no sound in kubuntu 12.04

[przxqgl]

i am running kubuntu 12.04 (precise) for the first time.

previously, i was running 10.04 (lucid). i backed up, wiped the disk, and installed a clean operating system.

(in spite of the fact that i've been running kubuntu since dapper drake, i still don't know anywhere near as much about linux, as i do about windoesn't or macintosh machines, which is why i posted this in the "Help The New Guy" forum. i hope it's okay.)

when i was running lucid, the sound worked, sort of: the music player (amarok) worked fine, but when i played videos from youtube, the video would work, but the sound did not. this was not a major issue, but it is the primary reason i wanted to install a clean system, rather than upgrading.

unfortunately, it worked the opposite way: when i booted up precise, there was no sound at all. not in amarok, or anything else.

of course, the first thing i did was check the multimedia settings, which showed that i have TWO audio playback devices installed.

i have no separate sound card: the audio is on the motherboard, which has an AMD i386 processor. however, the multimedia settings have an "RS780 HDMI Audio [Raedon HD 3000-3300 Series] Digital Stereo [HDMI]" as well as a "Built-in Audio Analog Stereo" device installed...

NEITHER of them work... AT ALL...

i've messed around with it a little bit, but i honestly have no clue what i'm doing, so i may have messed it up even more, without realising it.

i've got most of my computer back up and running the way i want it to, but the lack of sound is really getting me down.

any suggestions?

[vinnywright]

if you dont mind show the output of

aplay -l

and open alsamixer and see if any channels (like PCM) are turned down or muted .
to use alsamixer open a konsole and type in alsamixer and press enter .



VINNY

[przxqgl]

if you dont mind show the output of

aplay -l

**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: SB [HDA ATI SB], device 0: ALC1200 Analog [ALC1200 Analog]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 0: SB [HDA ATI SB], device 1: ALC1200 Digital [ALC1200 Digital]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: HDMI [HDA ATI HDMI], device 3: HDMI 0 [HDMI 0]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0

open alsamixer and see if any channels (like PCM) are turned down or muted .

the "Headphone" and the "Front Mic" are turned all the way down, but that shouldn't affect the speakers, which come out of the back of my computer...

[Snowhog]

What is listed in System Settings > Multimedia > Phonon > Device Preference > Audio Playback for the Default Audio Playback Device Preference?
What is listed in System Settings > Multimedia > Phonon > Audio Hardware Setup?
What is listed in System Settings > Multimedia > Phonon > Backend?

[przxqgl]

What is listed in System Settings > Multimedia > Phonon > Device Preference > Audio Playback for the Default Audio Playback Device Preference?

Built-in Audio Analog Stereo

What is listed in System Settings > Multimedia > Phonon > Audio Hardware Setup?

Hardware
Sound Card = "RS780 HDMI Audio [Radeon HD 3000-3300 Series]" and "Built-in Audio" with RS780 preferred.
Profile = "Digtal Stereo (HDMI) Output

Device Configuration
Sound Device = Playback (RS780 HDMI Audio [Radeon HD 3000-3300 Series] Digital Stereo (HDMI))
Connector = HDMI / DisplayPort

What is listed in System Settings > Multimedia > Phonon > Backend?

VLC and GStreamer, with VLC preferred

[Snowhog]

I'm going to have you install phonon-backend-gstreamer

Open a console and type:

sudo apt-get install phonon-backend-gstreamer

When it has finished, open System Settings > Multimedia > Phonon > Audio Hardware Setup and change:

Sound Card to Built-in Audio
Profile to Analog Stereo Duplex
Sound Device to Playback (Built-in Audio Analog Stereo)
Connector to Speakers

Then click on the Backend tab and select GStreamer and move it to the top. Click Apply and then close. Log out and reboot.

[przxqgl]

I'm going to have you install phonon-backend-gstreamer
Open a console and type:

sudo apt-get install phonon-backend-gstreamer

it says "phonon-backend-gstreamer is already the newest version."

