GStreamer will not detect sound device (or possible permissions problem) in OpenBSD

[BenHur]

I'm a new member and new to OpenBSD on the desktop, so I apologize if I'm overlooking a prior thread after searching or just doing something incredibly stupid. Anyway, I posted this issue on a couple of other boards before finding this one (I've mostly been a FreeBSD desktop user, and just always went to their forums, I just want to be careful about not starting a BSD flame war here by getting into that or why I'm trying OpenBSD out for my desktop after using it on servers). So I'll copy and paste my issue here, and hopefully someone can help, thanks in advance.

Let me say before I post this that I have read the OpenBSD handbook end to end, and just about every thread I could find about this issue (which others have had, but just gave up on) in relationship to XFCE4 and OpenBSD 5.3 I realize how much work the developers put into that handbook, so I wanted to exhaust every option first.

Anyway, I've used OpenBSD on servers for years but another BSD for my desktop, by and large. I recently decided to jump ship, and was really impressed by XFCE4 on OpenBSD, and have everything set up with all off the applications that I need to make this my permanent desktop OS, except I cannot get any sound in XFCE. I have all of the gstreamer plugins (and gstreamer of course) installed, added myself to the wheel group, created an audio group and added myself to it. I followed the trouble shooting steps in the handbook, here are my outputs:

cat > /dev/audio < /dev/zero &
 [1] 12387
 
audioctl play.{seek,samples,errors}
 play.seek=48000
 play.samples=10339200
 play.errors=0

 audioctl play.{seek,samples,errors}
 play.seek=48000
 play.samples=18172800
 play.errors=0

So the sound data itself is flowing, and it's an Intel HD Audio integrated card which others have reported working with OpenBSD (and works out of the box on FreeBSD).

When I try to run the XFCE4-mixer, I get: GStreamer was unable to detect any sound devices. Some sound system specific GStreamer packages may be missing. It may also be a permissions problem.

Running dmesg returns:

dmesg | grep audio
 audio0 at azalia0
 audio0 at azalia0
 audio0 at azalia0
 audio0 at azalia0
 audio0 at azalia0
 audio0 at azalia0
 audio0 at azalia0
 audio0 at azalia0
 audio0 at azalia0

So the card is recognized (using azalia), data is flowing, I'm sure it should be able work if I can figure out whether this is a gstreamer or permissions issue. I apologize if it's something really simple. I'm really liking it too much to give up on it just because of a sound issue probably caused by stupidity on my part.

Also, I went ahead and installed the KDE 3.5 desktop just to see if this was an XFCE specific problem. When I manually start the KDE Soundserver, I get The application Soundserver (artsd) crashed and caused the signal 11 (SIGSEV). I double checked, libsndfile is installed and the libsndio module is loaded, the libsndio module appears to be causing the KDE Soundserver to crash.

Thanks for any help, of course.

[jggimi]

Hello, and welcome!

I don't know anything about gstreamer, but I do see in your error message the sentence, "Some sound system specific GStreamer packages may be missing."

Assuming you are running 5.3-release, the version of xfce4-mixer for that -release has gstreamer-0.10 as a dependency. Specifically, just these two dependent packages: gstreamer-0.10.36p5 and gstreamer-plugins-base-0.10.36p5. There are a number of other gstreamer plugin packages, you may require one or more of these:

gstreamer-plugins-bad-0.10.23p11
gstreamer-plugins-gl-0.10.2p5
gstreamer-plugins-good-0.10.31p6v0
gstreamer-plugins-ugly-0.10.19p2

If you're running something other than 5.3-release, package versions may differ.

Some things for you to consider, as well, because you don't mention them. The sound tests are described in the OpenBSD FAQ 13. (The OpenBSD Project doesn't have a Handbook.)

1. Are you getting any sound output when you test cat(1) with /dev/audio?
2. Are you getting any sound output when you test aucat(1) with /dev/sound?
3. Which soundcard is reported in your dmesg for azalia0? The azalia driver is a generic HD audio driver.

Hint: if you post a complete dmesg here, it will be easier for us to see exactly what version/flavor of the OS is being used, what your architecture is, and what hardware is involved. Your grep showed nine dmesgs in memory, we only need one.

[BenHur]

Sorry about that, here is the filtered audio dmesg output, just so you know what I'm working with (also, sorry about calling the FAQ a Handbook, I think it's a FreeBSD user's habit coming back on me):

dmesg | grep -i audio
"Intel 82801H HD Audio" rev 0x02 at pci0 dev 27 function 0 not configured
azalia0 at pci0 dev 27 function 0 "Intel 82801H HD Audio" rev 0x02: msi
audio0 at azalia0
azalia0 at pci0 dev 27 function 0 "Intel 82801H HD Audio" rev 0x02: msi
audio0 at azalia0

Also, I am running 64 bit 5.3, and I went ahead and installed all of the gstreamer plugins listed at the Planet Unix mirror for 5.3/packages/amd64 (I'd list the url but I don't have 5 posts yet) so I should have the correct versions that you listed.

