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Introduction    Notes on Modular Sound Drivers and Soundcore

Wade Hampton

2/14/2001

Purpose:

========

This document provides some general notes on the modular

sound drivers and their configuration, along with the

support modules sound.o and soundcore.o.

Note, some of this probably should be added to the Sound-HOWTO!

Note, soundlow.o was present with 2.2 kernels but is not

required for 2.4.x kernels.  References have been removed

to this.

Copying:

========

none

History:

========

0.1.0  11/20/1998  First version, draft

1.0.0  11/1998     Alan Cox changes, incorporation in 2.2.0

                   as /usr/src/linux/Documentation/sound/Introduction

1.1.0  6/30/1999   Second version, added notes on making the drivers,

                   added info on multiple sound cards of similar types,]

                   added more diagnostics info, added info about esd.

                   added info on OSS and ALSA.

1.1.1  19991031    Added notes on sound-slot- and sound-service.

                        (Alan Cox)

1.1.2  20000920    Modified for Kernel 2.4 (Christoph Hellwig)

1.1.3  20010214    Minor notes and corrections (Wade Hampton)

                   Added examples of sound-slot-0, etc.

Modular Sound Drivers:

======================

Thanks to the GREAT work by Alan Cox (alan@lxorguk.ukuu.org.uk),

[And Oleg Drokin, Thomas Sailer, Andrew Veliath and more than a few

 others - not to mention Hannu's original code being designed well

 enough to cope with that kind of chopping up](Alan)

the standard Linux kernels support a modular sound driver.  From

Alan's comments in linux/drivers/sound/README.FIRST:

  The modular sound driver patches were funded by Red Hat Software

  (www.redhat.com). The sound driver here is thus a modified version of

  Hannu's code. Please bear that in mind when considering the appropriate

  forums for bug reporting.

The modular sound drivers may be loaded via insmod or modprobe.

To support all the various sound modules, there are two general

support modules that must be loaded first:

   soundcore.o:   Top level handler for the sound system, provides

                  a set of functions for registration of devices

                  by type.

   sound.o:       Common sound functions required by all modules.

For the specific sound modules (e.g., sb.o for the Soundblaster),

read the documentation on that module to determine what options

are available, for example IRQ, address, DMA.

Warning, the options for different cards sometime use different names

for the same or a similar feature (dma1= versus dma16=).  As a last

resort, inspect the code (search for MODULE_PARM).

Notes:

1.  There is a new OpenSource sound driver called ALSA which is

    currently under development:  http://www.alsa-project.org/

    The ALSA drivers support some newer hardware that may not

    be supported by this sound driver and also provide some

    additional features.

2.  The commercial OSS driver may be obtained from the site:

    http://www.opensound.com.  This may be used for cards that

    are unsupported by the kernel driver, or may be used

    by other operating systems.

3.  The enlightenment sound daemon may be used for playing

    multiple sounds at the same time via a single card, eliminating

    some of the requirements for multiple sound card systems.  For

    more information, see:  http://www.tux.org/~ricdude/EsounD.html

    The "esd" program may be used with the real-player and mpeg

    players like mpg123 and x11amp.  The newer real-player

    and some games even include built-in support for ESD!

Building the Modules:

=====================

This document does not provide full details on building the

kernel, etc.  The notes below apply only to making the kernel

sound modules.   If this conflicts with the kernel's README,

the README takes precedence.

1.  To make the kernel sound modules, cd to your /usr/src/linux

    directory (typically) and type make config, make menuconfig,

    or make xconfig (to start the command line, dialog, or x-based

    configuration tool).

2.  Select the Sound option and a dialog will be displayed.

3.  Select M (module) for "Sound card support".

4.  Select your sound driver(s) as a module.  For ProAudio, Sound

    Blaster, etc., select M (module) for OSS sound modules.

    [thanks to Marvin Stodolsky ]A

5.  Make the kernel (e.g., make dep ; make bzImage), and install

    the kernel.

6.  Make the modules and install them (make modules; make modules_install).

Note, for 2.4.x kernels, make sure you have the newer modutils

loaded or modules will not be loaded properly.  2.4.x changed the

layout of /lib/modules/2.4.x and requires an updated modutils.

Plug and Play (PnP:

===================

If the sound card is an ISA PnP card, isapnp may be used

to configure the card.  See the file isapnp.txt in the

directory one level up (e.g., /usr/src/linux/Documentation).

Also the 2.4.x kernels provide PnP capabilities, see the

file NEWS in this directory.

PCI sound cards are highly recommended, as they are far

easier to configure and from what I have read, they use

less resources and are more CPU efficient.

INSMOD:

=======

If loading via insmod, the common modules must be loaded in the

order below BEFORE loading the other sound modules.  The card-specific

modules may then be loaded (most require parameters).  For example,

I use the following via a shell script to load my SoundBlaster:

SB_BASE=0x240

SB_IRQ=9

SB_DMA=3

SB_DMA2=5

SB_MPU=0x300

#

echo Starting sound

/sbin/insmod soundcore

/sbin/insmod sound

#

echo Starting sound blaster....

