(solved)HOWTO: FIxing crackling/scratching/poping noise on HDA ausio cards 9.10

[hobo14]

For Realtek cards, that may not work.

If it doesn't, try this:

$ sudo apt-get install linux-backports-modules-alsa-karmic-generic

[smerral]

Yes, I also found this out - not from you but from somewhere else on this forum. Only difference is instead of deleting I commented the powersave line out by adding # at the beginning. Works just the same.

Brian

[linuxgeek77]

Where is the power save option?

Here is my alsa-base.conf content:

# autoloader aliases
install sound-slot-0 /sbin/modprobe snd-card-0
install sound-slot-1 /sbin/modprobe snd-card-1
install sound-slot-2 /sbin/modprobe snd-card-2
install sound-slot-3 /sbin/modprobe snd-card-3
install sound-slot-4 /sbin/modprobe snd-card-4
install sound-slot-5 /sbin/modprobe snd-card-5
install sound-slot-6 /sbin/modprobe snd-card-6
install sound-slot-7 /sbin/modprobe snd-card-7

# Cause optional modules to be loaded above generic modules
install snd /sbin/modprobe --ignore-install snd $CMDLINE_OPTS && { /sbin/modprobe --quiet --use-blacklist snd-ioctl32 ; /sbin/modprobe --quiet --use-blacklist snd-seq ; }
#
# Workaround at bug #499695 (reverted in Ubuntu see LP #319505)
install snd-pcm /sbin/modprobe --ignore-install snd-pcm $CMDLINE_OPTS && { /sbin/modprobe --quiet --use-blacklist snd-pcm-oss ; : ; }
install snd-mixer /sbin/modprobe --ignore-install snd-mixer $CMDLINE_OPTS && { /sbin/modprobe --quiet --use-blacklist snd-mixer-oss ; : ; }
install snd-seq /sbin/modprobe --ignore-install snd-seq $CMDLINE_OPTS && { /sbin/modprobe --quiet --use-blacklist snd-seq-midi ; /sbin/modprobe --quiet --use-blacklist snd-seq-oss ; : ; }
#
install snd-rawmidi /sbin/modprobe --ignore-install snd-rawmidi $CMDLINE_OPTS && { /sbin/modprobe --quiet --use-blacklist snd-seq-midi ; : ; }
# Cause optional modules to be loaded above sound card driver modules
install snd-emu10k1 /sbin/modprobe --ignore-install snd-emu10k1 $CMDLINE_OPTS && { /sbin/modprobe --quiet --use-blacklist snd-emu10k1-synth ; }
install snd-via82xx /sbin/modprobe --ignore-install snd-via82xx $CMDLINE_OPTS && { /sbin/modprobe --quiet --use-blacklist snd-seq ; }

# Load saa7134-alsa instead of saa7134 (which gets dragged in by it anyway)
install saa7134 /sbin/modprobe --ignore-install saa7134 $CMDLINE_OPTS && { /sbin/modprobe --quiet --use-blacklist saa7134-alsa ; : ; }
# Prevent abnormal drivers from grabbing index 0
options bt87x index=-2
options cx88_alsa index=-2
options saa7134-alsa index=-2
options snd-atiixp-modem index=-2
options snd-intel8x0m index=-2
options snd-via82xx-modem index=-2
options snd-usb-audio index=-2
options snd-usb-us122l index=-2
options snd-usb-usx2y index=-2
options snd-usb-caiaq index=-2
# Ubuntu #62691, enable MPU for snd-cmipci
options snd-cmipci mpu_port=0x330 fm_port=0x388
# Keep snd-pcsp from beeing loaded as first soundcard
options snd-pcsp index=-2

Are you using an HDA card? this is for HDA cards. it diesnt seem you have an HDA card. if that case. try updating your alsa drivers should work fine after that. here is a great link to update your drivers.
http://www.alsa-project.org/main/index.php/Main_Page < find out what are teh latest drivers. teh complete list of drivers on their right panel.
and follow these steps here. http://www.webupd8.org/2009/08/how-t...on-ubuntu.html and change the Wget links to teh latest drivers (numbers). and install them.

[linuxgeek77]

For Realtek cards, that may not work.

If it doesn't, try this:

$ sudo apt-get install linux-backports-modules-alsa-karmic-generic

or you can simply update your alsa drivers to their latest release. works like a charm on my notebook.

[saiganesh]

Awesome! The sound was really annoying..what was more annoying was I spent a day searching for ubuntu sound issues...good job! How do you become a linuxgeek?

[Michael_K_Vegfruit]

I went the commenting out route suggested above. Then it struck me you could also try setting the power save time out to a more sensible limit: 900s (15min) will, I reckon, turn the sound card off when I am truly idle, and leave it on in most other cases. Haven't rebooted yet, but will report back here in the next few minutes if it doesn't fix the problem as I expect it to.

Just saw this vaguely appropriate smiley and couldn't resist using it.



Sorry.

[LuisGMarine]

Thanks for this I'll have to give it a try when I get back home to my desktop PC. I can't tell you how annoying just listening to music really loud and forgetting to turn down the volume then in the middle of the night I think Jason is coming down the hallway.

[dimaspivak]

After applying the most recent recommended updates in Karmic, this problem has come back for me. I can confirm that the relevant portion of alsa-base.conf is still commented out, however. Anyone else seeing this again?

Update: And as strangely as it began, it ended. Another restart and the problem went away. Weird.

[LuisGMarine]

This still hasn't worked for me, I'm going to try to compile my own alsa drivers and see if maybe that fixes the problem

[leorolla]

Latest Karmic kernell already comes with ALSA 1.0.22

So no need for re-compiling everything and doing all that ugly job.

My Acer Aspire One works fine with ALSA 1.0.21 but has crackling sounds with 1.0.22, so I'm going back to the previous kernel.
My Medion 96419 has crackling and I will try this solution with it.

This crackling sound, it is a bug, right?
How should we report it to ALSA developers?