Trying cat(1) with /dev/audio and aucat(1) with /dev/sound did not produce output.

Okay, and here is my full dmesg:

OpenBSD 5.3 (RAMDISK_CD) #51: Tue Mar 12 18:27:15 MDT 2013
    deraadt@amd64.openbsd.org:/usr/src/sys/arch/amd64/compile/RAMDISK_CD
real mem = 7439187968 (7094MB)
avail mem = 7221092352 (6886MB)
mainbus0 at root
bios0 at mainbus0: SMBIOS rev. 2.4 @ 0xf06c0 (75 entries)
bios0: vendor American Megatrends Inc. version "1002" date 11/12/2007
bios0: ASUSTeK Computer INC. P5B-VM DO
acpi0 at bios0: rev 0
acpi0: sleep states S0 S1 S3 S4 S5
acpi0: tables DSDT FACP APIC MCFG OEMB HPET GSCI SSDT SSDT SSDT SSDT
acpimadt0 at acpi0 addr 0xfee00000: PC-AT compat
cpu0 at mainbus0: apid 0 (boot processor)
cpu0: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU @ 2.40GHz, 2394.33 MHz
cpu0: FPU,VME,DE,PSE,TSC,MSR,PAE,MCE,CX8,APIC,SEP,MTRR,PGE,MCA,CMOV,PAT,PSE36,CFLUSH,DS,ACPI,MMX,FXSR,SSE,SSE2,SS,HTT,TM,PBE,SSE3,DTES64,MWAIT,DS-CPL,VMX,EST,TM2,SSSE3,CX16,xTPR,PDCM,NXE,LONG,LAHF,PERF
cpu0: 4MB 64b/line 16-way L2 cache
cpu0: apic clock running at 266MHz
cpu at mainbus0: not configured
cpu at mainbus0: not configured
cpu at mainbus0: not configured
ioapic0 at mainbus0: apid 4 pa 0xfec00000, version 20, 24 pins
acpiprt0 at acpi0: bus 0 (PCI0)
acpiprt1 at acpi0: bus 1 (P0P2)
acpiprt2 at acpi0: bus 4 (P0P1)
acpiprt3 at acpi0: bus -1 (P0P5)
acpiprt4 at acpi0: bus -1 (P0P6)
acpiprt5 at acpi0: bus -1 (P0P7)
acpiprt6 at acpi0: bus 2 (P0P8)
acpiprt7 at acpi0: bus -1 (P0P9)
acpiprt8 at acpi0: bus 3 (P0P4)
pci0 at mainbus0 bus 0
pchb0 at pci0 dev 0 function 0 "Intel 82Q965 Host" rev 0x02
ppb0 at pci0 dev 1 function 0 "Intel 82Q965 PCIE" rev 0x02: msi
pci1 at ppb0 bus 1
vga1 at pci0 dev 2 function 0 "Intel 82Q965 Video" rev 0x02
wsdisplay0 at vga1 mux 1: console (80x25, vt100 emulation)
em0 at pci0 dev 25 function 0 "Intel ICH8 IGP AMT" rev 0x02: msi, address 00:1b:fc:62:7a:fa
uhci0 at pci0 dev 26 function 0 "Intel 82801H USB" rev 0x02: apic 4 int 16
uhci1 at pci0 dev 26 function 1 "Intel 82801H USB" rev 0x02: apic 4 int 17
ehci0 at pci0 dev 26 function 7 "Intel 82801H USB" rev 0x02: apic 4 int 18
usb0 at ehci0: USB revision 2.0
uhub0 at usb0 "Intel EHCI root hub" rev 2.00/1.00 addr 1
"Intel 82801H HD Audio" rev 0x02 at pci0 dev 27 function 0 not configured
ppb1 at pci0 dev 28 function 0 "Intel 82801H PCIE" rev 0x02: msi
pci2 at ppb1 bus 3
ppb2 at pci0 dev 28 function 4 "Intel 82801H PCIE" rev 0x02: msi
pci3 at ppb2 bus 2
jmb0 at pci3 dev 0 function 0 "JMicron JMB363 IDE/SATA" rev 0x03
ahci0 at jmb0: apic 4 int 16, AHCI 1.0
scsibus0 at ahci0: 32 targets
sd0 at scsibus0 targ 1 lun 0: <ATA, WDC WD30EFRX-68A, 80.0> SCSI3 0/direct fixed naa.50014ee2b2b8a797
sd0: 2861588MB, 512 bytes/sector, 5860533168 sectors
pciide0 at jmb0: DMA, channel 0 wired to native-PCI, channel 1 wired to native-PCI
pciide0: using apic 4 int 16 for native-PCI interrupt
pciide0: channel 0 disabled (no drives)
pciide0: channel 1 disabled (no drives)
uhci2 at pci0 dev 29 function 0 "Intel 82801H USB" rev 0x02: apic 4 int 23
uhci3 at pci0 dev 29 function 1 "Intel 82801H USB" rev 0x02: apic 4 int 19
uhci4 at pci0 dev 29 function 2 "Intel 82801H USB" rev 0x02: apic 4 int 18
ehci1 at pci0 dev 29 function 7 "Intel 82801H USB" rev 0x02: apic 4 int 23
usb1 at ehci1: USB revision 2.0
uhub1 at usb1 "Intel EHCI root hub" rev 2.00/1.00 addr 1
ppb3 at pci0 dev 30 function 0 "Intel 82801BA Hub-to-PCI" rev 0xf2
pci4 at ppb3 bus 4
"TI TSB43AB22 FireWire" rev 0x00 at pci4 dev 1 function 0 not configured
"Intel 82801HO LPC" rev 0x02 at pci0 dev 31 function 0 not configured
pciide1 at pci0 dev 31 function 2 "Intel 82801H SATA" rev 0x02: DMA, channel 0 configured to native-PCI, channel 1 configured to native-PCI
pciide1: using apic 4 int 19 for native-PCI interrupt
wd0 at pciide1 channel 0 drive 0: <ST31000520AS>
wd0: 16-sector PIO, LBA48, 953869MB, 1953525168 sectors
wd0(pciide1:0:0): using PIO mode 4, Ultra-DMA mode 6
atapiscsi0 at pciide1 channel 1 drive 0
scsibus1 at atapiscsi0: 2 targets
cd0 at scsibus1 targ 0 lun 0: <Memorex, MRX-550L v5, RM62> ATAPI 5/cdrom removable
cd0(pciide1:1:0): using PIO mode 4, Ultra-DMA mode 5
"Intel 82801H SMBus" rev 0x02 at pci0 dev 31 function 3 not configured
pciide2 at pci0 dev 31 function 5 "Intel 82801H SATA" rev 0x02: DMA, channel 0 wired to native-PCI, channel 1 wired to native-PCI
pciide2: using apic 4 int 19 for native-PCI interrupt
usb2 at uhci0: USB revision 1.0
uhub2 at usb2 "Intel UHCI root hub" rev 1.00/1.00 addr 1
usb3 at uhci1: USB revision 1.0
uhub3 at usb3 "Intel UHCI root hub" rev 1.00/1.00 addr 1
usb4 at uhci2: USB revision 1.0
uhub4 at usb4 "Intel UHCI root hub" rev 1.00/1.00 addr 1
usb5 at uhci3: USB revision 1.0
uhub5 at usb5 "Intel UHCI root hub" rev 1.00/1.00 addr 1
usb6 at uhci4: USB revision 1.0
uhub6 at usb6 "Intel UHCI root hub" rev 1.00/1.00 addr 1
isa0 at mainbus0
com0 at isa0 port 0x3f8/8 irq 4: ns16550a, 16 byte fifo
pckbc0 at isa0 port 0x60/5
pckbd0 at pckbc0 (kbd slot)
pckbc0: using irq 1 for kbd slot
wskbd0 at pckbd0: console keyboard, using wsdisplay0
softraid0 at root
scsibus2 at softraid0: 256 targets
root on rd0a swap on rd0b dump on rd0b
syncing disks...

