
Joachim Blaabjerg wrote:
> 
> On Wednesday 16 October 2002 18:12, you wrote:
> 
> > 8235 has the same pci id with 8233, so it's ok.
> >
> >
> > Takashi
> 
> As far as I know, though, the 8235 south bridge uses a different sound chip. 
> VT8233 uses ALC650, while VT8235 uses ALC201. Or am I wrong?

yes, you are confused among two things.

ALC650 and ALC201 are AC97 codecs, which corresponds to ADC/DAC and
mixer parts.  it has nothing to do with the sound engine.
the sound core of VT8235 is almost identical with 8233, thus via82xx
driver is the one you need.


> And no, I still can't get sound. :)

please elaborate the phenomenon __on the latest driver__.

* totally silent  --> check the mixer configuration?

* playback produces repeated sounds --> irq problem?

* playback rate doesn't match --> adjustment via snd_ac97_clock
  option?


Takashi


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Re: Fwd: [Alsa-user] VIA VT8235 (ALC201) problems

[Joachim Blaabjerg]

On Wednesday 16 October 2002 18:32, Takashi Iwai wrote:
> At Wed, 16 Oct 2002 18:26:12 +0200,
>
> Joachim Blaabjerg wrote:
> > On Wednesday 16 October 2002 18:12, you wrote:
> > > 8235 has the same pci id with 8233, so it's ok.
> > >
> > >
> > > Takashi
> >
> > As far as I know, though, the 8235 south bridge uses a different sound
> > chip. VT8233 uses ALC650, while VT8235 uses ALC201. Or am I wrong?
>
> yes, you are confused among two things.
>
> ALC650 and ALC201 are AC97 codecs, which corresponds to ADC/DAC and
> mixer parts.  it has nothing to do with the sound engine.
> the sound core of VT8235 is almost identical with 8233, thus via82xx
> driver is the one you need.

Ah, I see. I guess this is an alsa-user issue, then. Sorry :)

> > And no, I still can't get sound. :)
>
> please elaborate the phenomenon __on the latest driver__.
>
> * totally silent  --> check the mixer configuration?
>
> * playback produces repeated sounds --> irq problem?

That might be it. Thanks for the assistance!

Best Regards,



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Re: Fwd: [Alsa-user] VIA VT8235 (ALC201) problems

[Joachim Blaabjerg]

On Wednesday 16 October 2002 18:32, Takashi Iwai wrote:
> At Wed, 16 Oct 2002 18:26:12 +0200,
>
> Joachim Blaabjerg wrote:
> > On Wednesday 16 October 2002 18:12, you wrote:
> > > 8235 has the same pci id with 8233, so it's ok.
> > >
> > >
> > > Takashi
> >
> > As far as I know, though, the 8235 south bridge uses a different sound
> > chip. VT8233 uses ALC650, while VT8235 uses ALC201. Or am I wrong?
>
> yes, you are confused among two things.
>
> ALC650 and ALC201 are AC97 codecs, which corresponds to ADC/DAC and
> mixer parts.  it has nothing to do with the sound engine.
> the sound core of VT8235 is almost identical with 8233, thus via82xx
> driver is the one you need.

Sorry for asking dumb questions here, but I'm still learning the basics of 
ALSA here.

I've ruled out the possibility of an IRQ conflict, so that's not the cause of 
my problems. So now I'm wondering, is the ALC201 AC97 codec pretty much 
identical to the ALC200(P) or ALC202 codecs? I can't find ALC201 in 
ac97_codec.c. Alsamixer tells me it's using ALC650. Could that be the 
problem?

Has anyone had success with the VT8235 south bridge? A google search didn't 
turn up much, I wonder if it's because I'm the only one with the problem, or 
if it Just Works(tm) with everyone else.

> > And no, I still can't get sound. :)
Still valid ;)

Best Regards,



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Re: Fwd: [Alsa-user] VIA VT8235 (ALC201) problems

[Takashi Iwai]

At Sat, 19 Oct 2002 12:21:23 +0200,
Joachim Blaabjerg wrote:
> 
> On Wednesday 16 October 2002 18:32, Takashi Iwai wrote:
> > At Wed, 16 Oct 2002 18:26:12 +0200,
> >
> > Joachim Blaabjerg wrote:
> > > On Wednesday 16 October 2002 18:12, you wrote:
> > > > 8235 has the same pci id with 8233, so it's ok.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Takashi
> > >
> > > As far as I know, though, the 8235 south bridge uses a different sound
> > > chip. VT8233 uses ALC650, while VT8235 uses ALC201. Or am I wrong?
> >
> > yes, you are confused among two things.
> >
> > ALC650 and ALC201 are AC97 codecs, which corresponds to ADC/DAC and
> > mixer parts.  it has nothing to do with the sound engine.
> > the sound core of VT8235 is almost identical with 8233, thus via82xx
> > driver is the one you need.
> 
> Sorry for asking dumb questions here, but I'm still learning the basics of 
> ALSA here.
> 
> I've ruled out the possibility of an IRQ conflict, so that's not the cause of 
> my problems. So now I'm wondering, is the ALC201 AC97 codec pretty much 
> identical to the ALC200(P) or ALC202 codecs? I can't find ALC201 in 
> ac97_codec.c. Alsamixer tells me it's using ALC650. Could that be the 
> problem?

If alsamixer tells so, it must be in fact ALC650.  ALC20x and ALC650
have different codec ids, which is probed via an AC97 register.
Anyway, these chips are almost compatible.  So, it doesn't matter
much.

> 
> Has anyone had success with the VT8235 south bridge? A google search didn't 
> turn up much, I wonder if it's because I'm the only one with the problem, or 
> if it Just Works(tm) with everyone else.
> 
> > > And no, I still can't get sound. :)
> Still valid ;)

Ehm, could you elaborate the symptom?
It could be a bug of the driver itself, of course, although 8233 seems
working fine.  According to VIA tech, 8235 is compatible with 8233, so
theoretically it should work.

Also, please check whether the count in /proc/interrupts increases
during playback.  If not, it's usually a hardware configuration
problem.  if it increases, most likely a driver bug.


ciao,

Takashi


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Re: Fwd: [Alsa-user] VIA VT8235 (ALC201) problems

[Joachim Blaabjerg]

Sorry for being unresponsive about this lately.

On Tuesday 22 October 2002 12:51, Takashi Iwai wrote:
> Ehm, could you elaborate the symptom?

Daniel S. Tarbuck described it very well:

> The modules load and the mixer seems to work, but whenever I try to play
> some audio, it replays the same bit of audio 13 or 14 times before
> moving on to the next bit.  This takes about 10 seconds, so I sound that
> loops every 2/3 seconds for 14 loops and then moves on to the next bit
> of sound (looping 14 times).
> 
> This appears to be a timing issue of some sort.  When using mpg321,
> after I stop the player, it reports that it has been playing for less
> time than it has (roughly 1/14th of the actual time).

Observing the ALSA-user mailing list lately, I see that four or five other 
people are having the same problem with this driver.

> Also, please check whether the count in /proc/interrupts increases
> during playback.  If not, it's usually a hardware configuration
> problem.  if it increases, most likely a driver bug.

Well, in my case it doesn't. I'm 99% sure there are no IRQ conflicts, and I 
can't see anything else that could be wrong.

I'd gladly give you root access to my machine if that would help you 
diagnose/fix the problem.

Best Regards,


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