/sbin/insmod uart401

/sbin/insmod sb io=$SB_BASE irq=$SB_IRQ dma=$SB_DMA dma16=$SB_DMA2 mpu_io=$SB_MP

When using sound as a module, I typically put these commands

in a file such as /root/soundon.sh.

MODPROBE:

=========

If loading via modprobe, these common files are automatically loaded

when requested by modprobe.  For example, my /etc/modules.conf contains:

alias sound sb

options sb io=0x240 irq=9 dma=3 dma16=5 mpu_io=0x300

All you need to do to load the module is:

        /sbin/modprobe sb

Sound Status:

=============

The status of sound may be read/checked by:

        cat (anyfile).au >/dev/audio

[WWH:  This may not work properly for SoundBlaster PCI 128 cards

such as the es1370/1 (see the es1370/1 files in this directory)

as they do not automatically support uLaw on /dev/audio.]

The status of the modules and which modules depend on

which other modules may be checked by:

        /sbin/lsmod

/sbin/lsmod should show something like the following:

        sb                     26280   0

        uart401                 5640   0  [sb]

        sound                  57112   0  [sb uart401]

        soundcore               1968   8  [sb sound]

Removing Sound:

===============

Sound may be removed by using /sbin/rmmod in the reverse order

in which you load the modules.  Note, if a program has a sound device

open (e.g., xmixer), that module (and the modules on which it

depends) may not be unloaded.

For example, I use the following to remove my Soundblaster (rmmod

in the reverse order in which I loaded the modules):

/sbin/rmmod sb

/sbin/rmmod uart401

/sbin/rmmod sound

/sbin/rmmod soundcore

When using sound as a module, I typically put these commands

in a script such as /root/soundoff.sh.

Removing Sound for use with OSS:

================================

If you get really stuck or have a card that the kernel modules

will not support, you can get a commercial sound driver from

http://www.opensound.com.  Before loading the commercial sound

driver, you should do the following:

1.  remove sound modules (detailed above)

2.  remove the sound modules from /etc/modules.conf

3.  move the sound modules from /lib/modules//misc

    (for example, I make a /lib/modules//misc/tmp

    directory and copy the sound module files to that

    directory).

Multiple Sound Cards:

=====================

The sound drivers will support multiple sound cards and there

are some great applications like multitrack that support them.

Typically, you need two sound cards of different types.  Note, this

uses more precious interrupts and DMA channels and sometimes

can be a configuration nightmare.  I have heard reports of 3-4

sound cards (typically I only use 2).  You can sometimes use

multiple PCI sound cards of the same type.

On my machine I have two sound cards (cs4232 and Soundblaster Vibra

16).  By loading sound as modules, I can control which is the first

sound device (/dev/dsp, /dev/audio, /dev/mixer) and which is

the second.  Normally, the cs4232 (Dell sound on the motherboard)

would be the first sound device, but I prefer the Soundblaster.

All you have to do is to load the one you want as /dev/dsp

first (in my case "sb") and then load the other one

(in my case "cs4232").

If you have two cards of the same type that are jumpered

cards or different PnP revisions, you may load the same

module twice.  For example, I have a SoundBlaster vibra 16

and an older SoundBlaster 16 (jumpers).  To load the module

twice, you need to do the following:

1.  Copy the sound modules to a new name.  For example

    sb.o could be copied (or symlinked) to sb1.o for the

    second SoundBlaster.

2.  Make a second entry in /etc/modules.conf, for example,

    sound1 or sb1.  This second entry should refer to the

    new module names for example sb1, and should include

    the I/O, etc. for the second sound card.

3.  Update your soundon.sh script, etc.

Warning:  I have never been able to get two PnP sound cards of the

same type to load at the same time.  I have tried this several times

with the Soundblaster Vibra 16 cards.  OSS has indicated that this

is a PnP problem....  If anyone has any luck doing this, please

send me an E-MAIL.  PCI sound cards should not have this problem.a

Since this was originally release, I have received a couple of

mails from people who have accomplished this!

NOTE: In Linux 2.4 the Sound Blaster driver (and only this one yet)

supports multiple cards with one module by default.

Read the file 'Soundblaster' in this directory for details.

Sound Problems:

===============

First RTFM (including the troubleshooting section

in the Sound-HOWTO).

1)  If you are having problems loading the modules (for

    example, if you get device conflict errors) try the

    following:

  A)  If you have Win95 or NT on the same computer,

      write down what addresses, IRQ, and DMA channels

      those were using for the same hardware.  You probably

      can use these addresses, IRQs, and DMA channels.

      You should really do this BEFORE attempting to get

      sound working!

  B)  Check (cat) /proc/interrupts, /proc/ioports,

      and /proc/dma.  Are you trying to use an address,

      IRQ or DMA port that another device is using?