[jggimi]

The dmesg you selected to post was from the minimal RAMDISK kernel used during install. That kernel is used for install, upgrade, root partition maintenance, and disaster recovery. It does not include drivers for hardware not required during install, which is why so many devices listed are shown as not configured, kernel-speak for "I don't have a driver for this device." Along with missing a device driver for your 82801H audio, notice that the kernel kernel only uses one of your cores, cpu0.

Please look for a dmesg from a GENERIC or GENERIC.MP kernel.

Trying cat(1) with /dev/audio and aucat(1) with /dev/sound did not produce output.

Lets solve that problem first. Solving it may eliminate your xfce4-mixer/gstreamer problem. Please post the entire output of $ audioctl -f /dev/audio so that we can see the default parameters. Also, because this is azalia(4), which has special mixer controls that do driver management, please post the same for mixerctl.

---

Edited to add: please wrap your pasted console output in [code] and [/code] tags, it will make it easier for us to read them.

Thanks!

[BenHur]

Okay, first off here is my GENERIC.MP output (this just isn't my day, I actually pasted all 9 dmesg outputs in my last post by accident as I generated one master .txt for all of them, and when I edited my post I erased all but the first which came from the install CD for some reason):

(GENERIC.MP) #62: Tue Mar 12 18:21:20 MDT 2013
    deraadt@amd64.openbsd.org:/usr/src/sys/arch/amd64/compile/GENERIC.MP
real mem = 7439187968 (7094MB)
avail mem = 7218663424 (6884MB)
mainbus0 at root
bios0 at mainbus0: SMBIOS rev. 2.4 @ 0xf06c0 (75 entries)
bios0: vendor American Megatrends Inc. version "1002" date 11/12/2007
bios0: ASUSTeK Computer INC. P5B-VM DO
acpi0 at bios0: rev 0
acpi0: sleep states S0 S1 S3 S4 S5
acpi0: tables DSDT FACP APIC MCFG OEMB HPET GSCI SSDT SSDT SSDT SSDT
acpi0: wakeup devices P0P2(S4) P0P1(S4) PS2K(S4) PS2M(S4) UAR1(S4) EUSB(S4) USBE(S4) P0P5(S4) P0P6(S4) P0P7(S4) P0P8(S4) P0P9(S4) GBEC(S4) USB0(S4) USB1(S4) USB2(S4) USB3(S4) USB4(S4) USB5(S4) P0P4(S4)
acpitimer0 at acpi0: 3579545 Hz, 24 bits
acpimadt0 at acpi0 addr 0xfee00000: PC-AT compat
cpu0 at mainbus0: apid 0 (boot processor)
cpu0: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU @ 2.40GHz, 2394.33 MHz
cpu0: FPU,VME,DE,PSE,TSC,MSR,PAE,MCE,CX8,APIC,SEP,MTRR,PGE,MCA,CMOV,PAT,PSE36,CFLUSH,DS,ACPI,MMX,FXSR,SSE,SSE2,SS,HTT,TM,PBE,SSE3,DTES64,MWAIT,DS-CPL,VMX,EST,TM2,SSSE3,CX16,xTPR,PDCM,NXE,LONG,LAHF,PERF
cpu0: 4MB 64b/line 16-way L2 cache
cpu0: apic clock running at 266MHz
cpu1 at mainbus0: apid 1 (application processor)
cpu1: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU @ 2.40GHz, 2394.00 MHz
cpu1: FPU,VME,DE,PSE,TSC,MSR,PAE,MCE,CX8,APIC,SEP,MTRR,PGE,MCA,CMOV,PAT,PSE36,CFLUSH,DS,ACPI,MMX,FXSR,SSE,SSE2,SS,HTT,TM,PBE,SSE3,DTES64,MWAIT,DS-CPL,VMX,EST,TM2,SSSE3,CX16,xTPR,PDCM,NXE,LONG,LAHF,PERF
cpu1: 4MB 64b/line 16-way L2 cache
