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== Installing ALSA from source == This document describes installing ALSA from source code. For installing ALSA from binary distro packages see [[ALSA Setup Guide]]. You don't have to do this though, there are binary packages available. If you are using Red Hat, see http://freshrpms.net/docs/alsa/ for RPM packages. There are debian packages available, too. You can also choose to install the drivers from source (to make sure they fit your kernel) and install the libs, utilities etc. as binary packes. [http://www.debian.org Debian] users choosing to do this should run <code> apt-get install libasound2 alsa-utils alsa-oss </code> '''Kernel 2.6.XXX users:''' If you have a kernel from the 2.6.xxx series, ALSA is already included, so it's not necessary to do all these steps. If you have a 2.6-kernel and want to install a newer version of ALSA than the one included, check out [[AlsaBuild2.6]]. * Always check out the latest INSTALL file! === 1. Requirements === Make sure you have a kernel source tree that you've already compiled from. This should be in /usr/src/linux but the alsa configure scripts will look elsewhere with the "--with-kernel=[dir]" option when running 'configure'. The kernel must have sound support turned ON in your kernel settings (soundcore module). Any other kernel options regarding sound can be switched OFF. Of course, you need a sound card that is supported by ALSA. Check out the ALSA sound card matrix. === 2. Getting the sources === You can download the sources from the front page of the ALSA home page: http://www.alsa-project.org. I recommend you get the drivers, the libraries, the utils and the OSS compat modules to start with. Next, put them into some directory, e.g. /usr/src/alsa: <code> mkdir /usr/src/alsa cp downloaddir/alsa* /usr/src/alsa </code> To unpack the files: <code> tar jxvf alsa-driver-xxx.tar.bz2 </code> The same applies to the other packages you downloaded. '''CVS:''' You can also get the newest sources from CVS. See AlsaCVS === 3. Compiling and installing === Note: To avoid problems, stick to the order the modules are installed here, i.e. first the drivers, then the libs, then the rest. '''To compile & install the drivers:''' <code> cd alsa-driver-xxx ./configure --with-sequencer=yes && make make install ./snddevices </code> The <code>configure</code> command can take some options, like <code>--with-sequencer=yes</code>. To get a complete list of all options: <code> ./configure --help </code> Some of the most important options: <code> --with-kernel=dir give the directory with kernel sources default: /usr/src/linux --with-isapnp=yes,no,auto driver will (not) be compiled with ISA PnP support --with-sequencer=yes,no driver will (not) be compiled with sequencer support --with-oss=no,yes driver will (not) be compiled with OSS/Free emulation --with-cards=<list> compile driver for cards in <list>; cards may be separated with commas; 'all' compiles all drivers; Possible cards are: dummy, virmidi, serial-u16550, mtpav, als100, azt2320, cmi8330, [...]] </code> If you don't have ISA, you can safely add <code>--with-isapnp=no</code>. If you only have one card (e.g. SB Live) and aren't planning to add any others, you can add <code>--with-cards=emu10k1</code> or whatever the module for your card is called. The <code>./snddevices</code> command creates the audio devices in /dev/snd. <code>make install</code> and <code>./snddevices</code> must be done as root, the rest can be done as any user. '''ALSA libraries''' This is straightforward: <code> cd alsa-lib-xxx ./configure && make make install </code> '''ALSA Utils''' These include the alsamixer program and other very useful helpers. '''Note:''' The alsamixer requires a dev packages for ncurses, for debian/sid this is 'libncurses5-dev'. <code> cd alsa-utils-xxx ./configure && make make install </code> '''ALSA OSS compat modules''' <code> cd alsa-oss-xxx ./configure && make make install </code> *NB: Compiling could take a while! === 4. Loading the ALSA modules === Now insert the modules into the kernel space. <code> modprobe snd-ens1371 modprobe snd-pcm-oss modprobe snd-mixer-oss modprobe snd-seq-oss </code> If you get an "init_module: No such device" error when you run this modprobe command, make sure that you uninstall all the sound related modules first. Use <code>lsmod</code> to check the installed modules and <code>rmmod</code> to uninstall. Then modprobe the new modules. See Troubleshooting for other solutions. To make module loading permanent, you have to add these lines to /etc/modules.conf (for Debian users, this means you have to create a file with these lines in /etc/modutils and the do update-modules). '''Kernel 2.6 users''' note: module settings now go into /etc/modprobe.conf (Debian users: just copy the module-info file from /etc/modutils/ to /etc/modprobe.d/ and run update-modules). '''Note''': These next lines are valid for a machine with one SB Live!. For your settings, see the ALSA sound card matrix details for your soundcard! <code> # alsa/soundblaster live module settings # (from the alsa soundcard matrix) # ALSA portion alias char-major-116 snd alias snd-card-0 snd-emu10k1 # module options should go here # OSS/Free portion alias char-major-14 soundcore alias sound-slot-0 snd-card-0 # card #1 alias sound-service-0-0 snd-mixer-oss alias sound-service-0-1 snd-seq-oss alias sound-service-0-3 snd-pcm-oss alias sound-service-0-8 snd-seq-oss alias sound-service-0-12 snd-pcm-oss </code> '''Loading soundcard settings on startup:''' The 'make install' options of the ALSA drivers creates a file /etc/init.d/alsasound (if not, this file is also in alsa-driver-xxx/utils and should be copied to /etc/init.d, then chmod 755) which takes care of saving and loading the mixer settings etc. on bootup and shutdown, but you have to create links manually to let this actually happen, otherwise your mixer settings will always be resetted when you shut down: <code> % ln -s /etc/init.d/alsasound /etc/rcS.d/S59alsasound % ln -s /etc/init.d/alsasound /etc/rc1.d/K15alsasound % ln -s /etc/init.d/alsasound /etc/rc6.d/K15alsasound </code> === 5. Getting started === If everything worked out correctly, you can now use your sound card! So, first of all, adjust your soundcards volume levels. All mixer channels are muted by default. You must use a native mixer program to unmute appropriate channels, e.g. [[alsamixer]] from the alsa-utils package <code> alsamixer </code> '''Note''': Some soundcards don't utilise the [[alsamixer]] program so you will need to learn how to use the [[amixer]] program. Unmute the 'Master' and 'PCM' levels and pull them up, also look for a "Headphone" slider, and if it exists pull that up as well - if everything worked out, you should be able to playback music now. If not, check out the 'Troubleshooting' section. === Troubleshooting === If modprobe snd-sb16 says that you don't have the Sound Blaster card, first try to install isapnp packages (they are named isapnptools and libisapnp-dev, on debain) then you nead to add the line "options snd-sb16 isapnp=0" to your /etc/modules.conf file if you have kernel2.4 (or to /etc/modutils/alsa file on debian and run update-modules) If anything doesn't work, the first thing to do is to check the [[FAQ]] and make sure you've got the latest version of ALSA. Some special problems are listed here: If playback still doesn't work after installation and programs give errors like 'Can't open default sound device!' (In this case, the message was given by mpg123), try this: <code> chmod 666 /dev/snd/* </code> and, if you have the OSS modules installed: <code> chmod 666 /dev/mixer* /dev/midi* /dev/dsp* /dev/sequencer* </code> '''Note''': This has to be done as root. [[Category:Installation]]

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