When it has finished, open System Settings > Multimedia > Phonon > Audio Hardware Setup and change:

Sound Card to Built-in Audio
Profile to Analog Stereo Duplex
Sound Device to Playback (Built-in Audio Analog Stereo)
Connector to Speakers

the only "Connector" i have offered is "Analog Output"

Then click on the Backend tab and select GStreamer and move it to the top. Click Apply and then close. Log out and reboot.

it still doesn't work, but it makes a few more noises than it used to -- the "beep" when it reboots is new, and it sounds like the speakers are being "turned on" shortly afterwards, but no sound comes out.

also, in System Settings > Multimedia > Phonon > Audio Hardware Setup i changed everything, as you said, but when i reboot, it changes back to RS780 HDMI Audio... that's not right... 8/

[Snowhog]

You have VLC installed. Let's 'simulate' what would be removed if it's uninstalled/purged. Open a console and type:

sudo apt-get purge --simulate vlc

Copy the output (unless it just reports that vlc* will be removed) and paste it in your reply.

Added:
Most excellent avatar! Haven't seen Joe Btfsplk in for ever!

[przxqgl]

You have VLC installed. Let's 'simulate' what would be removed if it's uninstalled/purged. Open a console and type:

sudo apt-get purge --simulate vlc

Copy the output (unless it just reports that vlc* will be removed) and paste it in your reply.

The following packages will be REMOVED:
vlc*
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 1 to remove and 0 not upgraded.

Added:
Most excellent avatar! Haven't seen Joe Btfsplk in for ever!

joe btfsplk has been a hero of mine for many, many years... not enough people remember the world's worst jinx. 8)

[Snowhog]

In a console type:

dpkg --get-selections | grep vlc

Copy/paste the output.

[przxqgl]

dpkg --get-selections | grep vlc
libvlc5 install
libvlccore5 install
phonon-backend-vlc install
vlc install
vlc-data install
vlc-nox install
vlc-plugin-notify install
vlc-plugin-pulse install

[Snowhog]

I'm going to suggest that you uninstall/purge vlc (it can always be reinstalled). Let's see what will actually be removed/purged with a simulation:

sudo apt-get purge --simulate libvlc5 libvlccore5 phonon-backend-vlc vlc vlc-data vlc-nox vlc-plugin-notify vlc-plugin-pulse

Copy/paste the output.

[przxqgl]

The following packages will be REMOVED:
libvlc5* libvlccore5* phonon-backend-vlc* vlc* vlc-data* vlc-nox* vlc-plugin-notify* vlc-plugin-pulse*
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 8 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
Purg vlc-plugin-pulse [2.0.3-0ubuntu0.12.04.1]
Purg vlc-plugin-notify [2.0.3-0ubuntu0.12.04.1]
Purg vlc [2.0.3-0ubuntu0.12.04.1]
Purg phonon-backend-vlc [0.5.0-0ubuntu1]
Purg vlc-nox [2.0.3-0ubuntu0.12.04.1]
Purg libvlc5 [2.0.3-0ubuntu0.12.04.1]
Purg libvlccore5 [2.0.3-0ubuntu0.12.04.1]
Purg vlc-data [2.0.3-0ubuntu0.12.04.1]

[Snowhog]

Okay, so nothing other than the specified packages. Go ahead and actually purge them. Just repeat the command but omit the --simulate option. Then log out and reboot and go back into System Settings > Multimedia and check the settings.

[przxqgl]

ooh, that's weird...

now i have three devices listed in System Settings > Multimedia > Phonon > Audio Playback Default Audio Playback Device Preference:

RS780 HDMI Audio [Radeon HD 3000-3300 Series] Digital Stereo (HDMI)
Built-in Audio Analog Stereo
Built-in Audio Digital Stereo (IEC958)

of those, the first two look like they might actually do something. the last option (Built-in Audio Digital Stereo (IEC958)) is "greyed out"...