cpu2 at mainbus0: apid 2 (application processor)
cpu2: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU @ 2.40GHz, 2394.00 MHz
cpu2: FPU,VME,DE,PSE,TSC,MSR,PAE,MCE,CX8,APIC,SEP,MTRR,PGE,MCA,CMOV,PAT,PSE36,CFLUSH,DS,ACPI,MMX,FXSR,SSE,SSE2,SS,HTT,TM,PBE,SSE3,DTES64,MWAIT,DS-CPL,VMX,EST,TM2,SSSE3,CX16,xTPR,PDCM,NXE,LONG,LAHF,PERF
cpu2: 4MB 64b/line 16-way L2 cache
cpu3 at mainbus0: apid 3 (application processor)
cpu3: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU @ 2.40GHz, 2394.00 MHz
cpu3: FPU,VME,DE,PSE,TSC,MSR,PAE,MCE,CX8,APIC,SEP,MTRR,PGE,MCA,CMOV,PAT,PSE36,CFLUSH,DS,ACPI,MMX,FXSR,SSE,SSE2,SS,HTT,TM,PBE,SSE3,DTES64,MWAIT,DS-CPL,VMX,EST,TM2,SSSE3,CX16,xTPR,PDCM,NXE,LONG,LAHF,PERF
cpu3: 4MB 64b/line 16-way L2 cache
ioapic0 at mainbus0: apid 4 pa 0xfec00000, version 20, 24 pins
acpimcfg0 at acpi0 addr 0xf0000000, bus 0-63
acpihpet0 at acpi0: 14318179 Hz
acpiprt0 at acpi0: bus 0 (PCI0)
acpiprt1 at acpi0: bus 1 (P0P2)
acpiprt2 at acpi0: bus 4 (P0P1)
acpiprt3 at acpi0: bus -1 (P0P5)
acpiprt4 at acpi0: bus -1 (P0P6)
acpiprt5 at acpi0: bus -1 (P0P7)
acpiprt6 at acpi0: bus 2 (P0P8)
acpiprt7 at acpi0: bus -1 (P0P9)
acpiprt8 at acpi0: bus 3 (P0P4)
acpicpu0 at acpi0: PSS
acpicpu1 at acpi0: PSS
acpicpu2 at acpi0: PSS
acpicpu3 at acpi0: PSS
aibs0 at acpi0: RTMP RVLT RFAN GGRP GITM SITM
acpibtn0 at acpi0: PWRB
cpu0: Enhanced SpeedStep 2394 MHz: speeds: 2394, 1596 MHz
pci0 at mainbus0 bus 0
pchb0 at pci0 dev 0 function 0 "Intel 82Q965 Host" rev 0x02
ppb0 at pci0 dev 1 function 0 "Intel 82Q965 PCIE" rev 0x02: msi
pci1 at ppb0 bus 1
vga1 at pci0 dev 2 function 0 "Intel 82Q965 Video" rev 0x02
wsdisplay0 at vga1 mux 1: console (80x25, vt100 emulation)
wsdisplay0: screen 1-5 added (80x25, vt100 emulation)
intagp0 at vga1
agp0 at intagp0: aperture at 0xe0000000, size 0x10000000
inteldrm0 at vga1: apic 4 int 16
drm0 at inteldrm0
em0 at pci0 dev 25 function 0 "Intel ICH8 IGP AMT" rev 0x02: msi, address 00:1b:fc:62:7a:fa
uhci0 at pci0 dev 26 function 0 "Intel 82801H USB" rev 0x02: apic 4 int 16
uhci1 at pci0 dev 26 function 1 "Intel 82801H USB" rev 0x02: apic 4 int 17
ehci0 at pci0 dev 26 function 7 "Intel 82801H USB" rev 0x02: apic 4 int 18
usb0 at ehci0: USB revision 2.0
uhub0 at usb0 "Intel EHCI root hub" rev 2.00/1.00 addr 1
azalia0 at pci0 dev 27 function 0 "Intel 82801H HD Audio" rev 0x02: msi
azalia0: codecs: Analog Devices AD1988A
audio0 at azalia0
ppb1 at pci0 dev 28 function 0 "Intel 82801H PCIE" rev 0x02: msi
pci2 at ppb1 bus 3
ppb2 at pci0 dev 28 function 4 "Intel 82801H PCIE" rev 0x02: msi
pci3 at ppb2 bus 2
jmb0 at pci3 dev 0 function 0 "JMicron JMB363 IDE/SATA" rev 0x03
ahci0 at jmb0: apic 4 int 16, AHCI 1.0
scsibus0 at ahci0: 32 targets
sd0 at scsibus0 targ 1 lun 0: <ATA, WDC WD30EFRX-68A, 80.0> SCSI3 0/direct fixed naa.50014ee2b2b8a797
sd0: 2861588MB, 512 bytes/sector, 5860533168 sectors
pciide0 at jmb0: DMA, channel 0 wired to native-PCI, channel 1 wired to native-PCI