  C)  Check (cat) /proc/isapnp

  D)  Inspect your /var/log/messages file.  Often that will

      indicate what IRQ or IO port could not be obtained.

  E)  Try another port or IRQ.  Note this may involve

      using the PnP tools to move the sound card to

      another location.  Sometimes this is the only way

      and it is more or less trial and error.

2)  If you get motor-boating (the same sound or part of a

    sound clip repeated), you probably have either an IRQ

    or DMA conflict.  Move the card to another IRQ or DMA

    port.  This has happened to me when playing long files

    when I had an IRQ conflict.

3.  If you get dropouts or pauses when playing high sample

    rate files such as using mpg123 or x11amp/xmms, you may

    have too slow of a CPU and may have to use the options to

    play the files at 1/2 speed.  For example, you may use

    the -2 or -4 option on mpg123.  You may also get this

    when trying to play mpeg files stored on a CD-ROM

    (my Toshiba T8000 PII/366 sometimes has this problem).

4.  If you get "cannot access device" errors, your /dev/dsp

    files, etc. may be set to owner root, mode 600.  You

    may have to use the command:

      chmod 666 /dev/dsp /dev/mixer /dev/audio

5.  If you get "device busy" errors, another program has the

    sound device open.  For example, if using the Enlightenment

    sound daemon "esd", the "esd" program has the sound device.

    If using "esd", please RTFM the docs on ESD.  For example,

    esddsp  may be used to play files via a non-esd

    aware program.

6)  Ask for help on the sound list or send E-MAIL to the

    sound driver author/maintainer.

7)  Turn on debug in drivers/sound/sound_config.h (DEB, DDB, MDB).

8)  If the system reports insufficient DMA memory then you may want to

    load sound with the "dmabufs=1" option. Or in /etc/conf.modules add

        preinstall sound dmabufs=1

    This makes the sound system allocate its buffers and hang onto them.

    You may also set persistent DMA when building a 2.4.x kernel.

Configuring Sound:

==================

There are several ways of configuring your sound:

1)  On the kernel command line (when using the sound driver(s)

    compiled in the kernel). Check the driver source and

    documentation for details.

2)  On the command line when using insmod or in a bash script

    using command line calls to load sound.

3)  In /etc/modules.conf when using modprobe.

4)  Via Red Hat's GPL'd /usr/sbin/sndconfig program (text based).

5)  Via the OSS soundconf program (with the commercial version

    of the OSS driver.

6)  By just loading the module and let isapnp do everything relevant

    for you. This works only with a few drivers yet and - of course -

    only with isapnp hardware.

And I am sure, several other ways.

Anyone want to write a linuxconf module for configuring sound?

Module Loading:

===============

When a sound card is first referenced and sound is modular, the sound system

will ask for the sound devices to be loaded. Initially it requests that

the driver for the sound system is loaded. It then will ask for

sound-slot-0, where 0 is the first sound card. (sound-slot-1 the second and

so on). Thus you can do

alias sound-slot-0 sb

To load a soundblaster at this point. If the slot loading does not provide

the desired device - for example a soundblaster does not directly provide

a midi synth in all cases then it will request "sound-service-0-n" where n

is

  2     MIDI

  3, 4  DSP audio

For example, I use the following to load my Soundblaster PCI 128

(ES 1371) card first, followed by my SoundBlaster Vibra 16 card,

then by my TV card:

# Load the Soundblaster PCI 128 as /dev/dsp, /dev/dsp1, /dev/mixer

alias sound-slot-0 es1371

# Load the Soundblaster Vibra 16 as /dev/dsp2, /dev/mixer1

alias sound-slot-1 sb

options sb io=0x240 irq=5 dma=1 dma16=5 mpu_io=0x330

# Load the BTTV (TV card) as /dev/mixer2

alias sound-slot-2 bttv

alias sound-service-2-0 tvmixer

pre-install bttv  modprobe tuner ; modprobe tvmixer

pre-install tvmixer modprobe msp3400; modprobe tvaudio

options tuner debug=0 type=8

options bttv  card=0 radio=0 pll=0

For More Information (RTFM):

============================

1)  Information on kernel modules:  linux/Documentation/modules.txt

    and manual pages for insmod and modprobe.

2)  Information on PnP, RTFM manual pages for isapnp.

3)  Sound-HOWTO and Sound-Playing-HOWTO.

4)  OSS's WWW site at http://www.opensound.com.

5)  All the files in linux/Documentation/sound.

6)  The comments and code in linux/drivers/sound.

7)  The sndconfig and rhsound documentation from Red Hat.

8)  The Linux-sound mailing list:  sound-list@redhat.com.

9)  Enlightenment documentation (for info on esd)

    http://www.tux.org/~ricdude/EsounD.html.

10) ALSA home page:  http://www.alsa-project.org/

Contact Information:

====================

Wade Hampton:  (whampton@staffnet.com)