[Pkg-alsa-devel] Bug#460410: alsa-base: snd_hda_intel for SigmaTel STAC9205 kills beeper speaker on dell laptop

[Tim Connors]

Package: alsa-base
Version: 1.0.15-3
Severity: normal

Sure, everyone else tries to get rid of their beeper speaker, but I 
must be old school or something. 

My Dell Inspiron 1520 has: 
Audio devices: 
0: STAC92xx Analog (DUPLEX) 
Mixers: 
0: SigmaTel STAC9205 
and uses the snd_hda_intel driver, but as soon as it is 
inserted, I lose the beeper speaker. Yes, pcspkr is modprobed into 
the kernel.  I am currently using 
"options snd-hda-intel model=dell-m44 probe_mask=1" 
but I've tried this with various options (ref, etc).  I have tried 
various kernels between 2.6.18 (debian backported) and 2.6.23.  I've
tried the kernel native alsa drivers, and I've also tried the
alsa-source debian package (Version: 1.0.15-3), with relatively fresh
sources.  There is no mixer control that looks like a pc beeper
speaker control, like on my old Inspiron 4000, using the maestro3 alsa
driver.  Similarly, no switches bring the pc speaker back.

Before snd_hda_intel is inserted, the pc speaker is very loud and
obviously can't be turned down because there is no mixer at this
stage.  It obviously comes out of the same speakers as the sound
driver controls.  Similarly, when resuming from a suspend, _without
having rmmodded the sound drivers_, the pc beeper speaker exists in
its very loud state.  But as soon as I do something involving the
sound card or mixer -- play a sound, reduce the volume, etc, the pc
speaker immediately goes away.  Obviously snd_hda_intel is turning off
some mixer hardware somewhere once it receives a demand.

Does these lines from /proc/asound/card0/codec#0 tell me that the pc 
beeper speaker is not muted, or is this something entirely different? 

Node 0x23 [Beep Generator Widget] wcaps 0x70000c: Mono Amp-Out 
Amp-Out caps: ofs=0x03, nsteps=0x03, stepsize=0x17, mute=0 
Amp-Out vals: [0x00] 


amixer:

Simple mixer control 'Master',0
  Capabilities: pvolume pvolume-joined
  Playback channels: Mono
  Limits: Playback 0 - 127
  Mono: Playback 104 [82%]
Simple mixer control 'PCM',0
  Capabilities: pvolume
  Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
  Limits: Playback 0 - 255
  Mono:
  Front Left: Playback 255 [100%]
  Front Right: Playback 255 [100%]
Simple mixer control 'Front',0
  Capabilities: pvolume pswitch
  Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
  Limits: Playback 0 - 127
  Mono:
  Front Left: Playback 84 [66%] [-32.25dB] [on]
  Front Right: Playback 84 [66%] [-32.25dB] [on]
Simple mixer control 'IEC958',0
  Capabilities: pswitch pswitch-joined
  Playback channels: Mono
  Mono: Playback [off]
Simple mixer control 'Capture',0
  Capabilities: cvolume cswitch
  Capture channels: Front Left - Front Right
  Limits: Capture 0 - 15
  Front Left: Capture 0 [0%] [0.00dB] [off]
  Front Right: Capture 0 [0%] [0.00dB] [off]
Simple mixer control 'Capture',1
  Capabilities: cvolume cswitch
  Capture channels: Front Left - Front Right
  Limits: Capture 0 - 15
  Front Left: Capture 0 [0%] [0.00dB] [off]
  Front Right: Capture 0 [0%] [0.00dB] [off]
Simple mixer control 'Analog Loopback',0
  Capabilities: pswitch pswitch-joined
  Playback channels: Mono
  Mono: Playback [off]
Simple mixer control 'Digital Input Source',0
  Capabilities: enum
  Items: 'Analog Inputs' 'Digital Mic 1'
  Item0: 'Digital Mic 1'
Simple mixer control 'Input Source',0
  Capabilities: cenum
  Items: 'Mic'
  Item0: 'Mic'
Simple mixer control 'Input Source',1
  Capabilities: cenum
  Items: 'Mic'
  Item0: 'Mic'
Simple mixer control 'Mux',0
  Capabilities: cvolume
  Capture channels: Front Left - Front Right
  Limits: Capture 0 - 4
  Front Left: Capture 0 [0%] [0.00dB]
  Front Right: Capture 0 [0%] [0.00dB]
Simple mixer control 'Mux',1
  Capabilities: cvolume
  Capture channels: Front Left - Front Right
  Limits: Capture 0 - 4
  Front Left: Capture 0 [0%] [0.00dB]
  Front Right: Capture 0 [0%] [0.00dB]


-- Package-specific info:
--- Begin additional package status ---
Desired=Unknown/Install/Remove/Purge/Hold
| Status=Not/Installed/Config-files/Unpacked/Failed-config/Half-installed
|/ Err?=(none)/Hold/Reinst-required/X=both-problems (Status,Err: uppercase=bad)
||/ Name                Version             Description
+++-===================-===================-======================================================
ii  libasound2          1.0.15-3            ALSA library
--- End additional package status ---
--- Begin /proc/asound/version ---
Advanced Linux Sound Architecture Driver Version 1.0.15.
Compiled on Jan 12 2008 for kernel 2.6.23 (SMP).
--- End /proc/asound/version ---
--- Begin /proc/asound/cards ---
 0 [Intel          ]: HDA-Intel - HDA Intel
                      HDA Intel at 0xfebfc000 irq 21
--- End /proc/asound/cards ---
--- Begin /dev/snd/ listing ---
total 0
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 116,  0 Jan 13 00:46 controlC0
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 116,  4 Jan 13 00:46 hwC0D0
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 116, 24 Jan 13 00:46 pcmC0D0c
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 116, 16 Jan 13 00:46 pcmC0D0p
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 116, 17 Jan 13 00:46 pcmC0D1p
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 116, 33 Jan 12 21:35 timer
--- End /dev/snd/ listing ---

-- System Information:
Debian Release: lenny/sid
  APT prefers unstable
  APT policy: (500, 'unstable'), (500, 'testing'), (500, 'stable'), (1, 'experimental')
Architecture: amd64 (x86_64)

Kernel: Linux 2.6.23 (SMP w/2 CPU cores)
Locale: LANG=en_AU, LC_CTYPE=en_AU (charmap=ISO-8859-1)
Shell: /bin/sh linked to /bin/bash

Versions of packages alsa-base depends on:
ii  linux-sound-base           1.0.15-3      base package for ALSA and OSS soun
ii  lsof                       4.78.dfsg.1-3 List open files
ii  module-init-tools          3.3-pre11-4   tools for managing Linux kernel mo

Versions of packages alsa-base recommends:
ii  alsa-utils                    1.0.15-1   ALSA utilities

Versions of packages libasound2 depends on:
ii  libc6                         2.7-5      GNU C Library: Shared libraries

-- no debconf information