pciide0: using apic 4 int 16 for native-PCI interrupt
pciide0: channel 0 disabled (no drives)
pciide0: channel 1 disabled (no drives)
uhci2 at pci0 dev 29 function 0 "Intel 82801H USB" rev 0x02: apic 4 int 23
uhci3 at pci0 dev 29 function 1 "Intel 82801H USB" rev 0x02: apic 4 int 19
uhci4 at pci0 dev 29 function 2 "Intel 82801H USB" rev 0x02: apic 4 int 18
ehci1 at pci0 dev 29 function 7 "Intel 82801H USB" rev 0x02: apic 4 int 23
usb1 at ehci1: USB revision 2.0
uhub1 at usb1 "Intel EHCI root hub" rev 2.00/1.00 addr 1
ppb3 at pci0 dev 30 function 0 "Intel 82801BA Hub-to-PCI" rev 0xf2
pci4 at ppb3 bus 4
"TI TSB43AB22 FireWire" rev 0x00 at pci4 dev 1 function 0 not configured
pcib0 at pci0 dev 31 function 0 "Intel 82801HO LPC" rev 0x02
pciide1 at pci0 dev 31 function 2 "Intel 82801H SATA" rev 0x02: DMA, channel 0 configured to native-PCI, channel 1 configured to native-PCI
pciide1: using apic 4 int 19 for native-PCI interrupt
wd0 at pciide1 channel 0 drive 0: <ST31000520AS>
wd0: 16-sector PIO, LBA48, 953869MB, 1953525168 sectors
wd0(pciide1:0:0): using PIO mode 4, Ultra-DMA mode 6
atapiscsi0 at pciide1 channel 1 drive 0
scsibus1 at atapiscsi0: 2 targets
cd0 at scsibus1 targ 0 lun 0: <Memorex, MRX-550L v5, RM62> ATAPI 5/cdrom removable
cd0(pciide1:1:0): using PIO mode 4, Ultra-DMA mode 5
ichiic0 at pci0 dev 31 function 3 "Intel 82801H SMBus" rev 0x02: apic 4 int 18
iic0 at ichiic0
spdmem0 at iic0 addr 0x50: 2GB DDR2 SDRAM non-parity PC2-6400CL5
spdmem1 at iic0 addr 0x51: 1GB DDR2 SDRAM non-parity PC2-5300CL5
spdmem2 at iic0 addr 0x52: 2GB DDR2 SDRAM non-parity PC2-6400CL5
spdmem3 at iic0 addr 0x53: 2GB DDR2 SDRAM non-parity PC2-6400CL5
pciide2 at pci0 dev 31 function 5 "Intel 82801H SATA" rev 0x02: DMA, channel 0 wired to native-PCI, channel 1 wired to native-PCI
pciide2: using apic 4 int 19 for native-PCI interrupt
usb2 at uhci0: USB revision 1.0
uhub2 at usb2 "Intel UHCI root hub" rev 1.00/1.00 addr 1
usb3 at uhci1: USB revision 1.0
uhub3 at usb3 "Intel UHCI root hub" rev 1.00/1.00 addr 1
usb4 at uhci2: USB revision 1.0
uhub4 at usb4 "Intel UHCI root hub" rev 1.00/1.00 addr 1
usb5 at uhci3: USB revision 1.0
uhub5 at usb5 "Intel UHCI root hub" rev 1.00/1.00 addr 1
usb6 at uhci4: USB revision 1.0
uhub6 at usb6 "Intel UHCI root hub" rev 1.00/1.00 addr 1
isa0 at pcib0
isadma0 at isa0
com0 at isa0 port 0x3f8/8 irq 4: ns16550a, 16 byte fifo
pckbc0 at isa0 port 0x60/5
pckbd0 at pckbc0 (kbd slot)
pckbc0: using irq 1 for kbd slot
wskbd0 at pckbd0: console keyboard, using wsdisplay0
pms0 at pckbc0 (aux slot)
pckbc0: using irq 12 for aux slot
wsmouse0 at pms0 mux 0
pcppi0 at isa0 port 0x61
spkr0 at pcppi0
lpt0 at isa0 port 0x378/4 irq 7
wbsio0 at isa0 port 0x2e/2: W83627DHG rev 0x23
lm1 at wbsio0 port 0x290/8: W83627DHG
mtrr: Pentium Pro MTRR support
vscsi0 at root
scsibus2 at vscsi0: 256 targets
softraid0 at root
scsibus3 at softraid0: 256 targets
root on sd0a (92ea1709a457d197.a) swap on sd0b dump on sd0b

auioctl -f /dev/ returns:

 audioctl: AUDIO_GETDEV: Inappropriate ioctl for device

mixerctl -f /dev/ returns:

 mixerctl: no mixer devices configured

I apologize if I'm overlooking something really simple here, I've had to troubleshoot OSS with FreeBSD before, but a lot of this is new to me.

EDIT: Also, all of my hardware is recognized and working properly except for my sound device. I wasn't sure if it would be appropriate to send in my generic dmesg output now (as the FAQ asks for it to be sent to dmesg@openbsd.org) for hardware compatibility until after I get this resolved.

Also, if worse comes to worse here, is there an HD audio PCI-e card that you would recommend for OpenBSD? I'm not opposed to just buying one and resolving the problem that way if need be.

[jggimi]

/dev is a directory. /dev/audio is a device. Please try those commands again, with /dev/audio.

[BenHur]

Sorry about that, I'm really trying not to waste your time more than need be. Anyway, here is that output:
audioctl -f /dev/audio returns

audioctl: /dev/audio: Device busy

mixerctl -f /dev/audio returns

mixerctl: /dev/audio: Device busy

Also, I don't know if this helps, but I installed Dragonfly BSD on another hard drive just to see if it was common to non-FreeBSD BSD's (given that they make use of linux drivers), and Dragonfly BSD has the same problem with my hardware. I can get a complete XFCE4 desktop, but I get the exact same gstreamer error message.

[jggimi]

No worries, Ben, there's a learning curve to Unix-like systems, and on top of that each has its own unique attributes.

"Device Busy" tells me that /dev/audio is currently "in-use" by an application: gstreamer, or xfce4-mixer, or another link in the chain of sound tools.

You can find out what is using it with fstat(1) and stop that application, but I think it may be easier to just get your audio problems resolved from a console, when XFCE is not running.

You can "log" console activity in a file using script(1), just make sure to use col(1) to strip control characters (like backspace) from the resulting typescript output file before later edit/copy/paste. For example:

$ script
Script started, output file is typescript
$ audioctl -f /dev/audio
.
. (output)
.
$ exit
Script done, output file is typescript
$ col -b < typescript > my.clean.file

[jggimi]

One correction to my prior recommendations. I noticed I gave you one incorrect command. The mixerctl(1) is used with /dev/mixer, not /dev/audio. The correct syntax should be $ mixerctl ... connecting it to /dev/audio won't work.

[BenHur]

Okay, here is the file that was generated (and thanks for bearing with me here):

 Script started on Thu Aug 15 03:42:36 2013
# audioctl -f /dev/audio
name=HD-Audio
version=1.0
config=azalia0
encodings=slinear_le:16:2:1,slinear_le:20:4:1,slinear_le:24:4:1
properties=full_duplex,independent
full_duplex=0
fullduplex=0
blocksize=9600
hiwat=6
lowat=4
output_muted=0
monitor_gain=0
mode=play
play.rate=48000
play.channels=2
play.precision=16
play.bps=2
play.msb=1
play.encoding=slinear_le
play.gain=126
play.balance=32
play.port=0x0
play.avail_ports=0x0
play.seek=0
play.samples=0
play.eof=0
play.pause=0
play.error=0
play.waiting=0
play.open=1
play.active=0
play.buffer_size=65536
play.block_size=9600
play.errors=0
record.rate=48000
record.channels=2
record.precision=16
record.bps=2
record.msb=1
record.encoding=slinear_le
record.gain=124
record.balance=32
record.port=0x0
record.avail_ports=0x0
record.seek=0
record.samples=0
record.eof=0
record.pause=0
record.error=0
record.waiting=0
record.open=1
record.active=0
record.buffer_size=65536
record.block_size=9600
record.errors=0
# exit

Script done on Thu Aug 15 03:42:51 2013

[jggimi]

I have compared your audioctl output with a working Intel 82801GB of mine that uses the azalia(4) driver also. There was only one field with a difference: my 82801GB has a record.gain of 125, your 82801H has a record.gain of 124. All other defaults are identical.

This means that your audioctl default settings are normal. I'd still like to see the output from mixerctl.

Tests to perform:

While XFCE is not running, are you able to hear anything when using cat(1)? And aucat(1)? You told us "no", earlier, but if you were testing while using XFCE, /dev/audio and /dev/sound were in use and these commands would have failed and along with no sound output should have produced "device busy" error messages. Testing again without using XFCE should help us isolate the problem.

Thanks for continuing to try to resolve.

[BenHur]

Hopefully now I've got everything that you need in order, anyway here is the mixerctl output:

Script started on Thu Aug 15 06:27:40 2013
# mixerctl -f /dev/mixer
inputs.dac-8:9=126,126
inputs.dac-0:1=126,126
inputs.dac-2:3=126,126
inputs.dac-4:5=126,126
inputs.dac-6:7=126,126
inputs.sel_source=adc-0:1
record.adc-0:1_source=hp
record.adc-0:1_mute=off
record.adc-0:1=124,124
record.adc-2:3_source=hp
record.adc-2:3_mute=off
record.adc-2:3=124,124
record.adc-4:5_source=hp
record.adc-4:5_mute=off
record.adc-4:5=124,124
inputs.beep_mute=off
inputs.beep=119
outputs.hp_mute=off
outputs.hp_dir=output
outputs.hp_boost=off
outputs.line-grn_mute=off
outputs.line-grn_dir=output
outputs.line-grn_boost=off
outputs.mic_mute=off
outputs.mic_dir=input-vr80
outputs.mic_boost=off
outputs.line-in_mute=off
outputs.line-in_dir=input
outputs.line-blk_mute=off
outputs.line-blk_dir=output
outputs.mic2_mute=off
outputs.mic2_dir=input-vr80
outputs.SPDIF_source=dig-dac-0:1
outputs.SPDIF_mute=off
outputs.SPDIF=126,126
inputs.dig-dac-0:1_sou=hdaudio,sel
inputs.mix2_source=sel11,mix3
inputs.mix3_source=mic,sel9,hp,line-grn,sel10,line-blk,cd,line-in2
inputs.mix3_mic=120,120
inputs.mix3_sel9=120,120
inputs.mix3_hp=120,120
inputs.mix3_line-grn=120,120
inputs.mix3_sel10=120,120
inputs.mix3_line-blk=120,120
inputs.mix3_cd=120,120
inputs.mix3_line-in2=120
outputs.mix3_mute=off
outputs.mix3=120,120
inputs.hp_source=sel12,mix3
outputs.line-org_mute=off
outputs.line-org_dir=output
outputs.line-gry_mute=off
outputs.line-gry_dir=output
inputs.mic2_source=sel8,mix3
inputs.line-org_source=dac-2:3,mix3
inputs.line-gry_source=dac-6:7,mix3
inputs.line-grn_source=dac-0:1,mix3
inputs.line-blk_source=dac-4:5,mix3
inputs.mic_source=sel6,mix3
inputs.line-in_source=sel7,mix3
inputs.sel6_source=dac-8:9
inputs.sel7_source=dac-0:1
inputs.sel8_source=dac-2:3
inputs.sel9_source=line-in
inputs.sel10_source=mic2
inputs.sel11_source=dac-8:9
inputs.sel12_source=dac-8:9
inputs.hp=85,85
inputs.mic=85,85
inputs.line-in=85,85
inputs.line-blk=85,85
inputs.mic2=85,85
inputs.line-grn=85,85
outputs.hp_sense=unplugged
outputs.line-grn_sense=unplugged
outputs.mic_sense=unplugged
outputs.line-in_sense=unplugged
outputs.line-blk_sense=unplugged
outputs.mic2_sense=unplugged
outputs.line-org_sense=unplugged
outputs.line-gry_sense=plugged
outputs.master=126,126
outputs.master.mute=off
outputs.master.slaves=dac-8:9,dac-0:1,hp,line-grn
record.volume=124,124
record.volume.mute=off
record.volume.slaves=adc-0:1,adc-2:3,adc-4:5
outputs.mode=analog
# exit

Using cat(1) /dev/sound returns a y with an umlaut symbol, produces a system sound, and causes my console to hang (and you were correct, I was running these commands from a terminal emulator in XFCE, this time I rebooted and did so from the console).

Using aucat(1) /dev/audio returns

 snd0: /dev/audio failed to open audio device

Also, I can hear system sounds from the console before starting xorg.

[jggimi]

Using cat(1) /dev/sound y with an umlaut symbol...

The cat(1) utility sends its output to the file descriptor known as standard output. That's to the shell -- whether an xterm window, or a console. As shown in FAQ 13, you need to redirect the output to the sound device, using the greater than symbol >. If you forget to use it, your sound file will be sent to the console as if it were text, then after that file, cat will attempt to "read" the sound device and output anything from it to the console also.

I believe that is what happened during your test. Please retest. Be sure to use the greater than symbol on your keyboard to redirect output to the sound device. See the cat(1) man page. The command should be:

$ cat my.sound.file > /dev/audio

...produces a system sound...

You are hearing a standard device on i386/amd64 architecture motherboards called the PC speaker. These beeps are not produced by your Intel 82801H device.

The aucat(1) command does not redirect, you use either the -o (for "output") to record sound, or -i (for "input") to listen. See the aucat(1) man page. As per FAQ 13, the command would be:

$ aucat -i my.sound.file

--

Your mixerctl settings are very different from mine. It will take time to review line by line. This is not unexpected, we have similar soundcards but different hardware implementations.

[BenHur]

Originally Posted by jggimi

$ cat my.sound.file > /dev/audioYou are hearing a standard device on i386/amd64 architecture motherboards called the PC speaker. These beeps are not produced by your Intel 82801H device.

I will go ahead and try again, but just to clarify, I don't have a PC speaker hooked up to my motherboard, I'm using a generic compact case for the board and it was difficult to fit one in (so I didn't). I am hearing the system sounds through my headphones (hooked into the jack on the motherboard itself), which is why I thought that was relevant.

[IdOp]

You could have heard an emulated system beep from the sound hardware

inputs.beep_mute=off
inputs.beep=119

[jggimi]

It's difficult to confirm what happens with the beep under Intel HD Audio. Intel's reference documentation for HD Audio only mentions "beep" in reference to volume within the ICH7 (AC97) register. The ICH7 documentation only states that it supports passive speaker connections for ACZ_RST#. Based on that small amount of information, I assume its up to individual motherboard designers how or if they implement PC Speaker.

[IdOp]

BenHur could try echoing some beeps and vary those two parameters and see what happens to the sounds. On some sh-like shells

% echo -ne \\a

will issue a beep.

[jggimi]

I've compared mixerctl differences. Nothing jumps out as any sort of error. Most notably, for what it may be worth:

• Your chipset has input.beeps, as IdOp noted, mine does not.
• Our digital to analog converter (dac) and analog to digital convert (adc) channels are different.
• You have a digital output converter, I do not.
• You have inputs.line*, outputs.line* and outputs.SPDIF* controls. I do not.
• I have outputs.spkr* controls. You do not.

[shep]

Intel-hda sound drivers are a morass with manufacutures hard wiring the chip in different ways. Using alsa in linux one often has to modify the sound module. Examples are here. I found a linux user with same model of motherboard who had success by using the 6stack-dig option. OpenBSD tries to accomodate the variations automatically.

The necessary xfce gstreamer plugins are described here.


Do you get sound from the headphone jack?

Also, have you looked at the xfce-mixer. Does what shows up correlate with the mixerctl settings?